I was denied by court for an extension of time to respond to a foreclosure summons in Orlando. what do I do now?

Hopefully you have not been defaulted. You need to get an attorney IMMEDIATELY, who can immediately file a legally sufficient response. Requests for modification do not have anything to do with the foreclosure process and will not affect the progress of the foreclosure unless the mortgage company decides to voluntarily hold up. Do not believe what the people there on the phone tell you, they are not attorneys and have no idea how actions of foreclosure work.

You must either: 1) file an Answer to the foreclosure complaint IMMEDIATELY, OR 2) file a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint IF you have grounds to dismiss it. If you do not do anything and the time runs out, the bank will do on you what is called a "default" and they will win the case. Alejandro R. Lopez, Esq. Law Office of Alejandro R. Lopez, P.A. 4465 Edgewater Dr., Suite A Orlando, Fla. 32804 (407) 649-1404 E-mail: [email protected]

You suffer from a delusion of many homeowners called common sense. Common sense might suggest that the bank and the bank's lawyer communicate with each other and that if you requested additional information from the bank or submitted a loan modification package to the bank they would communicate with their lawyers and tell them not to default you. Common sense is NOT something found at banks and foreclosure mills so your assumption that the left hand (the bank) knows what the right hand (the bank's lawyer) is doing is simply WRONG. The bank’s lawyer’s job is to move the ball toward the goal line and the goal line is the foreclosure sale of your house. Unless you file a response to the complaint with the Court and serve a copy on the bank’s lawyer the bank’s lawyer, like a zombie or robot, will sooner or later move to default you. You need to either (1) file an answer or (2) file a motion to dismiss and without reading the complaint neither I nor any other lawyer can tell you which of these two options is best for your case. You could try to file a do-it-yourself answer but I would not suggest it. The answer is the time for your affirmative defenses to be asserted. Important affirmative defense like standing must be plead in the answer or the defenses are waived. Hiring competent, experienced foreclosure defense counsel now will not only stop the bank from getting a default but will increase your chance of obtaining loan modification. All that is at stake is the roof over year head. Perhaps the judge was trying to give you a clue when your motion for extension of time was denied that the time for you to seek professional help is NOW. Good luck to you. Our blog (link below) has additional information about moving to dismiss foreclosure cases including orders from cases where we won cases with such motions. This may help you understand what a motion to dismiss is.