Do you want a foreclosure lawsuit settlement with Sottile Barile? Whether you have been served with a summons and complaint or are about to have the home sold, there may be time to settle a foreclosure. Remember, the lender needs to have the account current and up to date. They will often listen to an option that gets this off their delinquency books which avoids a foreclosure sale. You might also need to stay at home for a while. Additionally, you might have equity in the home you want to save.
Foreclosure Lawsuit Settlement with Sottile Barile & Other Servicers and Debt Buyers
Sottile Barile is a Cincinnati, Ohio, law firm that handles foreclosure cases in Kentucky. They operate similarly to other law firms like Manley Deas Kochalski and Fessler, Schneider & Grimme in litigating foreclosure cases. These firms file foreclosure cases throughout Kentucky. They are competent, law firms practicing in Kentucky Circuit Courts and the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts.
However, Sottile Barile works for companies that hold mortgages or service mortgages. Mortgage companies collect mortgages through servicers who manage the loan. Servicers like Ocwen and New York Mellon operate much like any other debt collector. Servicing companies are not the original lender nor are they buyers and holders of the note and mortgage.
You must understand these law firms do not practice law or work for you. They do not offer legal advice to help you. To my knowledge, they have never recommended to a consumer that you should sue their client or file bankruptcy as an option. You must also understand, that they record every phone call you make to them.
The trouble with a collection law firm is your phone calls are often an admission you owe the debt. The information can and will be used against you. There is no attorney-client privilege that keeps your statements out of court. Instead, you should use an attorney to settle your case who will spot the issues where they have done wrong and where their foreclosure has problems with real estate law.
Servicing Companies and Debt Buyers as Mortgage Holders
Servicing companies collect for banks that have loans in default. They sometimes buy portfolios of bad mortgages and debts from banks for pennies on the dollar. If they purchase notes they then become holders of the notes. Servicing companies try to collect the total amount from consumers, plus interest, penalties, late fees, overdraft fees, associate attorney and attorneys fees, and whatever other kinds of fees they can dream up. Often the original mortgage company may have filed for bankruptcy or may have been purchased by a larger company. Then, the new loan becomes owned by larger banks like Bank of America, Greentree, Ocwen, or New York Mellon Trust.
Servicers are notorious violators of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Consumer debtors often sue servicers in class action lawsuits for these violations. The FDCPA prevents third-party debt collectors from using false, misleading, deceptive, and harassing debt collection tactics. Attorneys who collect consumer debts are also subject to the FDCPA.
Servicers often work under the business model that unfair and deceptive tactics are necessary to collect the debt. Therefore, being caught and paying a fine is just a cost of doing business. They know the law, but they choose to ignore it because violating the law earns more profit. In addition, there are many other laws and regulations that regulate mortgage collections and foreclosures. One example is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations (CFPB.)
The Continuing Problems with Servicers and Debt Buyers
To servicers and debt buyers, the consumers are no more than a source of profit and an entry on a spreadsheet. The data they get from the prior owner of the debt is often defective. The plain truth is the servicer doesn’t know if that data is accurate or not. That’s because all they do is buy the debt or collect the debt. Also, in the servicer’s case, they earn 40% of the late fees penalties, and charges. They profit from collecting late charges and fees in bills. So they bill a lot.
In collecting the foreclosure, Sottile Barile always has the burden to prove the following:
- The note and mortgage were properly executed.
- If the payments, charges, and fees are correct.
- That the Plaintiff has a right to sue.
It is never the burden of the homeowner to prove the charges. To prove the case, the evidence submitted by Sottile Barile must be based on the witness’s personal knowledge, or it must be a proper business record. Otherwise, the testimony is hearsay.
The charges must also be reasonable and accurate to be a business record. However, often they are not reasonable nor accurate. Often the keeper of the records lacks any personal knowledge of how information in the credit card bill is collected, generated, or maintained. Instead, you are only there to make them a profit. However, the truth remains that servicers often lack the ability to prove anything.
What to Do if you want a foreclosure lawsuit settlement with Sottile Barile?
If you’re being sued for foreclosure, you should consider hiring a qualified attorney with experience in debt defense. Interestingly, we are often able to sue the debt collectors back. If you need to defend a foreclosure, Nick Thompson routinely represents consumers in foreclosure lawsuits brought by Ocwen, Bank of America, and New York Mellon Trust.
We analyze these debt collection cases to determine if any violations of TILA, CFPB, and FDCPA regulations are occurring. If so, we recommend whether a lawsuit or defense should be made. You can sue for statutory damages up to $1,000.00, plus actual damages (like pain and suffering) and attorney’s fees if there is an FDCPA violation. Filing a complaint with the Kentucky Bar Association rarely does any good just because a collector was rude in collecting. The FDCPA allows you to sue if a collector is unreasonable threatening or insulting. About 64 different types of behavior are listed in the statute but FDCPA is not limited by just the list.
Where to Report Foreclosure Scams?
One of the common problems you can face in a foreclosure is the foreclosure scam. People will offer to purchase your home. However, it can take as little as 90 days to foreclosure. The national average time to foreclose from the date the case is filed until the sale usually is 6 months to a year. But it has happened in 90 days.
The person offering to buy your home wants the price to be low. Often he won’t commit to the sale and do the closing. As you get closer to foreclosure he keeps lowering the cost based on excuses. If you agree to the lower price and complete real estate transactions, he wins. You, however, are limiting your options. Eventually, he has your price so low you are giving the home away.
Another scam is the person who offers to buy your home and rent it back to you. However, after he has the house in his name, there is no guarantee he will continue to rent to you or allow you to repurchase it. Other scams include promising to settle the foreclosure or make payments for you by paying someone who pretends to be a law firm. These scams should be reported to the County Attorney or the Attorney General’s office.
We Can Help Your Foreclosure Lawsuit Settlement with Sottile Barile!
If you have been sued, you should respond with an answer within 20 days after receipt of the complaint. You may also have to follow up with discovery and a motion for summary judgment. During the time you delay;
- You can apply for a mortgage modification to lower the percentage and make it affordable.
- Apply for a workout agreement.
- List the property with a realtor and sell the property.
- You may want to attempt a short sale if the property has a value less than the loan.
- Or you may want to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and force the bank to accept payments catching up on the mortgage.
Just call Nick now to get started today.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for real estate foreclosure scams.
Trustee Regions and Offices for foreclosure scams that involve bankruptcy
Resources for Foreclosures
Why Review a Chapter 13 Schedule of Allowed Claims?
Mortgage Modifications • Foreclosure Failures
Why Settle a Debt with Weltman, Weinberg, and Reis
Foreclosure & Mortgage Modifications • Low Success
If you want a foreclosure lawsuit settlement with Sottile Barile and stop harassing debt collectors in the Southern District of Indiana, contact us today to see what we can do for you. Contact my office right away to start the conversation. Nick C. Thompson, Attorney: 502-625-0905
