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The Legal League 100 recently hosted a webinar to discuss what you need to know when handling Florida foreclosures and REO, and how code issues can impact your business. The webinar, titled "Code Issues: How They Impact Your Florida Foreclosures and REO" was presented by Legal League 100 member, Van Ness Law Firm. The speakers were Holli Adams, Senior Associate Attorney and Tony Van Ness, Founder, Managing Attorney.
Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, according to the ATTOM Data Solutions Q3 2019 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, at one in every 577 housing units with a foreclosure filing. Additionally, Florida is still trying to recover from the impact of Hurricane Michael, with many homeowners still displaced.
Adams kicked off the webinar by answering the question: "What is a code enforcement lien?" Florida, Adams notes, is a notice state. As of October 1, 2013, recording of liens in favor of a governmental and quasi-governmental entities to establish priority is required. Updating records so that the line is against the correct property is an issue that can arise, Adams notes.
"With the lender being in title prematurely, sometimes a borrower made his deed property to the bank without the bank's knowledge, and all of a sudden the bank may be getting code violations notices and tax bills, so its very important that you review the mail," Van Ness noted. "
Some common challenges in foreclosure actions, Van Ness states, include counterclaims, denial of inferiority, and requests for specificity in the final judgement. Counterclaims can happen if municipality or county if joined for a lien that is superior. Property registration, they note, is the responsibility of the banks. Minimizing negative impact in communities is a priority.
Listen and view to the Legal League 100's complete webinar presentation here.
