Florida home owners fighting foreclosure and/or making mortgage payments on underwater mortgages have a lot on their minds.  They have to way their options and evaluate how their decisions will impact their families and their own well being.  With all of these issues, they may be comforted to know that they are not alone, there are even celebrities who have been fighting their own Florida foreclosure defense battles.  You’ve read about Burt Reynolds and Chris Tucker, but the latest star in the news for losing his home to a Florida foreclosure is TV personality David Cassidy.

David Cassidy is now 62 years old and giving up the fight to hold onto his Fort Lauderdale condominium.  Cassidy fought hard to stay in his home, arguing in legal battles that his mortgage lender had been guilty of predatory lending and the length of his fight shows his commitment to it:  David Cassidy has been mounting a formal foreclosure defense under Florida law for over two years now.

David Cassidy’s foreclosure defense argument? Among other things, that the bank trying to foreclose on his penthouse condominium could not prove that it was indeed the owner of the mortgage on the property.  For details on this Florida foreclosure defense argument, check out our earlier posts on the need for banks to have the right legal documentation before they start trying to foreclose on Florida homes.

Sadly, news is that David Cassidy has settled with the bank and he’ll be losing his Florida condo to the bank.  Officially, Cassidy has explained that he wanted to avoid the “stigma of foreclosure” – which is understandable since his foreclosure settlement has made the international news: for example, Great Britain’s Daily Mail has the headline “David Cassidy gives up $1.5 m Florida condo after two year battle against foreclosure,” and Forbes has the report “It Couldn’t Be Forever: Bank Forecloses on David Cassidy’s Penthouse.”

Larry Tolchinsky’s Tip:

Last Friday, CoreLogic (a national real estate industry research firm) released its latest study on the American housing market, and once again the State of Florida ranked first in the United States in foreclosures:  in Florida, the CoreLogic show approximately 12% (11.9 percent) of Florida mortgages are in some stage of foreclosure.

The tragic reality for our state is that in Florida, if you are not facing foreclosure on your home or condo, then you probably have a close friend or family member who probably is involved in some kind of foreclosure defense.   Even if you don’t know David Cassidy, Chris Tucker, or Burt Reynolds.

For Florida foreclosure defense lawyers, this economic reality involves a lot more than numbers and charts and statistics, though that’s a lot of what is reported in the television and print media.  Like the CoreLogic study this month.

For attorneys who represent Florida home owners who are trying to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure, just like David Cassidy, there are other issues — like the concern about what foreclosure will mean to their professional reputations, their FICA Credit Scores, their kids’ lives at school — will their children be teased or bullied if there’s a foreclosure?  David Cassidy has nothing to be ashamed about: he is one of millions of Americans these days that have fought a good fight against a big financial institution that has more time and money to battle for years than most home owners.

David Cassidy is 62 years old. Maybe the stress and the limbo of a foreclosure fight just got to be too much for him, because there’s nothing to suggest that his legal arguments regarding the paperwork weren’t legitimate defenses to pursue.  Foreclosure defense can be challenging and sometimes taxing on ones well being.

Yet another reason to have an experienced Florida foreclosure defense attorney and Florida real estate lawyer on your side if you have an underwater mortgage or if you are fighting a foreclosure of your home or condo.  An understanding advocate by your side in your fight is more than just a lawyer on the law: you’re giving yourself a compassionate counselor who is there to stand with you against the bank and their team.  Investigate whether or not a Florida foreclosure lawyer can help you, and remember to ask about fees and costs: you may be surprised to learn how many Florida lawyers (like our firm) work with clients on money issues: we all know the economy is bad out there.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to Chat with Larry in the comments below, at info@hallandalelaw.com or (954) 458-8655.