Top-rated Foreclosure Attorneys List: Avoid Bankruptcy and Homelessness

There is a spike in foreclosure cases. Bankruptcy and foreclosure lawyers are being inundated with new cases. Web sites offering information on foreclosure are also seeing a spike of traffic.

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Here is what is being reported by many of these sites:

"When the government can't help, a good lawyer sometimes can. The attorneys seeing the largest spikes in business are those who help homeowners handle foreclosures or assist banks and property owners in collecting unpaid mortgages. Eric Appleton, a foreclosure attorney in Tampa who is among the most highly rated in his field on Avvo.com, had more foreclosure cases in a single day recently than he had seen in a whole month last year. "People are most definitely going online to find lawyers to defend themselves against foreclosures," says Appleton, who often represents condominium associations. "It's not uncommon for us to get 10 to 15 mortgage foreclosure [cases] in a single day."


Attorney: David Leen
Law Firm: David Leen & Associates, Seattle, Wa.
Education: University of Oregon School of Law, 1971
Expertise: Represents individuals in foreclosure, predatory lending, fraud, and real estate cases

Attorney: Eric Appleton
Law Firm: Bush Ross, Tampa
Education: University of Florida J.D., 1998
Expertise: Represents Florida property owners and community associations in disputes with lenders and home owners

Attorney: Robert S. Bernstein
Law Firm: Bernstein Law Firm, Pittsburgh
Education: Duquesne University J.D., 1981
Expertise: Bankruptcy law, creditors' rights law


Attorney: David Leibowitz
Law Firm: LakeLaw Bankruptcy Center, Chicago
Education: Loyola University School of Law, 1974
Expertise: Consumer bankruptcy, mortgage defense


Attorney: Steven H. Mezer
Law Firm: Bush Ross, Tampa
Education: Stetson University College of Law, 1977
Expertise: Real estate litigation, foreclosures, collection of assessments, and deed-restriction enforcement


Attorney: Joseph Moldovan
Law Firm: Morrison Cohen, New York City
Education: Brooklyn Law School, 1982
Expertise: Bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights


Attorney: Paul Riffel
Law Firm: Paul Riffel, Tampa
Education: Stetson University College of Law, 1982
Expertise: Bankruptcy court, family law, real estate

Attorney: Stephen W. Sather
Law Firm: Barron, Newburger, Sinsley & Wier, Houston and Austin
Education: University of Texas School of Law, 1986
Expertise: Bankruptcy law

Find a list of Foreclosure and Business Attorneys

Attorney: Jonathan Stein
Law Firm: Jonathan G. Stein, Elk Grove, Calif.
Education: McGeorge School of Law, 2002
Expertise: Consumer debt

Attorney: Mervin Waage
Law Firm: Waage & Waage, Denton, Tex.
Education: Southern Methodist University
Expertise: Bankruptcy, debt

Donald Trump and Pete Sampras Show The Market for Celebrity Homes is Hot

If you did not hear the news about the record amount Donald Trump made on a home bought on the cheap side when he recently sold it to a Russian billionaire for $25 million? Now read this about Pete Sampras, the famed and retired Tennis player.

Tennis star Pete Sampras has sold his Beverly Hills home after dropping the price from $25 million to $23 million, which is what the MLS says the place fetched.

Sampras recently expanded and remodeled the English manor, adding lots of detailed finishes throughout. The estate, walled and gated, sits on more than an acre of landscaped grounds that include -- surprise! surprise! -- a north-south tennis court. Did the Great One ever play on it?


The 10,376-square-foot, two-story house has five bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. There is a detached guesthouse and a separate gym. The main house includes a home theater and an office-library; the master bedroom suite has his-and-hers bathrooms.

Sylvester Stallone Bought Thousands Oaks Lakefront Property for $7.2 Million

Stallone is adding to his group of homes. He is not new to the area. He already had a property in Hidden Valley. Celebrity homes cost a lot. Just like Donald Trump, they stand to make a lot of money when selling them.

Sylvester bought a property with 500 feet of lake frontage that was listed at about $5.5 million and the adjacent lot, giving him another 150 square feet of frontage, that was listed at about $1.7 million

Celebrity Property: Who Would Like to Live in a Paparazzi's Home?

Boris Nizon, president and founder of Fame Pictures, a Santa Monica-based photo agency that chases celebrities around and then sells their pictures to fan magazines and websites, has listed his Beverly Hills home for sale at $3,495,000.

It seems that it pays well to be a paparazzi. Look at the description of his home.

The house, built in 2006, has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in 4,300 square feet. There is a grand foyer with a floating staircase and crystal chandelier. The gourmet kitchen has Viking appliances and granite countertops and a breakfast area that leads out to a patio and a tropical pool with rock formation waterfall and spa. There is a balcony off the master suite

Legendary DJ, music producer, re-mixer and record mogul Paul Oakenfold Ready to Sell Hollywood Hills Home for $10 Million

The market for exclusive and pricey homes is not down yet. Go to the Hills and find out for yourself. Celebrity homes are hot properties. Everybody wants to buy them. That is if you are among the few multimillionaires who can afford them.

Paul is ready to sell his four-bedroom home which includes a private spa and bleachers that have views of the Hollywood Bowl stage. French provincial in style, the three-story, 4,500-square-foot house was built in 1949 but was updated a few years ago. It also has a recording studio. The home has offices, a kitchen with a loft; six bathrooms, a master-bedroom suite with a fireplace; a grassy lawn, a pool, a spa and those bleachers, from which to view the Bowl. The home has sightlines from almost directly above the Hollywood Bowl to the L.A. Basin. If you are up there, you can watch anything that is on stage.

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Spider man 3 Star, Tobey Maguire, Bought Brentwood Home for $9.7 Million

Tobey Maguire can laugh all the way to the bank. He has laughing any way. He is now a happy man after buying a new home in Brentwood, CA for $9.7 million for his family. He is not new to making real estate deals. According to West Side Real Estate agents, the actor previously bought a home site for $10 million. In 2002, he also bought a Hollywood Hills home for $3.7 million that he sold in 2007 for $11 million. He is deep into the real estate market. He is investing his money in great homes of value. His star power is also selling these homes like hot potatoes.

Maguire married the daughter of Ron Meyer, Jennifer. Ron Meyer is the president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios.

Tobey Maguire appeared in the following movies just in case you want to watch him: "The Cider House Rules" (1999), "Seabiscuit" (2003), "The Good German" (2006) and the "Spider-Man" series.

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10,000-square-foot French Regency-style Compound on a 1.5-acre Ocean Bluff in Malibu SOLD!

Who said that the housing market was down? Well, the residential market is not that bad for the rich, the super rich. It is a good time for them to buy. After all, some of these mansions and compounds appear to be appreciating. They do not lose their value. A case in point is this 10,000-square-foot French Regency-style Compound on a 1.5-acre. James and Eleanor Randall bought it for $14 million.

The house, built in 2002, has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, two guesthouses, coastline views, a glass mosaic pool, a tennis court, a 1,500-square-foot master bedroom, heated mosaic floors and a private staircase to the beach.

The power couple bought the home as their Summer home. Mr. Randall is in the aerospace rivet industry. According to the Randall Foundation (www.randallfoundation.com), here is what we know about the couple:
"In 1971 Mr. James H Randall purchased Allfast Fastening Systems, Inc. from American Electric, Inc. In 1974 James H Randall/Allfast purchased the solid rivet manufacturing division from Olympic Fastening Systems. Also in 1974, Allfast began making blind rivets. In 1987 James Randall acquired the blind rivet division of Voi-Shan Fastening Systems. In 1989, Mr. Randall acquired the blind rivet and tooling divisions from Olympic Fastening Systems. In 1999, James H Randall purchased Briles Rivet. In 2002, he acquired Aerospace Rivet Manufacturers. In 2007, an additional 60,000 square feet were added to the facility to expand shipping and receiving, packaging and warehousing for VMI and min/max inventories. By adding footage to the facility it’s made more room for capital equipment and new products which are planned for introduction in 2008. With 19 patents and 21 trademarks, James H Randall and Allfast Fastening Systems are the leading provider of solid and blind rivets and tooling for the aerospace industry."

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Pregnant Nicole Kidman and Husband Keith Urban Bought $7 Million Home in Brentwood, CA

Nicole Kidman and star husband, country music singer Keith Urban bought Brentwood Home.

Pregnancy has a way of making people go back to the comfortable, the known world or the more secure one, at least. That is what is happening to Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise's ex. Now she has always known that Brentwood is the place to be. After splitting from Tom Cruise, Nicole moved out of Brentwood. She traveled a bit to Australia and other places, dated a few guys including the legendary rocker, musician, Lenny Kravitz. Then, she met current the famous musician, singer who would become her husband, Keith Urban. Together, the two decided to move back to Brentwood. Nicole knows Brentwood very well. She knows it is a safe place for her new baby.


Nicole Kidman lived in the hills for years before splitting with Tom Cruise in 2001. The power couple is ready to settle into their $7-million, contemporary-style home. The 5,600-square-foot Brentwood house, built in 1964, has five bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms, walls of glass, city views, rolling lawns, koi ponds and the privacy of living at the end of a cul-de-sac. Kidman sold the last home she had in the neighborhood about four years ago for $10.5 million, area realty agents said.

Nicole will soon star in a new movie where she will play the role of Valerie Plame. She is not new to motherhood. Kidman, 40, has two other children, whom she adopted with Cruise. She owns a house in Sydney, Australia, where she was raised. Urban, 40 was born in New Zealand. How in the world did he grow up with country music? Well, he is a top country singer now.

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CreditCrunch Back-to-Basics Lending: Lenders Say No Mas to Mortgages with Zero-down Payment

CreditCrunch Back-to-Basics Lending: Lenders Say No Mas to Mortgages with Zero-down Payment

First-time buyers are in it for a rude awakening. They will be required to put down up to 3 % down on their mortgage deal. The percentage may be different if it has to do with a jumbo loan of more than $417,000. It is the time to go back to the basics of lending championed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the mid-1980s. Lenders are taking measures to eliminate zero down-payments these days. It is a clear sign of the credit crunch this country is going through. Lenders are not willing to take risks any longer. Most buyers or consumers will have to have a credit score of 700 to even consider negotiating. Remember that the score of 850 is considered optimal. If borrowers are in the 300 credit score, they do not even need to show up these days. Lenders will examine the borrowers' credit history which usually has some inaccuracies. Borrowers should be ready to fix, dispute and correcting any errors found in the reports issued by the credit bureaus. Only after doing all of that, will borrowers have a chance to see their scores boosted and secure better loans. For some time to come, jumbo loans or mortgages of more than $417,000 will be out of the question for many borrowers.

As long as the credit squeeze continues, lenders will continue to minimize their loss. Due to foreclosures and the depreciation in home values, many homeowners who used to pay their bills are finding themselves in a tight impasse. They figure it is easier to just walk out of their loans.

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What You Can Do to Avoid Foreclosures: Foreclosures Prevention Tools and Other Ways to Get out of Financial Funk

Questions on Foreclosures Answered Here:

What You Can Do to Avoid Foreclosures: Foreclosures Prevention Tools and Other Ways to Get out of Financial Funk

President Bush recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration will begin a program to allow homeowners who have good credit but can not afford their mortgages to refinance to FHA-insured mortgages. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to avoid foreclosure on your property. Any homeowners should start taking matters in their own hands. Way before foreclosure is lurking around, they need to start consulting with their lawyers or credit counselors. The easiest thing they can do is to contact their mortgage lender. Who else knows better than the mortgage borrowers themselves? They need to call the loan servicer before they start falling behind. It will be pretty hard to catch up once payments are late.

Here are a few ways to avoid foreclosure: Refinancing may be considered if you have enough equity in the home. Even if you do not have equity, try it any way. The process may be more difficult though. You can persuade the lender to modify the terms of the loan. You can sell the house of file for bankruptcy protection as in filing Chapter 13. There is no easy way out. No easy option for sure. Homeowners who are facing foreclosure should never ignore letter from lenders. They must try to update their phone records in case the lenders want to contact them. Borrowers or homeowners should remember that the banks or lenders or investors do not want to own your own. They do not want to declare foreclosure on your property because of all the costs and time involved. All you have to do is to make a good gesture. They need to know that you are not going to run away and that they can keep your words.

Homeowners can look for some resources such as the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which has aligned itself iwth Citigroup and Bank of Ameirca to pledge $1 billion for people at risk of losing their homes. They can contact the department of housing and Urban development, Freddie Mac's guide to avoiding foreclosures, NeighborWorks America's Center for Foreclosure Solutions and the Federal Trade Commission's fact sheet "Mortgage Payments Sending You Reeling? Here's what to do."

Lenders can also make arrangements for a forbearance or repayment plan. A forbearance is a suspension or reduction of monthly payments until the borrower regains financial footing. With a repayment plan, the missed payments are spread out over time. The borrower has to pay them in addition to the regular mortgage. Borrowers can also look at "short sale" which is an arrangement in which the lender allows the sale of the property for less than is owed. This process may take some time too. Not too many lenders are willing to do this. Patience will pay off in the end. Cash-strapped borrowers may think about a "deed in lieu of foreclosure." That means that the lender is given ownership rights without the shame of a foreclosure.

The Salvaterras Bought New Home in Hancock Park

Fast Food Nation Producer and Nickelodeon Executive, Chris Salvaterra, Sold Home in L.A.'s Venice section

Chris Salvaterra and his wife, writer, Marjorie, sold their refurbished, contemporary Venice-based home to director Robert Schwentke and his wife Jen Howard. They sold the home for which has five bedrooms, three bathrooms and sits on 2,600 square feet for $1.6 million.

The Salvaterras bought a new dig in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles.

Style Maven Cojo Got New Dig in the Hills

Cojo or Steven Cojocaru, style maven and fashion critic by excellence, has been ready for a change of cribs. He wants to go the Hollywood Hills to rub shoulders with his peers. He is buying a contemporary house with city views and a pool for about $4 million.

The home has five bedrooms and four bathrooms in what amounts to 4,000 square feet. The Midcentury Modern has been remodeled. Cojo used to appear on NBC's "Today" show for about four years. He was serving as People Magazine's West Coast style editor. He then became a correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight" in 2003 and the "ET" spinoof series "The Insider" in 2004. What is Cojo doing these days? Well, you may find him picking the latest decorations for his new crib.

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