... IN 2017.
Sign Asking For Help Turning Covid ICU Patient (Marcus Yarn/Los Angeles Times)
Case law from Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal shows a simple way to protect renters, homeowners and landlords from evictions and foreclosures, respectively, because of Covid.
Here it is. First the way, then the case law. Congress should enable federal agencies to issue regulations conditioning evictions and foreclosures on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Even more precisely, authorized federal agencies should issue regulations governing mortgage servicing for the duration of the Pandemic, including many possible provisions from outright bans on foreclosure to specified conditions precedent designed to protect renters and owners including if the owners are landlords who have mortgages on the properties they rent.
This assumes that Congress has not already authorized federal administrative agencies to issue regulations regulating, restricting, defining and otherwise conditioning mortgage servicing activities specifically because of Covid. Congress may have already done so. Let the authorized regulations begin.
In 2017 in the case of DeLong v. Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC, 222 So. 3d 662 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017), Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal showed the way to protect renters and owners from Covid evictions and foreclosures today.
Robert DeLong executed a promissory note and mortgage which recited that Mr. DeLong's loan was "guaranteed and insured" by Veterans Affairs.
The documents "specifically incorporate into their terms certain federal regulations issued" under federal law. In particular, they apparently incorporated regulations governing "Service procedures for holders." DeLong, 222 So. 3d at 662-63.
By the time that Lakeview foreclosed on Mr. DeLong, it was the holder of his note and mortgage and so it was bound by the regulations incorporated by reference in the note and mortgage.
Lakeview lost the appeal because it did not comply with the Federal servicing regulations when it tried to foreclose on Robert DeLong. Robert DeLong was protected from foreclosure in that case.
In a similar way, evictions and foreclosures can be regulated, restricted and even prevented for a period of time or for the duration of the Coronavirus Pandemic, if regulations are simply authorized, issued, and incorporated by reference in the notes and mortgages documenting loans for buying land in America during the Pandemic.
There is the way, and there is the case law. To say again, let the authorized regulations begin.
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