Florida Hurricane Victims Face Foreclosure Threats After Mortgage Transfers

Mortgage Company Threats to Homeowners

• 🏠 Woody Faircloth, a homeowner in Riviera Bay, is fighting to keep his family's home after it flooded during Hurricane Helen.
• 🛑 After receiving a four-month forbearance from his original mortgage company, Faircloth's mortgage was sold to a new company, Mr. Cooper.
• ⚠️ Upon attempting to pay, Faircloth was informed he was in foreclosure and threatened with a sale date on his house.

Attorney's Perspective on Homeowner Rights

• ⚖️ St. Pete attorney Charles Gallagher states that such issues are becoming more common for homeowners, especially following verbal forbearance agreements.
• 📜 If a homeowner has a written forbearance agreement, it must be honored even if the mortgage is sold to another company.
• 🏛️ Gallagher warns that companies threatening foreclosure or sale dates without proper legal proceedings are acting in bad faith and potentially committing fraud.

Legal Actions and Complaints

• 💰 Nationstar Mortgage (operating as Mr. Cooper) has been sued twice by 50 state attorney generals for failing to honor forbearance agreements after mortgage transfers.
• 💸 The company also paid a $91 million lawsuit settlement brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for mishandling transferred mortgages.
• 📝 Faircloth has filed a police report and a complaint with the Florida Attorney General's office regarding his situation.
• 🔍 A detective with St. Pete PD is reviewing Faircloth's case, and Mr. Cooper has not yet responded to requests for comment.