Do I need to respond to the judge if I am working with NACA?

[alisoncg]

We have been deliquent on our mortgage since April of this year. In June, we were offered a loan mod. from our servicing company which would have lowered our interest by about 2% from a 7.70 to 4.75. I had an appointment with NACA at the same time that I received this offer and NACA advised me that if we still felt that the payment was unaffordable we should try to let them negotiate for us. The payment did not include taxes or insurance. NACA submitted our file to the servicing company on July 10th. We did receive a letter from our servicing company who I should note is America's Servicing Co.on August 6th telling us that they have received our request to allow them to speak to a third party (NACA) and were working on a solution for us. They explained in the letter that they were running behind and to expect 45 to 60 days before we would receive an answer. On August 26th I was served a Lis Pendens which said foreclosure was filed on August 12th. Why would they file foreclosure after telling me they are working on a solution to my problem? Is this just a case of one department not communicating with the other? My question is, NACA told me that I do not need to respond to the papers within 20 days as it says, that they will respond for me. Should I assume this is correct? If not, who do I respond to? I am not getting the feeling that NACA is living up to my expectations and I am concerned that I am waiting for them to follow through and they may not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Marshall Rosenbach Esq.]

I disagree with NACA when they tell you that you don't have to respond to the Complaint. That is bad advice in my opinion. You need to respond or you a default will be entered against you. And so you know, just because you are working on a modification does not mean the foreclosure process stops. So get your answer filed in the foreclosure action and keep working on your modification!

[Hope4aNewDay]

My situation is that I am currently trying to work with my lender toward a loan modification but of course still being sued. I don't have the Money to hire a lawyer and need to respond to the Lis pendens. The Lis Pendens I received stated that I (the defendent) can respond. Can anyone provide the letter, form, form number, to use in Hillsborough County or how to provide a legally sufficient answer to a lis pendens? I am at the 25th hour to respond has anyone successfully done this themselves? Thank you in advance for any help.

[alisoncg]

I spoke with a NACA counselor a little while ago and was told YES, I do need to respond and I can do it myself. I need to explain the situation and the fact that we are working to remedy the problem. Must be sent certified within the 20 days.

[faith]

Originally Posted by Hope4aNewDay

My situation is that I am currently trying to work with my lender toward a loan modification but of course still being sued. I don't have the Money to hire a lawyer and need to respond to the Lis pendens. The Lis Pendens I received stated that I (the defendent) can respond. Can anyone provide the letter, form, form number, to use in Hillsborough County or how to provide a legally sufficient answer to a lis pendens? I am at the 25th hour to respond has anyone successfully done this themselves? Thank you in advance for any help.

Hello,
Hope all is well with you.

The phrase "lis pendens" means "a pending suit." The purpose of a notice of lis pendens is to tell anyone who examines the title to real property that litigation has been initiated in connection with the real property and that, to the extent a judgment is awarded in favor of the plaintiff in the litigation, the judgment will have priority as of the date of the notice of lis pendens. The purpose of a notice of lis pendens is to keep the property within the jurisdiction of a court. It is important to note that a notice of lis pendens does not establish an actual lien on the property.

In order for a notice of lis pendens to be valid, the property described in the notice must be subject to the rule of lis pendens. Moreover, the court in the underlying action must have personal and subject matter jurisdiction. Finally, the notice of lis pendens must contain a sufficient description of the property.

When Might a Notice of Lis Pendens Be Filed?
When litigation involving property arises, a notice of lis pendens may be filed by the party initiating the litigation. Some actions involving title to property include:

• partition actions
• will contests
• actions to determine adverse claims to property foreclosures

Considerations If A Notice of Lis Pendens Is Found
A purchaser may take title to property subject to the lis pendens. Before doing so, however, it would be prudent for a purchaser to make an extremely careful examination of the underlying litigation. An additional consideration is whether, in such a circumstance, a title insurer would be willing to insure title to the property.

In addition, a property owner may be able to post a bond and initiate proceedings to attack the validity of the lis pendens. If a court determines that the lis pendens action was initiated with an improper motive or is legally invalid, the court will order the expungement of the notice of lis pendens.
Lastly, it is important to note that the laws governing lis pendens vary from state to state.

The link below will may help you.

Lis Pendens Florida
I found a free forms re lis pendens online but only if you print it.

Here's the link:
001 Abstract Of Lien Lis Pendens (Affidavit) - Tennessee Local County forms





Source Attorneys and Counselors at Law

[faith]

Oops,
Sorry, the form is for Tennessee. Maybe you should contact Hillsboroug County where to get lis pendens form.


Thanks,

[Hope4aNewDay]

The information on the website is for the plaintiff to use in serving a Lis Pendens on a defendent. But thank you all efforts are appreciated. I have still not found a legal way to respond to a Lis Pendens so if anyone knows please share. I know that based on my web research there are multiple things you can claim or deny to anwser a complaint against you. I have no idea what a legal defense would be in my case.

[Hope4aNewDay]

Alison how did the NACA counselor say you can respond? Did she give you a sample or where to look for a legal answer depending on your case? Thank you for any help. God Bless.

Originally Posted by alisoncg

I spoke with a NACA counselor a little while ago and was told YES, I do need to respond and I can do it myself. I need to explain the situation and the fact that we are working to remedy the problem. Must be sent certified within the 20 days.

[alisoncg]

Hello Hope4aNewDay, The NACA counselor told me that some people do answer the Lis Pendens themselves and some hire an attorney. What we are doing is the latter. I, like you tried to find a template, etc. to write the letter thinking it would be something like a hardship letter. Hah! Not so much. From all the research I did, it would be like going into battle with a boy scout knife if I wrote it myself. Simply telling the judge that you are trying to work out a loan mod. with your bank is not going to be enough. What you need to do is fight the foreclosure. My attorney is going to file for a dismissal under the assumption that there are mistakes in the mortgage. He said 8 out of 10 times there are.In the meantime he will do a forensic loan audit. If nothing else, this buys us more time while we continue to try to modify. Our attorney is a personal friend and I should note that even taking that into consideration, his fee (just to start with this letter) is $500.00. If NACA is unsuccesful, we will use him to get a modification. Either way, he assured me that the bank typically does not want the house. I would not suggest doing this yourself.

[Marshall Rosenbach Esq.]

$500 is actually a very very inexpensive price for your lawyer.

basically, you need to file an "Answer" to the Complaint while you are waiting for your modification. An answer denies or admits the allegations in the complaint and asserts affirmative defenses, if you have any. Go to the law library near you and look up "Answers" to foreclosure complaints. You should be able to find some forms.