Serge F. Petroff Law Blog

The only people who can save homeowners from greedy bankers are Judges, Special Referees and Judicial Hearing Officers.  I believe that thousands of families would have been living on the street save for judicial intervention.

Homeowners who are faced with foreclosure and a serious prospect of loosing their homes, in most cases, will jump at almost any offer that is presented to them by their bank.  Banks have figured that out and are making the best of it.

Instead of... Read More

Time and again I keep hearing from my clients that they hired some “modification company” to modify their mortgage, paid them money upfront, which is illegal under the laws of the State of New York, and are now forced by their modification company to accept the offer of modification from their lender.

The problem is that these “modification companies” and “loan workout specialists,” or whatever else these former unscrupulous mortgage brokers want... Read More

I still cannot believe how an attorney can leave a client alone at a settlement conference!

This is how the story goes: client retains an attorney to be represented in their foreclosure action.  Attorney takes a fee. Client signs a retainer agreement and attorney begins to work.

Many crooked mortgage brokers and bankers would stop at nothing to issue an unaffordable loan. Yet why would the homeowners sign off on it?  Didn’t they read the documents, disclosures and rules? Sure, they did, but the complexity of the documents, in addition to the mortgage broker’s vulture-like desire to take more of his client’s money, made it a certainty that the loan would be underwritten to the detriment of the homeowner.     

A word... Read More

Consumers must demand their money back.

There is a lot to be said about “litigious society” that we live in.  Well, take full advantage of it.  Enough is enough!  Protect your rights! 

The idea is simple.  You paid for services that were not delivered.  You diligently provided all of the required documents, financial statements and hardship affidavits and now you... Read More