NYC’s Worst Landlord Watch List
Before you rent your next apartment, you may want to check out Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s new website:
Press release: “Public Advocate Bill de Blasio today unveiled a new website that exposes the landlords behind some of the city’s most dangerous and dilapidated buildings. The Public Advocate’s NYC’s Worst Landlords Watch List is the first resource allowing tenants to look up a current or potential landlord by name and see code violations for other buildings the landlord owns. The Watch List is available online at advocate.nyc.gov/landlord-watchlist.”
Visit our Landlord-Tenant category to learn more about Landlord-Tenant issues.
NYC Landlord Tenant Attorney
As always, The Landlord-Tenant Law Firm of Vaughn, Weber & Prakope, PLLC is here to assist you. Contact us at (516) 858-2620 to arrange a consultation with a Landlord-Tenant attorney.
Bank won’t modify my mortgage, how can I use the chapter 7 bankruptcy I just filed to avoid foreclosure?
The following are “some” of the things you can do to avoid foreclosure if you just filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy:
“Maybe” filing a “chapter 20” bankruptcy, which is a chapter 7 followed by a chapter 13, will help you.
- make sure the ch. 7 discharge is granted;
- some time after discharge is granted in the 7, but before the sale date of course, file a ch. 13 to force the lender to accept the current payment + the arrears spread over 36 or 60 months.
- Note: There likely won’t be a discharge at the end of the Chapter 13. This really shouldn’t matter because you just received a chapter 7 discharge.
- Note: You should consider “stripping off” any judgment and/or wholly unsecured liens.
- Note: If this is investment property you can try to cram it down in a ch.13. However, the cramdown value has to be paid off by completion of the ch. 13 plan.
If none of the above will work, you could:
- After discharge, continue trying to obtain a loan modification from your lender (the foreclosure action will likely continue unopposed).
- Contest the foreclosure action in state court after the stay is lifted or terminates.
- Note: You may be able to defend the foreclosure even if a default judgment has been entered against you(see our earlier post “Fighting foreclosure after default judgment.”)
This is not legal advice!
The Law Firm of Vaughn & Weber, PLLC routinely represents homeowners facing foreclosure who have already filed or need to file for bankruptcy. We examine each homeowner’s specific situation to determine their best course of action.
We proudly assist residents of Long Island (Nassau county, Suffolk county) and New York City (Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan) with their bankruptcy and foreclosure matters.
Call (516) 858-2620 to arrange a FREE consultation with a bankruptcy and foreclosure attorney!
Please visit our Foreclosure category to learn more about foreclosure issues.
Please visit our Bankruptcy category to learn more about filing for bankruptcy.
I was just served with a foreclosure summons and complaint, what should I do?
You should respond!
The summons tells you that a foreclosure action has been filed and that you have twenty (20) or thirty (30) days to respond. The complaint tells you why the foreclosure action was brought.
There are several different ways for you to respond to the foreclosure action (see our earlier post “What Can I do if I’m facing Foreclosure”). However, many of these responses won’t stop the foreclosure action or prohibit the bank from obtaining a default judgment against you. Generally, a default judgment will be issued if you fail to file an answer or other legal response when it is due. It is possible to defend a foreclosure action after a default judgment (see our earlier post “Defending Foreclosure after a Default Judgment”), but it is very risky, more difficult and will likely be more expensive. Therefore, it is best to avoid having a default judgment entered against you.
You should consider consulting a competent foreclosure defense attorney ASAP!
As always, The Long Island Foreclosure Defense Law Firm of VAUGHN & WEBER, PLLC is here to assist you. We are conveniently located in the heart of Nassau County, Long Island, at 217 Willis Avenue in Mineola, NY 11501. Contact us at (516) 858-2620 to arrange a consultation with a foreclosure defense lawyer.
Please visit our Foreclosure category to learn more about foreclosure issues.
Wall Street Reform Bill: Free credit report for rejected renters
The Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill which passed through Congress and is headed for President Obama’s desk, contains a provision which will require that rejected renters be provided with a free copy of their credit report.
The Wall Street Journal reports that there is a provision in the bill that “would give prospective renters access to a free copy of the credit score that a landlord or broker used to evaluate their application.”
The article quotes a source as saying “that by forcing landlords to give out these credit scores, they would be deterred from using discriminatory factors like race or age in their decisions of whether or not to rent to particular applicants.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Visit our Landlord-Tenant category to learn more about Landlord-Tenant issues.
As always, The Long Island Landlord-Tenant Law Firm of VAUGHN & WEBER, PLLC is here to assist you. We are conveniently located in the heart of Nassau County, Long Island, at 217 Willis Avenue in Mineola, NY 11501. Contact us at (516) 858-2620 to arrange a consultation with a Landlord-Tenant attorney.
Keep in Touch