Wrongful Foreclosure in Montana

You know how the process works. All it takes is falling just a little behind in making your mortgage payments before you start receiving notices from your lender letting you know that they’re planning to initiate foreclosure proceedings.

What happens if you’re not really behind in paying off your loan, and yet your lender is making it seem like you are and moving forward with publicly advertising that your home is being foreclosed on and sold at a public auction to the bidder offering the highest offer?

That’s when you should consider reaching out to a lawyer who regularly handles cases involving wrongful foreclosure in Montana for a free consultation.

Why Are Homes Unlawfully Foreclosed Upon?

Foreclosures that happen when they shouldn’t are both unfair and illegal. So, why do they happen?

One of the most common reasons is because of human error or tech glitches. In other words, an employee recording a payment may enter it in incorrectly. For example, by recording a $1,200.00 payment as a $12.00 one.

Alternatively, the internet connection may temporarily go out, or the software may have a hiccup, leading to a payment not being recorded, which can also have the same result.

There are so many more reasons wrongful foreclosures happen, though, including:

• Not clearly recording your forbearance agreement
• Payments may get applied to the wrong account (like someone with a similar name or account number)
• Not abiding by your loan modification agreement
• If you have an adjustable interest rate or your property taxes vary, this may lead to your lender miscalculating amounts due, which can lead to payment discrepancies
• Not promptly eliminating your private mortgage insurance (which might lead lenders to believe you owe a higher monthly amount than you actually do)
• Failing to send notices required by Montana or federal law, including a preforeclosure one
• A lender refused to discuss a loan modification with a borrower
• The mortgagor failed to uphold their promise to cancel the foreclosure after mortgage payments were brought current
• The lender didn’t stay the foreclosure when their borrower filed for bankruptcy, or the presiding trustee approved a repayment plan

Whether one of the reasons listed above applies to your situation or a different one does, if you suspect that the circumstances under which your home was put up for foreclosure were wrongful, reach out to our law firm to discuss whether what happened to you is indeed illegal and, if so, options Montana laws afford you.

Potential Defenses in Wrongful Foreclosure Cases

There’s certainly no one-size-fits-all solution to defending yourself when you’re faced with banking misconduct, such as the examples provided above.

This is why you’ll want to schedule a case review to have a foreclosure defense lawyer to have them analyze evidence you’ve compiled specific to your legal matter. However, we can tell you that in our years of dealing with situations involving wrongful foreclosure in Montana, some of the defenses we’ve found to be most effective in countering this impropriety include:

• Showing that the lender violated the terms of the promissory note or loan agreement
• Demanding that the lender show proof that they’re in possession of the promissory note (because if they’re not, then they may not be lawfully entitled to seek a foreclosure)

There are definitely more defenses that may be applicable depending on the circumstances under which the foreclosure occurred, which you or an attorney who handles consumer law violations like this may want to cite instead of the ones listed above.

What Are the Adverse Impacts of Wrongful Foreclosures?

So, you’ve already lost your home or stopped the foreclosure process that should have never happened in the first place at the final stages before it happened. Why pursue legal action now? There are many personal reasons you should do so, including it may allow you to recover compensation for:

• Property value losses
• Emotional distress
• Peripheral expenses, such as having to go house hunting, store your items, find a new school for the kids, etc.

Also, since a foreclosure can significantly impact your credit score, it may be helpful to know that you may be eligible to secure compensation for how it has adversely impacted you may also be possible.

Petitioning the court for punitive damages may also be an option if you can produce evidence showing that your mortgage lender’s actions were particularly harmful or fraudulent. Federal government caps, which equate to nine times proven damages, apply to these types of damages in cases like these.

Filing a Montana Wrongful Foreclosure Lawsuit

When it comes to legal matters like these, the burden falls on you as the homeowner to prove your case. There are several critical elements you must establish to hold a bank or lender liable for their alleged wrongdoing, including showing that:

• They owed you a legal duty (such as to honor the terms of the agreement they entered into with you)
• The mortgage company breached its duty to you
• You suffered harm because of the lender’s irresponsible or fraudulent actions

Evidence Helpful in Proving a Wrongful Foreclosure Case

The records you’ve kept will be particularly critical to proving that your home loss was not only unfair but also unlawful. Thus, when considering filing a case or planning to meet with a lawyer, these are a few documents you’ll want to have on hand:

• Any correspondence (emails or letters) you’ve exchanged with your lender
• Banking statements or receipts that show payments were made
• Call logs showing when you reached out to your lender, who you spoke with, and what you discussed

The potential evidence listed above only represents examples of what may help prove a case like this.

You can expect your legal counsel to advise you of specific information that may help substantiate your claim.

How an Attorney Can Help You Forward a Strong Case

Above, we’ve covered some of the ins and outs of wrongful foreclosures in Montana and in general; however, piecing all the disparate parts together and knowing which steps to take next in recovering compensation can seem elusive. That’s where consulting with experienced legal counsel like ours at Western Justice Associates, PLLC can help.

Starting as early as with an initial consultation with an attorney, we’ll make sure that you clearly understand the rights you’re entitled to per Montana and federal law. We share this information with you free of charge.

Then, should you choose to work with our office, we’ll aid you in compiling evidence of wrongdoing and back those allegations up with the appropriate laws those actions violated, all with the goal of ensuring you put forth the strongest case possible that demands compensation for your losses and the stress you’ve endured.

So, reach out to our firm to speak with a lawyer about your case. We don’t collect attorney’s fees unless we win cases in favor of our clients.