Litigation Department: Phase I litigation Phase II Litigation:

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1 The Law Office of: Harvey Rubinchik, PA. Pine Island Professional Center Suite N. Pine Island Road Plantation, Florida Telephone (954) , Facsimile (954) Thank you for selecting the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, PA. to assist you with the issues surrounding your property. The purpose of this letter is to explain our operations and to guide you in how to best communicate with our staff members so that you get the most satisfying and informative relationship we can provide. Our operation is divided into several phases. In each phase your case will have a team dedicated to handling all aspects of your case. It is not unusual for several members of each team to handle parts of your case. Therefore as your case progresses it is very important for you to know which person or team to contact as we work on your file. This will help you to navigate a very complex and sometimes confusing mixture of legal and non legal remedies and options available to you. Initial Contact with the Firm: To begin each of our clients is greeted by a foreclosure counselor who has been specially trained to introduce you to what our firm can do for individuals in your circumstances. Their function is to introduce you to the firm and our services to determine if your need matches services we provide. They will introduce you to the company and answer any initial questions you have. In addition, they will gather some preliminary information from you, which include obtaining copies of the legal paperwork you have, provide you with the agreement for our services, determine who will ultimately be represented by our firm, make billing or payment arrangements and act as your point of contact until you hire us. Your foreclosure counselor will make sure that your file is opened by the appropriate department(s) within our firm. Thereafter your communication with the foreclosure counselor will end and begin with the appropriate departments noted below. Mitigation Department: Our mitigation department includes several teams. The function of the mitigation department is to act on your behalf for all direct communications with your lender. The staff in this department are responsible for gathering all relevant financial information from you, assisting in completing any forms required by the lender, submitting the information and requests to the bank for loan modifications, short sales or other agreements directly from the lender. If you hire us for services that include mitigation a member of your mitigation team will contact you within 72 hours. Some of the staff on your team are responsible only for gathering documents from you. Other members of your team handle direct negotiations with the lender once the financial picture for you and your family has been assembled. Other staff members handle the document preparation to list homes for sale and to conduct short sales if that is an option that becomes available to you. Each communication with you is logged into the most 1

2 advanced client tracking software available on the market today allowing every person working on your case to share all information as it becomes available. Litigation Department: Our litigation department includes 2 attorneys and 3 paralegals. Each attorney and paralegal has been trained in all aspects of foreclosure defense cases and civil procedure in general. Their purpose is to legally challenge every aspect of the lender s complaint and make them prove their respective cases in Court. This forces the lawyers hired by the lenders to comply with all applicable rules. By forcing the lender to proceed with their case properly, a significant amount of time can be gained for you to negotiate a loan modification or a short sale. The litigation department also has several teams that handle different aspects of the legal side of your case. For those of you not familiar with the legal system please be advised there are three important time periods in any civil lawsuit. These are the pleadings stage (phase I), the gathering and exchanging of evidence stage and the presentation of that evidence to the court, (phase II) and the seeking relief after a judgment has been entered against you (phase III). We have divided our legal staff into those three phases and placed the most appropriate attorney in each phase to ensure the best possible legal representation. Phase I litigation: This is the pleadings stage. In simple terms, assuming you have hired us before an answer is due on your case, we can and do challenge the paperwork filed by the lenders to start your foreclosure case. Often times the lender s attorneys have not included an important document or their paper work is inconsistent with the documents they have presented to the Court. Other times a mistake has been made in the way the complaint was presented to you. We can review the documents and make these determinations based on the face of the documents. Therefore you will not normally be contacted by the litigation staff if we have one of these issues to pursue. If we are successful the Court will dismiss the case and lender has to start all over. If we are not successful the Court will fix a number of days for us to file an answer at which point your case would be transferred to phase II litigation. Once a hearing date has been set in this phase you will not be contacted by the litigation staff until after the hearing has been concluded. In many cases this can take as long as 3-4 months. Phase II Litigation: In this stage of the litigation all pleading problems have been resolved and you are expected to answer the lenders lawsuit. It is important that we have communication with you before we answer the lawsuit as this is the only way for us to determine if you have defenses to the lawsuit brought by the lender. There are many types of defenses and sometimes there is an opportunity to sue the lender yourself. Also in this stage we request discovery from the lender s attorneys, this prevents the case from moving forward until they comply with our requests for documents. Often times this stage of your case will also take several months. 2

3 Phase III Litigation: In this stage of litigation the Court has entered a judgment against you. Please be advised that we do not handle appeals and if we have been representing you all the way up to and including the hearing or trial that results in a judgment our services will then be concluded. If, on the other hand, you have hired us AFTER a judgment has been entered against you then it is this team of the litigation department that will attempt to reset your rights with respect to the case. If we are successful in setting aside the judgment your case will move automatically to one of the previous phases. Essentially the case or some aspects of it will be started all over again. Sometimes when we seek relief from judgments the Court denies our request but at the same time orders an extended sale date or mediation before the sale date or sometimes both. In those instances we will consider that a successful resolution pursuant to our contract for attorneys services. Mediation or Conciliation Conferences: These can occur at any time during your case. It does not matter what stage or phase your case is in. At these meetings you will be represented by us and your attendance will be required. In addition the lender and the lender s attorneys will also be present. This is an opportunity for you to negotiate and settle your case directly with the lender. Often times, we can agree to a resolution at these conferences and end your case then. Sometimes a deal cannot be reached at that time however negotiations can always continue until the entire case is concluded. Common Problems Faced by Our Clients: Many times the lawyers representing the lenders in foreclosure cases are either sloppy or so overwhelmed by the volume of their work that they do not conduct themselves properly. For example after we have entered a case on your behalf they sometimes do not update their records to reflect that you have an attorney. In those instances they continue to send you documents that they should be sending us. Please always alert us any time you receive any mail regarding your case. Many times it may seem that we are asking for the same financial information from you, for example, pay stubs, checking account statements. Please realize that the Lenders routinely ask for updated statements as they are prohibited from using documentation older than 60 days. This can be frustrating at times but is a necessary evil in dealing with the lenders. In addition please make sure that you're contacting the right department for your case. If you have questions regarding issues related to your loan modification you must contact the mitigation department. If you have questions regarding the legal aspects of your case then the litigation department is the appropriate contact. A paralegal working on the litigation side of your file will not be familiar with the financial documents you have sent to the mitigation team just as the person collecting your statements from you will not be able to comment on the legal issues of your case. Please do not be concerned that there are different people speaking to you in each department. We have the tasks that need to be accomplished for your case assigned to the most appropriate person in our firm as those tasks change the people sometimes change with it but you will always have the same team handling your issues. 3

4 I HAVE EITHER READ THIS DOCUMENT MYSELF OR A Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. COUNSELOR HAS EXPLAINED IT TO ME AND ANSWERED ANY QUESTIONS I MAY HAVE HAD REGARDING THESE ISSUES. CLIENT Harvey Rubinchik, PA. Councilor 4

5 The Law Office of: Harvey Rubinchik, PA. Pine Island Professional Center Suite N. Pine Island Road Plantation, Florida Telephone (954) , Facsimile (954) CONTRACT FOR ATTORNEY S SERVICE Thank you for selecting the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. to represent you in your case. We appreciate the opportunity to be of service to you and hope to provide you with the highest quality and most professional legal services. This contract will govern our service relationship with regards to your case. There are a lot of very important considerations in this contract and you should read it carefully to ensure that you understand all of the following provisions. A. Fees The Firm will represent you in: 1) Legal defense in a foreclosure action and 2) A claim for loss mitigation for a flat, non-refundable fee of $. The fee includes all work that is required to handle your claim. Note our fee will be the greater of above referenced amount or reasonable attorneys fees awarded in your favor; whichever is greater. Our representation will be concluded once one of the following has occurred: 1.) Your lender (s) and you have agreed on a modification of your loan (s), a repayment plan or any other combination of settlements that result in you keeping your mortgage with the current lender and return to a current status. 2.) Your lender (s) and you have agreed to a deed in lieu of foreclosure. 3.) Your home is sold either by way of sale, short sale or foreclosure. 4.) Your Foreclosure Case has resulted in a final order from the trial Court disposing of the property via court ordered sale. *Please note the fees described above do not include any appeals of your case to a higher Court or any costs associated with the representation. B. Conflict of Interest In the event that this Firm perceives any conflict of interest whatsoever, or if you fail to pay fees and or costs when due, we shall have the right to immediately withdraw from representing you. In the event this Law Firm moves to withdraw for non-payment of any fee or cost you agree to consent to this request and not oppose in any way the relief requested by this Firm. In the event of any litigation arising out of this agreement, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney s fees and costs, both at trial and on appeal. The venue for any such action will be exclusively in Broward County, Florida. (Client and Counselor initial here if this paragraph is applicable) As you are aware your case has already been decided against you in that either your home has been sold or a default and/or a summary judgment has been entered against you. Our Firm will attempt to set aside the default/summary judgment or the foreclosure sale for a flat fee of. In the event we do not succeed the representation will end immediately. If we are successful and are allowed to continue to work on your case, you will be responsible for the difference between our standard fee of minus your original fee of 5

6 $ which equals, all subject to the other terms contained in this contract. Please be advised that we will consider that our efforts have succeeded, and accordingly the remainder of the fee is due and owing, under the following circumstances; The default and or summary judgment is set aside, mediation has been ordered to occur in your case prior to the sale, or the sale date has been extended by at least 45 days. Time Restriction: If your foreclosure action has not been resolved as described above in a period of 12 months from the date of execution of this agreement then, in that event, the representation will automatically terminate. If you wish to continue to employ this firm after this 12 month period we will negotiate with you at that time regarding a fee for continued representation. Most cases are resolved within the 12 month period, but there are instances where cases have gone on past that point. Entire Agreement We have made no representations to you, and you have not relied on any representations, which are not contained in this agreement. This agreement is the entire agreement between us and shall not both parties sign modified or amended except in writing. The undersigned hereby accepts the terms set forth in this agreement and hereby engages the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. as set forth above. We the undersigned specifically request that the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. represent the following persons ONLY in our case. Client Client Client Client 6

7 The Law Office of: Harvey Rubinchik, PA. Pine Island Professional Center Suite N. Pine Island Road Plantation, Florida Telephone (954) , Facsimile (954) Borrower Signature Authorization and Notice of Representation Part I General Information 1. Borrower(s) Name: 2. Subject Property Address: 3. Borrower(s) SS#: 4. Loan Number(s): Part II Borrower Authorization I hereby authorize the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. to act as my legal counsel for purposes of loss mitigation. The Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa is authorized to negotiate with my lender (s), obtain all information requested including but not limited to payoff requests, payment history, CMA s and any all information that may be relevant to the loss mitigation process. Further the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. and any employee, attorney or agent of that Firm is hereby authorized to negotiate on my behalf with the lender regarding any proposed short sale, refinance, loan modification, deed in lieu or other disposition of the property or any matter as it relates to foreclosure, if any, regarding this property. This authorization is binding and continuing and shall be in effect until such time as I revoke it writing. As such I expect that you my lender cooperate fully with my attorney, the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. as though you were dealing with me with respect to any requests for information regarding my account or loan with you. Part III Notice of Representation I hereby request that my attorney, the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. be contacted from here forward regarding my loan. Please forward any/ all letters, mail, notices, s and faxes to them directly. I further request that any phone calls be made directly to my lawyer as well. Signature Signature 7

8 The Law Office of: Harvey Rubinchik, PA. Pine Island Professional Center Suite N. Pine Island Road Plantation, Florida Telephone (954) , Facsimile (954) Borrower (s) Information Borrower: Co-Borrower Phone: Phone: Subject Property Address: Is this your Primary Home: Second Home: Invest: Purchase : Purchase Price: $ Approximate current value of home: $ Lender/ Loan Information Lender Name: Loan Number: Original Loan Amount: $ Loan Balance: $ Mortgage Payment:$ Interest Rate: % Fixed or Adjustable Does mortgage payment include property taxes and property insurance? If no, what are your monthly property taxes? Insurance? Is loan current? If not, when was your last payment? Do you have a second mortgage or equity line? If so, name of Lender: Loan Number: Current Balance: $ Is there someone listed as an owner on title that is not on the mortgage? If so, name of person and relationship: Is the first mortgage in question the original purchase mortgage or a refi? If it s a refinance did you deal directly with the lender or a mortgage broker? If mortgage broker please list the company and broker name below: Did your loan officer or mortgage broker make you aware of all aspects of the loan which would include an adjustable v. fixed rate, term of the loan, any interest only periods that do not last the duration of the loan or any teaser rates (a rate that starts out very low, but increases to a much higher rate over a short span of time). Please explain Did you have to fully document your loan by providing bank statements, tax returns, etc. or did you qualify by simply stating your income without having to provide any documentation? If you stated your income without verifying it, what did you list your income as and was it an accurate reflection of your real income? Did your loan officer or mortgage broker give you any input as to what amount and how you should state your income? Is there any information your loan officer or mortgage broker failed to provide you that you later found out about regarding your loan? 8

9 Is there any information your loan officer or mortgage broker told you that turned out not to be true? If so please explain below. 9

10 Expense Information Include total of expenses for ALL borrowers listed on mortgage. Leave blank any items that do not pertain to your expenses. Be as accurate as possible. Category Description Monthly Payment Balance Due 1 st Mortgage $ $ 2nd Mortgage if any (subject property) $ $ Other Home loans $ $ Real Estate Property Taxes $ $ Monthly Loan Payments Home Owner s Insurance $ $ HOA Dues $ $ Automobile 1 $ $ Automobile 2 $ $ Visa $ $ Master Card $ $ Credit Cards/ Revolving Debt Electricity/ Gas/ Heating $ $ Water/ Sewer/ Garbage $ $ Utilities Telephone $ $ Cellular Phone $ $ Cable / Satellite $ $ Insurance (Health/Life) $ $ Insurance Medical Bills (not covered by ins.) $ $ Automobile Insurance $ $ Parking $ $ Automobile/ Tolls $ $ Transportation Groceries $ $ New Clothes/Dry Cleaning $ $ Household Internet $ $ Home Security/Alarm System $ $ Medicine/RX $ $ Day Care/Baby-Sitting $ $ Education/Tuition/Books Expenses $ $ Miscellaneous Liens/Judgments (IRS or other) $ $ Expenses Alimony/Child Support $ $ TOTALS $ $ 10

11 Income and Assets Information Include total income for ALL borrowers listed on mortgage. Leave blank any items that do not pertain to you. Be as accurate as possible. Income Borrower Co-Borrower Total Gross Monthly Income $ $ $ Overtime $ $ $ Commission $ $ $ Bonuses $ $ $ Any Rental Property Income $ $ $ Social Security $ $ $ Pension/ Retirement $ $ $ Unemployment $ $ $ $ $ TOTALS $ $ $ Assets Value Amount Owed Net Value Checking Account $ $ $ Savings Account $ $ $ Cash on Hand $ $ $ Stocks/ Bonds/ Mutual Funds $ $ $ IRA/ 401K/ Retirement Fund $ $ $ Cash Value of Life Insurance Policy $ $ $ Other Real Estate Owned $ $ $ Automobiles $ $ $ Other Assets $ $ $ Other Asstes $ $ $ TOTALS $ $ $ 11

12 The Law Office of: Harvey Rubinchik, PA. Pine Island Professional Center Suite N. Pine Island Road Plantation, Florida Telephone (954) , Facsimile (954) Credit Card Authorization I,, hereby authorize the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. to charge an amount of $.00 to the credit card listed below for purposes of representing me with the loss mitigation. I understand that the charged amount is non-refundable. Credit Card # Type of Card: Expiration Name on Credit Card Billing Address Security # from Back of Card Signature * I understand that if I choose the payment plan option that the above referenced card will be charged 30 calendar days from the day of the first charge to cover the next portion of my payment and each subsequent 30 calendar days until firm fee paid in full. 12

13 Check Authorization I,, hereby authorize the Law Office of Harvey Rubinchik, Pa. to charge an amount of $.00 to the checking account listed below for purposes of representing me with the loss mitigation. Amount of Payment: $ Name On Check: Address on Check: Suite / Appt on Check: City on Check: State on Check: Zip on Check: Bank name on Check: Routing Number on Check: Account Number on Check: Payment MEMO (check memo): Client (optional): Phone Number For Your Client: Ext. Signature 13