HALT A FORECLOSURE USING FEDERAL LAW

Not too long ago, the government enacted legislation to establish a new governmental agency. That agency is named the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It is also known by its acronym, the CFPB.

This agency seeks to level the playing field for consumers against the large financial entities, such as credit card companies, bank and lenders, and insurance companies, that routinely seek to advantage of consumers. One of the areas that can be dramatically effected is the foreclosure arena.

Q: First, what is the CFPB really?

A: It is a new governmental agency that enacted federal laws to assist consumers against large financial companies, so that the ordinary consumer has a remedy in case they are taken advantage of.

Q: Where do these CFPB laws come in to play?

A: The laws are federal laws, so they apply nationwide, to each and every financial company and to each and every consumer.

Q: How do these laws help me?

A: The laws are actually quite strong and restrictive in regards to financial companies and lenders. These laws must be followed. If the laws are not followed by the bank, then your attorney should know how to enforce and exploit these laws to your benefit.

Q: If I am in foreclosure, how can the CFPB actually assist me?

A: The agency itself cannot really assist you. However, an experienced attorney who knows how to enforce these laws should be able to do so to the extent that your foreclosure can be stopped altogether.

Q: How is that accomplished?

A: Here is an example. If you are in foreclosure and you have submitted a loan modification application, but the bank is continuing forward with your case, then your attorney (assuming he knows about these new CFPB laws) can file a specific motion with the court to stay or stop all of those proceedings until a decision is made on your loan modification application. Keep in mind that your attorney must know what he is doing, or else filing such a motion with the court will most likely be fruitless.

Q: Should my attorney know about these new laws?

A: Yes, however, these new laws are fairly recent, and most attorneys who handle foreclosure matters are not as experienced as they may wish you to believe. In fact, these new CFPB laws are so new that most judges are not familiar with them. So, your attorney, if he is doing his job correctly, will be actually educating the judge about these new laws.

Q: If my attorney does not know how to enforce these new CFPB laws, then can I do it myself?

A: You can try, but these laws are highly technical and very complicated. It would be best if you allowed an experienced attorney who has working knowledge of these new laws to do it for you.

Q: What happens if the bank continues the foreclosure case even though I have submitted a completed loan modification application?

A: If your attorney knows what he is doing and has indeed filed the appropriate motion with the court, and the bank still proceeds with the foreclosure, then first and foremost, the bank will incur the wrath of the judge. The judge should impose some serious sanctions on the bank for continuing with the foreclosure against his specific order not to do so. Beyond that, the new laws allow for the borrower to receive statutory damages, actual damages and attorney’s fees and costs related to the matter. So, the new laws actually have the ability to make the banks feel some real pain.

Q: How can I find out if my attorney knows about these new laws?

A: Ask him outright if he knows about them. If he does not, then maybe you are not being properly represented. If you need to change attorneys, then it would be best if you did so sooner rather than later.

Q: Is there any penalty if I change attorneys?

A: No, absolutely not. It is similar to changing doctors. If you went to a doctor and felt that you were not getting adequate medical care, then of course you would seek out a doctor you feel would give you better care. You are dealing with your largest asset—your home—it is extremely important for you to have the best legal representation possible.