Michael Faro

Attorney Mike Faro from Faro & Crowder, PA in Melbourne, Florida discusses liquidation bankruptcy.

Full script from video:
Liquidation means converting fixed assets into cash so that the cash can then be used to pay debt. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the chapter 7 trustee, sometimes referred to as the liquidating trustee, has the job of taking non-exempt property and selling it in order to get money to pay the creditors.

When you file a bankruptcy petition under any chapter of bankruptcy you have to list all of the property that you own. All assets including real estate, personal property - furniture, dishes, even the cash that you have on hand as well as the money that you have in bank accounts or retirement accounts.

Your attorney’s job is to then take that list and apply exemptions. There are some exemptions that are available under state law and some exemptions that are available under federal law. Your attorney will go through, take as much money as possible and claim exemption on it to reduce the amount of non-exempt property.

The chapter 7 trustees job in part is to review those claims of exemption and determine if they think you have over-reached and claimed more property as exempt then you are legally permitted to. If they do believe that you’ve over-reached, the trustee will file an objection to the debtors claim of exemption. The debtor can then respond to that objection and disagree and ask that the court determine whether the property is in fact exempt or is not. If the court determines that the property is not exempt then it goes in with the rest of the debtors non-exempt property. Many cases will have no non-exempt property but in cases that do have non-exempt property the Chapter 7 trustees job is to then convert that property into cash.

There are generally two ways that a Chapter 7 trustee will do this. One method is to sell the property at auction. This is commonly done with vehicles. There are vehicle auctions every week and prices are relatively stable so the trustees are relatively certain as to how much value they will get to a vehicle sold at auction. Another method is through private sale, often with vehicles also, the trustee will do a private sale most commonly back to the debtor. When the trustee sells property like a vehicle back to the debtor they will often take a discount and let the debtor purchase the property back at somewhat less than the value that they would anticipate that they would receive at the auction.

The reason for this is in a private sale to the debtor, the trustee does not have to pay cost of sale, they do not have to pay an auctioneer, they do not have to pay anybody to transport the property to the place where it would be sold. Because they save those costs, they can sell the property to the debtor for less money and still get the same amount to divide among the creditors.

In chapter 13 bankruptcy, liquidation value also comes into play. And the reason that it comes into play in a chapter 13 bankruptcy is because the payments that you make during a chapter 13 bankruptcy have to pay the unsecured creditors as least as much value as they would have received if the property were liquidated in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Attorney Mike Faro clears up confusion about the foreclosure process, talks about default, your rights as a homeowner and saving your property through bankruptcy.

Hi, my name's Mike Faro. I'm an attorney with Faro & Crowder, P.A. I defend homeowners facing foreclosure and I represent people seeking relief under the United States Bankruptcy code.
Today I want to talk to you about foreclosure and the foreclosure process. There's a lot of confusion about the foreclosure process and much of it comes from the fact that different states have different processes for foreclosure. In a non-judicial foreclosure state, the bank actually holds title to the property. If the loan goes into default the bank will send a letter that says you're in default on your loan, you have 90 days to catch up, otherwise we will sell your house at auction.
Ninety days later, the bank can put the home up for sale. Florida is not a non-judicial foreclosure state. Florida requires the bank to go to court and pursue the foreclosure process in order to obtain a judgment and then have the court sell the home at auction in order to satisfy the judgment. The tradeoff for the lengthy process is that the bank in Florida is allowed to pursue the homeowner for a deficiency unless the loan documents specifically waive the rights to pursue deficiency.
In Florida, if you go into default on your loan you may talk to a representative from the bank who tells you that your home is in foreclosure status. That does not mean that a foreclosure lawsuit has actually been filed. The only thing that initiates the foreclosure process in the state of Florida is the filing of a foreclosure complaint. Once that complaint is filed, the bank has certain obligations. It must prove up its case in court and show that it is the proper party to be foreclosing on your loan. However, if you do not respond quickly to a foreclosure action you may waive the right to hold the banks feet to the fire and make them prove their case. You may have substantial other rights and you may have the ability to save your property through a bankruptcy.
If you're facing foreclosure, if the bank has told you that your loan is in foreclosure status or if you've received a letter from an attorney's office stating that they are initiating foreclosure proceedings, or if you've had a deputy sheriff or a process server serve a foreclosure complaint against you, it is important that you act quickly to protect your rights. If you'd like to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your rights and your options moving forward, please call me today. My name again is Mike Faro and my phone number is 321-784-8158. Thank you, I look forward to helping you move forward.

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Melbourne Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy Debt Relief.

Attorney Michael Faro and J. Christopher Crowder help people in need of foreclosure defense and debt relief in Melbourne, Florida. Faro & Crowder, PA offers free initial consultations for foreclosure or bankruptcy. Contact our Melbourne office today at 321-784-8158 or write us an email at info@farolaw.com

We help individuals, families and businesses in Central Florida, Brevard County and the Space Coast including Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Satellite Beach, Titusville, Grant-Valkaria, Indialantic, Malabar, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Cape Canaveral, Rockledge, West Melbourne, Cocoa West, June Park, Micco, Mims, Patrick AFB, Port St. John, Sharpes, South Patrick Shores, Viera East, Viera West, Barefoot Bay, Canaveral Groves, Courtenay, Floridana Beach, Indianola, Melbourne Shores, Scottsmoor, Suntree, Viera

Visit us on the web at farolaw.com

Questions? Contact us at info@farolaw.com

Melbourne Bankruptcy Attorney Mike Faro explains how a homeowner can go into default and how a bank may accelerate a loan.

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Hello, my name is Mike Faro. I'm an attorney with Faro & Crowder, PA. I represent homeowners facing foreclosure and I help people seek relief under the United States Bankruptcy code. Today, I would like to talk to you about default and acceleration. Two concepts that apply to mortgage loans that cause a great deal of confusion. There's a fair amount of information available about these topics on the internet, some of it unfortunately is not very accurate and only acts to compound the confusion.
A default is a breach of your agreement with the bank. You actually have several agreements with the bank. The promissory note and the mortgage both contain numerous agreements. The most obvious is the obligation to pay the bank a certain amount of money on a certain schedule. In addition to that, however, you've probably promised the bank that you will keep the property insured against normal hazards like hurricanes, fires, etc. And you have also promised the bank that you will pay the property taxes on time. And that you will not transfer the property to another owner without first paying the debt back to the bank.
A breach of any of these agreements or any other agreement contained in either your promissory note or your mortgage is considered a default. Once the loan is in default, the bank has many options moving forward as to how they'd like to treat that default. It is possible that a bank, once a homeowner has missed several payments, could sue the homeowner just to recover the missed payments. I've never seen that happen and I don't believe it happens very often. More often what does happen is the bank sends a letter to the homeowner that states that the homeowner has gone into default. It will also generally tell the homeowner what needs to be done to cure the default. Most commonly, send a check and a certain amount of money within a certain time. It will further warn the homeowner that if the homeowner fails to take the action necessary to correct the default within the time given the balance of the loan will be accelerated at the banks option. That means the bank will not tell you whether or not they have accelerated the loan. Most people generally find out when they've been served with a foreclosure lawsuit and it says the bank did exercise their option to accelerate the balance. Acceleration means that the bank is saying, even though you have only missed a few payments were now declaring the entire note due and payable. All future payments come due immediately and payment of the balance must be made within a certain amount of time to avoid foreclosure.
If you're behind on your payments and you have received a notice of intent to accelerate or if your bank has called you and told you over the phone that they intend to accelerate the debt and demand payment in full, it's important that you act quickly to protect your rights. If you fail to act, you may actually waive some of those rights. If you're behind on your mortgage or you have received a letter or a phone call from your bank threatening to foreclose your loan, it's important that you act quickly.
Please call Faro & Crowder today to schedule a free initial consultation. Our phone number is 321-784-8158. I look forward to speaking with you and helping find a path for you.
_______________________________________________________

Melbourne Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy Debt Relief.

Attorney Michael Faro and J. Christopher Crowder help people in need of foreclosure defense and debt relief in Melbourne, Florida. Faro & Crowder, PA offers free initial consultations for foreclosure or bankruptcy. Contact our Melbourne office today at 321-784-8158 or write us an email at info@farolaw.com

We help individuals, families and businesses in Central Florida, Brevard County and the Space Coast including Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Satellite Beach, Titusville,
Grant-Valkaria, Indialantic, Malabar, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Cape Canaveral, Rockledge, West Melbourne, Cocoa West, June Park, Micco, Mims, Patrick AFB, Port St. John, Sharpes, South Patrick Shores, Viera East, Viera West, Barefoot Bay, Canaveral Groves, Courtenay, Floridana Beach, Indianola, Melbourne Shores, Scottsmoor, Suntree, Viera

Visit us on the web at farolaw.com

Questions? Contact us at info@farolaw.com

Attorney Mike Faro explains what a mortgage and promissory note are.

Hello, My Name is Mike Faro and I'm an Attorney with Faro & Crowder, PA. I defend home owners facing foreclosure and I help people seek relief under the bankruptcy code. Today I want to talk to you about mortgages and specifically what a mortgage is as opposed to other forms of debt.

A mortgage is a secured debt which means when you asked the bank to borrow money you promised the bank that they could take a specific piece of property if you failed to pay them back. There are two parts to a mortgage debt. The first part is the promissory note which is your promise to pay the bank a certain amount of money. And the second part is the mortgage.
In the mortgage document, you promised the bank that if you as the borrow failed to repay the debt in the promissory note the bank can execute against the mortgage lien foreclosing it in court and having the property sold at auction to satisfy the debt in the promissory note.

If you are behind on a mortgage debt and you have questions about your rights and your options moving forward, please call Faro & Crowder, PA today. My name again is Mike Faro and the phone number is 321-784-8158. Thank you.

_______________________________________________________

Melbourne Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy Debt Relief.

Attorney Michael Faro and J. Christopher Crowder help people in need of foreclosure defense and debt relief in Melbourne, Florida. Faro & Crowder, PA offers free initial consultations for foreclosure or bankruptcy. Contact our Melbourne office today at 321-784-8158 or write us an email at info@farolaw.com

We help individuals, families and businesses in Central Florida, Brevard County and the Space Coast including Cocoa Beach, Cocoa, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Satellite Beach, Titusville,
Grant-Valkaria, Indialantic, Malabar, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Cape Canaveral, Rockledge, West Melbourne, Cocoa West, June Park, Micco, Mims, Patrick AFB, Port St. John, Sharpes, South Patrick Shores, Viera East, Viera West, Barefoot Bay, Canaveral Groves, Courtenay, Floridana Beach, Indianola, Melbourne Shores, Scottsmoor, Suntree, Viera

Visit us on the web at farolaw.com

Questions? Contact us at info@farolaw.com