Eddington, PA Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
You have worked hard to buy and keep up with the mortgage payments of your home in the small and quaint community of Eddington, Pennsylvania. As life unfolded, the last thing you expected was to find yourself facing foreclosure. While most of us may have an intrinsic desire to keep our homes, sometimes it can be an uphill battle to fight for our house and to mitigate the significant losses that can come with a foreclosure process.
If you are facing a foreclosure process in Eddington, Pennsylvania, you stand in a difficult position if you don’t act before the foreclosure sale takes place. Pennsylvania prohibits homeowners from redeeming or regaining the property once a foreclosure sale takes place. To make matters worse, Pennsylvania residents can be held legally responsible if there is an outstanding balance after the property is foreclosed.
If you or someone you know is facing the daunting prospect of a foreclosure sale, call the offices of Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates to schedule a consultation. We have decades of experience helping borrowers fight against foreclosure and are committed to helping clients emerge from mortgage foreclosures with renewed hope. To schedule a free and confidential consultation, call (215) 701-6519 today.
Challenging the Foreclosure Process in Pennsylvania
There are multiple ways in which you can fight a foreclosure process. People tend to assume banks always act legally or that they have more powers than they have in practice. This intimidation paves the way so that foreclosing lenders can get away with engaging in prohibited conduct. An experienced foreclosure attorney can help you navigate the process and determine if illegal actions have occurred. Here are some of the most common ways we challenge foreclosures:
Authority to Foreclose
Most people don’t realize that the mortgage entity that originates the loan is rarely the foreclosing lender. You can question the authority of these types of foreclosing lenders in various ways because they don’t have the same rights as the original lender. For example, they may reside out-of-state and lack proper documentation, which is a strict requirement in Pennsylvania.
When the mortgage holder suddenly changes names or you find out that your mortgage has been sold or transferred to another servicer, this means the lender doesn’t stand in the same position as the original lender and their actions can be questioned. All these aspects can be reviewed during your free consultation.
Unfair Lending Practices
The term “unfair lending practices” refers to a vast body of laws designed to protect mortgage borrowers. These laws protect against actions mortgage lenders are known to use against unsuspecting borrowers. Some of these actions constitute deceit, misrepresentation, abuse, or usurious practices. These protections against unfair lending practices exist at any stage of the loan. Many times, these unfair actions lead to foreclosure, and it is important to take measures to address them. Some examples of prohibited actions include:
- Excessive charges
- Excessive cost of credit
- Taking advantage of financially vulnerable individuals
- Taking advantage of unsophisticated borrowers
An experienced foreclosure attorney can look at the history of the loan to identify areas where these laws may have been violated. Courts handling foreclosure proceedings are generally willing to consider legal theories pursuant to what is known as “equitable” arguments — these are arguments based on aspects of the foreclosing lender’s conduct that should be brought for judicial review. Equitable arguments are essentially used when the foreclosing lender has engaged in misconduct, charged excessive fees, or used cruel actions or harassment that no one should have to endure.
Pennsylvania has enacted statutes to prevent usurious actions that can constitute a solid basis to challenge a foreclosure. Even when there are no apparent interest rates charged, if you see your loan balance increasing without a proper explanation, you may be charged “hidden interests” that are prohibited in Pennsylvania. In those instances, the mortgage loan may be usurious and can be challenged in a court law.
Judicial Foreclosures in Eddington, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is a state where foreclosures are “judicial.” This means the process has to be handled through a court of law. A judicial process provides the guarantees of a process administered and supervised by a judge.
If you don’t receive an official lawsuit — including the summons and complaint — the foreclosure sale date cannot be scheduled. The “complaint” is an official document that should contain information related to your payment history and the reasons the foreclosure process is deemed warranted.
When this information is not submitted in an appropriate format, the complaint can be challenged. An experienced foreclosure attorney can look at this document to determine if it meets the format required in Pennsylvania.
If you receive a foreclosure complaint, it is in your best interest to answer this complaint and raise defenses that you may have against the foreclosure. Some of these defenses include the challenges to the foreclosure described above. If you fail to answer the complaint, it will only accelerate the process for the foreclosure sale to be approved.
Another benefit of judicial foreclosures in Pennsylvania is in the strict “notice” or notification requirements that the foreclosing lender has to provide and in that these have to use the right format. A foreclosing lender has to comply with these requirements, or the process can be struck down.
Call Our Eddington Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Right Away
If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure in Eddington, PA, call the accomplished team of attorneys of Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates. They stand ready to work with you and review all your documents to determine what the best course of action may be. Call (215) 701-6519 to schedule a free and private consultation.