Foreclosure or shortsale? update-My shady lawyer

JonnyPistachio

by the way, here is the response form my lawyer when I asked for the refund of my $1k:

"For over a year, this firm has worked and negotiated with your lender, and we were very happy to have successfully secured an approved short sale for your distressed property. This approval provided to us from your lender also would have forgiven any deficiency owed to your lender after the short sale.

Therefore, as per your client retainer agreement with the Nott Law Group, you are not entitled to a refund of the $1,000."

here is the line from the contract I initially signed the contract: "This fee is fully refundable if Law Firm does not negotiate a short sale approved by Client’s lender. "

Im assuming the problem is within how that line is interpreted. I said to my lawyer in my last email that yes, they successfully negotiated a sale "price," but a short "sale" was not negotiated.

They wont answer my email. damn it, I hate this stuff.

polaris_x

i would say it was a scam right from the get go

do you have any of those newspapers/local tv peeps that take your case public and act on your behalf!?? ... sometimes a public shaming is all that would work ...

chadwick

fuck the law firm & fuck it all. move forward & forget about the negative as it will drive you batty. lawyers are many times thieves & have no morals, not all but many are like this, it is a common fact.

i forget, have you relocated already?

JonnyPistachio

I agree polaris...Then later they tried to tell me there was a closing and I needed to give them $500 more for title search. there was no closing. Total scam. I am looking at every possible avenue to expose these cocksuckers.

chadwich, you're right. its has been driving me crazy the last two days. The negative from this is bad all the way around. I need to let go, but not until I get the word out so others dont fall for this shit too.

yes, I relocated to a better neighborhood. Fewer gunshots, hookers, and gangs. Best decision I ever made. Im not afraid to go outdoors. I even run in the mornings...not from bullets lol

hedonist

JonnyPistachio said:

hedonist said:

EdsonNascimento said:

Yes and yes. There is a little personal repsonsibility involved as well. When I hear the prices folks were paying for houses I thought I'd gone into the wrong profession. I though I was doing well and all these folks were buying houses I wouldn't even look at and wondered where they got all the money from. Well, the answer to that question is - the tax payers in later years.

So, all these folks had pre-approved loans for inflated amounts and went about bidding houses up with no thought of how they were going to afford the payments. There was a time houses would routinely go for above asking price. So, folks started speculating, to further drive up the prices. It was all very silly and was obvious it would come home to roost at some point. The initial timing of all this went hand in hand with Clinton insisting loans become easier to procure. He is really a much worse President than folks realize. Sorry to divert this thread. But, it is direlctly linked to those wrong headed philosphy and it's taken us 20 years and we're still not quite out from under it.

I have to agree with Edson - how on earth can anyone sign their name to a contract with terms by which they are unable to abide? To KNOW they can't afford it?

I'm going to have to get a new car to replace my 17-yr-old (!!!) one at some point this year. I'm aware that anything over X amount will be beyond my realm...so, I simply won't go beyond X amount.

Not only in this sense - so many I see abdicating or excusing the consequences of their actions - there is accountability to be held all-around. Responsibility. Simple common sense.

As far as the JP situation...hope you know I wish you well! From what I know of you (and have read in this read), you don't strike me as someone who would act foolhardy (assuming we set aside the younger, sassier years of Mr. Pistachio!), especially when it comes to the safety - personal as well as financial - of your family.

Thanks Hedonist...yeah I made a decent salary and could have continued to afford my old house. I did lose quite a bit of freelance work, so my income did suffer around 2006/7... my decision to short sale was mostly for safety and piece of mind (and somewhat an economic strategy).

I admit I made mistakes along the way. I knew the neighborhood wasnt too good. But I never imagined a prostitution house would open across the street or there would be 20+ bullet houses shot into that brothel.

I hear you. There's much to be said for peace of mind, of soul. Home should be your sanctuary, not a place where worry and stress permeate your environment. Sometimes I kick myself for taking for granted living in a neighborhood where I feel pretty safe.

If this can't be resolved (and it's continuing to drive you nuts), maybe just chalk it up to...sometimes bad shit happens to good people (not intended to sound harsh)...and hopefully you can get the word out on that POS "lawyer".

RKCNDY

So sorry you got scammed JP ...banks were too greedy and probably perpetuated the greed by telling their lending agents "Hey, sign X amount of loans and we'll give you a bonus on top of your commission" I inquired about a re-finance and the girl wouldn't stop bugging me, telling me "you have to come in and sign the paperwork" I was like "I only inquired how much I could save, not that I wanted to go thru with it"

When we bought, the house was in pre-foreclosure, so we got a deal (right at the height of the bubble)...but now can't sell it for a profit...so we're renting it out.

Crime in the new hood is higher than average, but the market is really strong...go figure.

JonnyPistachio

ahh, thanks Rkcndy... I also crunched the numbers on renting out my old place. -300 each month!
Some of these people are cutthroat as hell. Sign and move on, is what they want form us!

So, and update to the laywer situation -- I called yesterday and left a message saying if they didnt issue a refund in seven days that they leave me no other choice but to issue a complaint with the Florida Bar assoc. I got a call this morning..an assistant said he'd run it by the boss again. I said I'd even settle for a partial refund. He was nice and said he'd see what he could do. I'm not expecting much, but at least its gone to the top now.

polaris_x

probably should have not disclosed that you would settle for a partial refund ... :-\"

JonnyPistachio

polaris_x said:

probably should have not disclosed that you would settle for a partial refund ... :-\"

I said $750 (out of 1K). I said to them I was just trying to be fair, because they did spent time on the case, although I believe I am entitled to the whole refund.

chadwick

good for you, jp
i hope you get your $$$

JonnyPistachio

chadwick said:

good for you, jp
i hope you get your $$$

thanks chadwick...me too. You know what else? The realtor that the lawyers hired gets screwed on this I think. I think he get absolutely nothing, and he did all of the work during the process that failed...he was actually sounding relieved when I told him it was over. I told myself that if I got the full refund, I might give the realtor 20% for all his trouble through the two years. I thought he'd appreciate that.

chadwick

JonnyPistachio said:

chadwick said:

good for you, jp
i hope you get your $$$

thanks chadwick...me too. You know what else? The realtor that the lawyers hired gets screwed on this I think. I think he get absolutely nothing, and he did all of the work during the process that failed...he was actually sounding relieved when I told him it was over. I told myself that if I got the full refund, I might give the realtor 20% for all his trouble through the two years. I thought he'd appreciate that.

nice idea, sir. those lawyers... wow! what a group of lazy money grubbing jerkoffs. hopefully this lawyer will get his in the end.
it throughly amazes me more ppl aren't wearing wires holding the jaw together. i mean seriously.

i would not ever assault someone like that over $$$ but i know folks that would & have & will most probably do it again

RKCNDY

Good for you JP!

Sometimes you gotta get 'the big man' involved before they will do anything. Hopefully you will get the full amount!

mickeyrat

JonnyPistachio said:

polaris_x said:

probably should have not disclosed that you would settle for a partial refund ... :-\"

I said $750 (out of 1K). I said to them I was just trying to be fair, because they did spent time on the case, although I believe I am entitled to the whole refund.

get the money and report them anyway. This kind of shit will get worse unchecked.

JonnyPistachio

quick update -- Polaris might have been correct. I shouldnt have said I would accept a reduced amount. They offered me $200 today. He said he was essentially giving back the cut HE made personally since I was referred by a friend. And the other 800 they are keeping because they did work and ordered lien tax and title searches. I emailed them back and said none of that concerns me and I know I am entitle to the full 1K and that this is not a negotiation!

Ive spoken to several people that reviewed this stuff and said this lawyer is walking on thin ice. If they refuse this time, I will have my new lawyer contact them. I know I should probably give up at this point, but now its getting fun...feels kinda like a david and goliath battle.

Ms. Haiku

Good luck to you, JonnyPistachio.

JonnyPistachio

Ms. Haiku said:

Good luck to you, JonnyPistachio.

Thanks Ms. Haiku

The lawyer just wrote me back and said that in her opinion, I should not be so dismissive of the work they did, and that I should be grateful. Now she's telling me how I should feel. Hilarious!