Florida Servicing Reference Guide
- Kacey Olson
| Citation | Topic | Requirement |
| Fla. Stat. Ann. §702.12(1) | Bankruptcy in Foreclosure | Effective October 1, 2018 Optional A lienholder, in an action to foreclose a mortgage, may submit any document the defendant filed under penalty of perjury in the defendant’s bankruptcy case for use as an admission by the defendant. A rebuttable presumption that the defendant has waived any defense to the foreclosure is created if a lienholder submits documents filed in the defendant’s bankruptcy case which: (1)evidence the defendant’s intention to surrender to the lienholder the property that is the subject to foreclosure; |
Deficiency Judgment - Judicial | (e) Failure to Prosecute. All actions in which it appears on the face of the record that no activity by filing of pleadings, order of court, or otherwise has occurred for a period of 10 months, and no order staying the action has been issued nor stipulation for stay approved by the court, any interested person, whether a party to the action or not, the court, or the clerk of the court may serve notice to all parties that no such activity has occurred. If no such record activity has occurred within the 10 months immediately preceding the service of such notice, and no record activity occurs within 60 days immediately following the service of such notice, and if no stay was issued or approved prior to the expiration of such 60-day period, the action shall be dismissed by the court on its own motion or on the motion of any interested person, whether a party to the action or not, after reasonable notice to the parties, unless a party shows good cause in writing at least 5 days before the hearing on teh motion why the action should remain pending. Mere inaction for a period of less than 1 year shall not be sufficient cause for dismissal for failure to prosecute. 702.06 Deficiency decree; common-law suit to recover deficiency.—In all suits for the foreclosure of mortgages heretofore or hereafter executed the entry of a deficiency decree for any portion of a deficiency, should one exist, shall be within the sound discretion of the court; however, in the case of an owner-occupied residential property, the amount of the deficiency may not exceed the difference between the judgment amount, or in the case of a short sale, the outstanding debt, and the fair market value of the property on the date of sale. For purposes of this section, there is a rebuttable presumption that a residential property for which a homestead exemption for taxation was granted according to the certified rolls of the latest assessment by the county property appraiser, before the filing of the foreclosure action, is an owner-occupied residential property. The complainant shall also have the right to sue at common law to recover such deficiency, unless the court in the foreclosure action has granted or denied a claim for a deficiency judgment. | |
| Mortgage Brokerage and Lending Act / Fla. Stat. Ann. §494.00296 | Loan Modification Agreement | A mortgage lender, mortgage broker or mortgage loan originator may not engage in or initiate loan modification services without first executing a written agreement with the borrower. The agreement must include: (1) the name and address of the person providing loan modification services; (2) the exact nature and specific detail of each service to be provided; and (3) the total amount and terms of charges to be paid by the borrower for the services, and the date of the agreement (The date of the agreement may not be earlier than the date the borrower signed the agreement.). Additional language in 12-point uppercase font. See citation. |
| Civil Practice and Procedure / Fla. Stat. Ann. §45.031(2) | Notice of Sale | A notice of sale must be published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county where the sale is to be held. The second publication must be at least 5 days before the sale. |
| Real and Personal Property / Fla. Stat. Ann. §701.04(1) | Payoff Request | Within 14 days after receipt of a written request by a borrower, the holder of a mortgage must deliver to the borrower at a place designated in the written request an estoppel letter setting forth the unpaid balance of the loan secured by the mortgage. |
| Real and Personal Property / Fla. Stat. Ann. §701.04(2) | Satisfaction of Mortgage | Whenever the amount of money due on any mortgage is fully paid to the person or party entitled to the payment thereof, the mortgagee, creditor, or assignee to whom the payment was made, must execute in writing an instrument acknowledging satisfaction of the mortgage and have the instrument acknowledged, or proven, and duly entered in the official records of the proper county. Within 60 days after the date of receipt of the full payment of the mortgage, the person required to acknowledge satisfaction of the mortgage must send or cause to be sent the recorded satisfaction to the person who has made the full payment. In the case of a civil action, the prevailing party is entitled to attorney fees and costs. |
| Bartram v. U.S. Bank National Association | Subsequent Foreclosure Actions | When a mortgage foreclosure action is involuntarily dismissed pursuant to Rule 1.420(b), either with or without prejudice, the effect of the involuntary dismissal is revocation of the acceleration, which then reinstates the mortgagor’s right to continue to make payments on the note and the right of the mortgagee, to seek acceleration and foreclosure based on the mortgagor’s subsequent defaults. Accordingly, the statute of limitations does not continue to run on the amount due under the note and mortgage. |