Cooper City & Davie Loan Mod: How to Stop Harassing Debt Collector Phone Calls

March 6, 2012

Cooper City & Davie FL – If you are facing financial hardship, then paying credit cards and other unsecured debts is your lowest priority. An unsecured debt is a debt where they can’t take away your car or house. A secured debt has something as collateral, such as your car, house, or anything else of value.

The most commons unsecured debt is a credit card. When you stop paying them, they will call you nonstop. The reason is because they don’t have any other way to collect from you.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

They can’t come get your car or take your house. So, they make up for that by blowing up your phone with harassing calls. In addition, they use deceptive tricks to get you to pay them.

For example, there are Federal Laws that regulate what they can do or say. They aren’t allowed to threaten to sue you, but then not follow thru and actually file suit.

To get around this rule, they will use language that sounds legal, but isn’t. In one situation, a debt collector in Buffalo, New York named their firm Hoffman, Weinberg & O’Brien to make it sound like they were a law firm.

They would then leave messages on people’s answering machines. They would say they were with the office of Hoffman, Weinberg & O’Brien and then say they may resort to future legal action. In addition, they would reference case number 8306042.

If you didn’t know any better, you would think the case number was for an actual lawsuit against you. Scary, right?

Most credit card accounts never sue (despite the constant threats.) Even when they do sue and get a judgment, they rarely ever attempt to garnish wages.

A lot of judgments expire without getting paid. But, a lot of them get paid off when a person’s income increases, or that person sells a valuable asset such as a house.

Here is how to stop the harassing calls. Simply ask the person who calls for their fax number or mailing address. Then, fax or mail them a letter that requests them to stop calling you.

Here is some sample language you can put into the letter.
“Under my rights in the Fair Lending Law and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I hereby request you stop any and all phone calls to me or any other person. At this time, I do not wish to speak with you, anyone at your company, or anyone representing you concerning this matter.

Do not contact me by phone regarding this matter. I demand that you stop calling my at home, on my cell phone, at work, at my relatives house, or any other location. Please make any future communication with me in writing.

I am aware of my rights under section 805(b)2 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and am willing and able to exercise them. I am keeping track of all calls from your company and may consider recording calls.”

Make sure that when you mail the letter, you send it return receipt requested. If you have access to a fax machine, then fax it out. It’s much easier and stops the calls quickly.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a creditor or collection agency that calls you after you request them to stop may be liable for statutory damages up to $1,000 plus any actual damages suffered, plus attorney fees.

Another tactic you can use to shut down any debt collector is to tell them you are recording the call. They back off when they realize they are on tape. You can buy an inexpensive call recorder at Radio Shack or Amazon.com.

Just hook it up to your phone and you’re ready to go. In addition, you may want to keep a log of all phone calls from debt collectors. This can be useful if you ever have to go to court.

After reading the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in my opinion, the following acts are prohibited:
Violation #1: Call you before 8 AM or after 9PM.
Violation #2: Tell your relatives, family, or friends that you owe them money, or state that they are in the debt collection business when they contact any relatives, family, or friends.
Violation #3: Contact you after you send a written request that they cease further communication.
Violation #4: Contact you after you request they cease.
Violation #5: Threaten you with violence. In addition, they are prohibited from using obscene or profane language.
Violation #6: Publicize a list of people who owe them money.
Violation #7: Cause your phone to ring repeatedly or continuously to annoy you.
Violation #8: Call you without telling you who they are and why they are calling.
Violation #9: Mislead or falsely represent the amount owed, that they are an attorney or law firm, that if you don’t pay then you’ll go to jail, state or claim that you committed a crime, or threaten to take an action that is not allowed legally.
Violation #10: Not informing you that any information obtained can be used for the purpose of collecting their debt.
Violation #11: Threaten to repossess any property that they legally don’t have the right to repossess. I remember hearing a lady calling a national talk show and saying that a debt collector had threatened to repossess her cat.
What is this world coming to?!! That is definitely a violation! Cats, dogs, and children are not normally given as collateral against loans. This isn’t the middle ages here!
Violation #12: Threaten to sue you and then not follow thru with it. In addition, they are not allowed to threaten to do anything unless they actually intend to follow thru with it.

There are many good lawyers who specialize in helping consumers when a debt collector violates the act. Just google “Fair Debt Collections Lawyer.”

Many of them can help you at no cost out of your pocket. They will take on your case on a contingency basis and get paid from the money they collect from the debt collector.

If you have any specific questions or need help, please give me a call. Remember I’m here to help you in any way that I can.

Thinking about a Loan Modification?

Our Cooper City & Davie loan modification guide will show you how to reduce your mortgage payment, keep your home, and get back on your feet. Send me an e-mail at jtgibes@yahoo.com to request a Free Copy.

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 954-483-4115

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thanks for reading this, John Gibes.

John is a Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX PowerPro Realty. Cooper City & Davie Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 954-483-4115. jtgibes@yahoo.com.

Your CrackerJack Realtor

View My homes for sale at www.TheGibesTeam.com.

John T Gibes specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Cooper City Florida. Cooper City Loan Modification Help, Cooper City Short Sales. Cooper City Short Sale Realtor. Davie FL Loan Modification Help, Davie FL Short Sales. Davie FL Short Sale Realtor. Cooper City & Davie FL Short Sales. Cooper City & Davie Realtor.

Important Notice

John Gibes, RE/MAX PowerPro Realty, and the Stop Foreclosure Institute are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the government. Our services have not been reviewed or endorse by the government or your lender. Most lenders willingly work with agents on short sales. Why?

Because most short sales are beneficial to a lender. If you accept our offer to help you on a short sale, your lender may not agree to a short sale or to modify your loan. We do offer a loan modification kit.

However, the likelihood of negotiating a modification is like everything else in life. It takes work and persistence to convince your lender to modify your loan. No matter what you or we do, your lender may not approve a loan modification.

We do not recommend that you stop paying your mortgage, because this will cause damage to your credit and could cause you to lose your home. Because we know avoiding foreclosure is so important to any homeowner, we recommend that you speak with the appropriate legal or tax advisor before making any decision.

This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing.

You have the option to reject a short sale or loan modification from your lender if it does not meet your approval. If you decide not to go thru with the short sale, then you do not have to pay us our fee. We normally make a real estate sales commission for helping you on a short sale.

The views expressed here are John’s personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX PowerPro Realty.

Question from homeowner: My lender just sold my loan. Is that a good thing?

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Cooper City & Davie FL – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from James. “My loan was just sold. I was making payments to CitiFinancial and they sold it to Nationstar. Is that good or bad?” James asked.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

Here is the answer. It’s neither good nor bad. In fact, I don’t think your loan was sold. You see, most loans were packaged up and sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Wall Street.

James’s loan was more than likely packaged up and sold off. I asked him who his original lender was. He said it was a company called First Magnus. (First Magnus declared bankruptcy in 2007 and was afterwards closed.)

The Stop Foreclosure Institute has negotiated short sales on loans that were originally with First Magnus. The last one was sold to a large Wall Street Firm and securitized.

That means James’s loan could be owned by anyone. More than likely it is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. If not, then it was probably sold to a Wall Street Firm.

The owner of the loan hired CitiFinancial to act as their front man. That means Citi collected the payments, handled escrows and accounting, and manages debt collections and foreclosures.

More than likely Nationstar did not buy the loan. Instead whoever owns the loan hired them to act as the front man instead of Citi.

Thinking about a Loan Modification?

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 954-483-4115

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thanks for reading this, John Gibes.

John is a Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX PowerPro Realty. Cooper City & Davie Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 954-483-4115. jtgibes@yahoo.com.

Your CrackerJack Realtor

View My homes for sale at www.TheGibesTeam.com.

Important Notice

The views expressed here are John’s personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX PowerPro Realty.

This information on Question from homeowner: My lender just sold my loan. Is that a good thing? is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

February Housing Trends- click on the link

March 1, 2012

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Housing Trends eNewsletter- John Gibes

Cooper City & Davie Loan Mod: Short Sale Seller walked away from 100k in debt. Hasn’t paid a dime

February 10, 2012

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Cooper City & Davie FL – Everyone gets scared when they can’t pay a debt. “Am I at risk of going to jail? Will my friends find out? Will the bank sue me and take everything I own? Will the they garnish my wages? Will they levy my bank account?”

Here is a real life example. She didn’t have the money and stopped paying cold turkey.

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

I know a person who stopped paying on a bunch of debts. We’ll call her Jill. Jill short sold her house over two and a half years ago.

Her loan was with Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America. The owner of the loan was a “sliced and diced” trust.

I’ve called these “zombie debt owners”, because they usually don’t chase you down after a short sale. The owner of the loan lost around $85,000.

Long story short, she hasn’t paid a dime on the short sale loss. She got letters and phone calls from Bank of America for about 6 months. After that, they calls stopped.

She hasn’t heard anything from them since then. And she doesn’t expect to hear anything more. The nice thing about the “sliced and diced” loans is there is no single owner.

There are probably 10,000 owners of her loan scattered around the world. None of the owners has time to collect from her and Bank of America is too busy with all the other loans on their books.

In addition to the short sale, she stopped paying on five different credit cards with over $15,000 owed. She lost her job and simply did not have the money to pay them.

She is still getting phone calls today. Sure, she could get them to stop calling by sending them a letter.

But, they don’t bother her enough to do that. So they just call. As of today, only one of those creditors has file a lawsuit. The funny thing is they filed the lawsuit and then just let it sit there.

They didn’t file anything else for another 18 months. As of today, the case is still sitting in limbo. More than likely, it will be dismissed for lack of activity.

Even if the credit card company does get a judgment, they still have to collect on it. The fact is, only 15% of all judgments are ever paid.

But, at the rate their lawyers are going on the lawsuit, they probably won’t ever get a judgment. As you can see, Jill was able to walk away from around $100,000 in debt and will probably never pay them a dime.

She could settle with the credit card companies in the future for fifteen cents on the dollar. If so, then it will be because she wants to, not because she is getting forced to do it.

Thinking about a Loan Modification?

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 954-483-4115

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thanks for reading this, John Gibes.

John is a Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX PowerPro Realty. Cooper City & Davie Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 954-483-4115. jtgibes@yahoo.com.

Your CrackerJack Realtor

View My homes for sale at www.TheGibesTeam.com.

Important Notice

The views expressed here are John’s personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX PowerPro Realty.

This information on Cooper City & Davie Loan Mod: Short Sale Seller walked away from 100k in debt. Hasn’t paid a dime is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Cooper City & Davie Loan Mod: We answer a question from a homeowner facing foreclosure

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Cooper City & Davie FL – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from a homeowner facing foreclosure. I’ll call him Peter to protect his identity.

(Foreclosure is embarrassing and I don’t want to put his name out there.) Peter asked, “I am six months behind on my mortgage payments. I just got the tax bill for 2010 in the mail. Should I pay it?”
He continued, “What will happen if I don’t pay it? Will my house be auctioned to pay the taxes?”

Get my Free, Step By Step Loan Modification Guide by clicking here.

Here is the answer to Peter’s Question. It all depends on what his plans are and how tight he is on money.

Most people in Peter situation fall into one of 3 categories.

Category A. They want to keep their home. They are already working on a loan modification with their lender. They are saving every extra penny possible and maybe even working an extra job.

Category B. They don’t want to keep their home. They might be thinking about a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Category C. Cannot afford to keep their home, but want to stay there as long as possible. Maybe they bought an expensive home and aren’t making the big bucks anymore. But, they can afford to rent a smaller, less expensive home.

First a little background on Peter. Peter is in Florida. In Florida, the county cannot auction your home to pay the taxes for at least 2 years. But, usually it is 5-7 years before that actually happens.

This means you have a long window to pay back that tax bill. here is the other thing that often happens. Your lender pays the tax bill. I’m sure you’re asking, “Why would the lender pay the tax bill?”

To protect their interest. If the house gets sold at auction, the lender’s first mortgage could be wiped out. Lender’s have whole departments that do nothing but track property taxes that are due and pay them if necessary. They will pay back taxes and tack it onto what you owe them.

Here is one other caveat: The interest rate on delinquent property taxes in Florida is 10-18%. That can rack up pretty fast.

Here are my answers for how Peter should handle this tax bill.

If he falls into Category A: Pay the tax bill as soon as possible AFTER your loan mod is approved. However, Peter should first attempt to negotiate a successful loan modification with his lender.

Most lenders want a “good faith down payment” to modify a loan. So until the modification goes thru, Peter save all his money for that.

Because if the loan modification is not approved, then Peter will have wasted money paying the taxes. It will be just one less payment for the bank after they foreclose.

If he falls into Categories B or C: Do not pay the tax bill. The lender will end up paying the bill after they foreclose. Or, it will be paid as part of a short sale. Peter will have sold the house, or his lender will have foreclosed on it long before it can be auctioned for unpaid taxes.

Thinking about a Loan Modification?

When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 954-483-4115

Discover how other sellers successfully completed a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here.

Thanks for reading this, John Gibes.

John is a Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX PowerPro Realty. Cooper City & Davie Short Sales Realtor:

Phone: 954-483-4115. jtgibes@yahoo.com.

Your CrackerJack Realtor

View My homes for sale at www.TheGibesTeam.com.

Important Notice

The views expressed here are John’s personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX PowerPro Realty.

This information on Cooper City & Davie Loan Mod: We answer a question from a homeowner facing foreclosure is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions.

Cooper City & Davie Loan Mod: We answer a question from a homeowner facing foreclosure

February 3, 2012