Site Navigation

Foreclosures: David v. Goliath

Foreclosure Defense: David v. Goliath

The worst thing you can do when facing foreclosure is nothing. Unfortunately, too many borrowers do just that. Borrowers tend to be intimidated by lenders because lenders tend to be big banks. To the average American borrower, the very word “bank” invokes something ominous and untouchable. They’re rich and you’re just trying to get by. They’re big and you’re small. But toppling Goliath is the name of the game in foreclosure defense.

The larger they are, the harder they fall. With the right lawyer, you’ll be able to use your lender’s size against it. Most lenders are lumbering and clumsy, and, in this economy, they are dealing with a large volume. Foreclosure is relegated to an impersonal, standardized process, during the course of which mistakes are often made by overworked, understaffed departments. But the lenders cannot use their management issues as a defense for violating the law, and the law is terribly particular. A skilled attorney will use the mistakes that lenders make to help you evade foreclosure. For example, since your debt may change hands several times, you may be able to defend yourself simply by requesting that the lender validate the debt in question.

It isn’t just mistake or inadvertence that your lawyer can exploit in his quest to topple Goliath. Many lenders would not think twice about overtly violating your rights in the name of profit. In fact, the violation of your rights may occur long before the foreclosure process even begins. You may be a victim of predatory lending. To get into a typical mortgage, a borrower has to sign tons of paper. Many borrowers have no idea what they’re signing. With a day job and two and a half kids to worry about, most borrowers have no time to sift through all that fine print. This makes it very easy for lenders to perpetrate fraud on borrowers, who are oftentimes unaware of what they’re signing away. In order to combat predatory lending, Congress passed the Truth in Lending Act or TILA in 1968. The act is designed to guard against the victimization of consumer-borrowers by big lenders by requiring lenders to provide clear uniform or standardized disclosures about their terms and costs. According to some companies that perform lending mortgage audits, 8 in 10 lenders have violated some law in getting you into your mortgage. An attorney will be able to zone in on these improprieties.

Don’t be a victim of mistake or malice on the part of big lenders. Use the law like a stone. Let the attorneys at the Law Firm of Grigaltchik & Galustov, P.A. face Goliath on your behalf.