Chip Waller – What Legal Training Do You Have?
Video Summary
What legal training do I have? To start out, I did graduate from Dunedin High School. (We won’t tell you how long ago that was.) I then went on to St. Petersburg Junior College for one year; It’s now St. Pete College. Then I went on to Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, and graduated with a B.S. in Accounting. From there, I went to Mercer University to the Walter F. George School of Law and graduated with my JD degree (that stands for Juris Doctorate). So don’t call me “Doctor”, just call me “Lawyer”. And from there, I started practicing law in New Port Richey, Florida on Main Street with James J. Altman; He was a great mentor. I stayed with Jim Altman for about six years before I opened up my own law firm across the street. I can’t say enough good things about him.
From there, I stayed across the street for a while and then I took on a partner by the name of Stanley R. Mills who is now Circuit Court Judge. He got on the bench in 1989. I then moved to my present location at 5332 Main Street in New Port Richey. And that covers about 40 years of practicing law, so I guess a lot of my experience is just being here. As Woody Allen would say, 80 percent of success is just showing up every day! So I have been showing up every day for 40 years. I also am a Board Certified Real Estate Attorney (and have been for I don’t know how many years). So, that is the extent of my legal education and it takes a lot of experience, having gone through the process, to come up with a good answer. So if you need some good answers, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
Chip Waller – What Are Some Highlights of Your Career?
Video Summary
I think the first highlight of my career would be serving as the Chairman of the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. It had some 8-9,000 members when I was the Chairman. I served in that capacity for a year however, I have been involved with the Real Property Section for about 38 or 39 years and continue to work with the Section. I have also received the Annual Service Award and the Robert Scott Award for outstanding service to the Section. It has been a labor of love and probably the highlight was being the Chairman.
Another highlight was being admitted to the United States Supreme Court and going to United States Supreme Court and watching oral argument. In order to be admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, you need to be nominated and then you can be sworn in. You have to, of course, be a member of good standing with the Florida Bar. It was quite impressive to go through the ceremony and sit on the front row to watch the oral argument with the Justices 10 or 15 feet in front of you.. That was quite an experience and thrill!
I have recently been elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and that is quite an honor. As a fellow, you are selected by your peers and there are less than fifty lawyers from Florida that are in the ACREL.
Of course, one of the things that probably attributes to my practice is completing the Iron Man in Hawaii – 13 hours and 54 minutes and that’s a part of my personality- not ever giving up! It’s just getting one foot in front of the other. I certainly didn’t beat a whole lot of people, but I did finish it and that’s the thing about our team – we don’t ever give up and we usually complete what we start. And so, that’s pretty much the highlights. If you like to talk to me about any of your legal problems or putting together a deal, please give me a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.
Who Can Foreclose on a Piggyback Mortgage?
Video Summary
Who can foreclose a piggyback mortgage? Well, first let’s talk about a piggyback mortgage. Piggyback mortgages were used to avoid having to obtain mortgage insurance whenever you acquired a home. The purchaser would borrow 80 percent loan to value for a first mortgage, which would not require any mortgage insurance.
They would then see about getting a second mortgage, which was a home equity loan (for either 10, 15, or whatever amount they could obtain over and above the 80 percent) so they would have a very small down payment. Home equity loans do not require mortgage insurance, so they would avoid the mortgage insurance premium that would have to be paid if they obtained, let’s say, a 95 percent loan to value.
So the question then becomes, “Well, who can foreclose?” If you don’t make the payments under the first mortgage, they have the ability to foreclose and take the property away from you. If you don’t make the payments on the second mortgage, well, they can foreclose also. In this day and time, though, value of property has decreased so much that there’s usually no, or very little equity in the property – so the second mortgage is basically unsecured.
The second mortgage holder (if you didn’t pay them) can sue the borrower on the promissory note and probably just avoid the foreclosure process. The first mortgage holder could foreclose its first mortgage and include the second mortgage holder in the foreclosure action and wipe out any lien that the second mortgage holder would have.
Sometimes this is a little bit problematic when the first mortgage holder and the second mortgage holder are the same lending institution. In this case, the question becomes, “Can they sue themselves?” Many times they don’t, which then raises another question in the event of a foreclosure where the second mortgage is not included – whether or not you’ll have a problem if you buy the home at a foreclosure sale and be required to pay the second mortgage holder.
So an answer to the question “Who can foreclose a piggyback mortgage?” – either party can, if you default under either mortgage.
If you have any questions about foreclosures (whether it be piggyback or otherwise), give me a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.
- Published in Real Estate - Foreclosure, Videos
What is a Ladybird Deed?
Video Summary
What is a ‘Ladybird deed?’ A ‘Ladybird deed’ is a conveyance by an owner of real property, wherein they convey the property usually to a relative or a friend and they reserve to themselves a life estate. In addition to a life estate, they also reserve additional powers and rights to the property, such as the ability to sell or transfer the property during their lifetime and to retain all the proceeds.
The reason why most people execute these deeds is to avoid probate. With this deed, if they have their accounts as ‘payable on death’, there’s no probate involved. If they have a brokerage account as ‘transfer on death’, where they have their real estate and don’t want to lose the benefits of their homestead exemption if in joint names (because of certain ramifications). They also aren’t disqualified for Medicaid with a Ladybird deed; your homestead is not counted if you happen to have Medicaid.
The deed was developed by an elder law lawyer who set it up for the very purpose to avoid probate (which we use quite often), and also not disqualify the parties from obtaining Medicaid (as it being a conveyance of a gift). You can use it on any real property that you like.
Some people say, “How did it get the name ‘Ladybird?’” Well, the author (or the person who came up with this and published it in his elder law manual) named various deeds after famous persons. And this deed’s named after Ladybird Johnson, and so therefore, the name ‘Ladybird’.
So it’s a Ladybird deed which is your ability to transfer the property after you pass away to a loved one (or whoever you’d like, for that matter) but retain all the rights of ownership during your lifetime as to not have it disqualify you from Medicaid; and/or to retain all of your rights, as far as homestead exemption is concerned. So it’s a nice estate-planning tool if you have a simple estate.
If you’d like to have a Ladybird deed prepared or discuss it, give me a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
What is a Deficiency Judgment?
Video Summary
What is a deficiency judgment? A deficiency judgment is the amount of the money judgment that a lender can obtain whenever they foreclose on the property and after the foreclosure sale.
The amount of the deficiency judgment is the difference between the amount that is owed to the lender at the time of the final judgment, less the market value of the property on the date of the foreclosure sale. Many people are very concerned about deficiency judgments, but my experience has been that most lenders at this point are not pursuing deficiency judgments after they foreclose on the property.
Many people are very concerned about whether or not a lender can take any of their bank accounts or has a judgment against them when they file a foreclosure action. Not only does the lender not have a right to any of your money, they don’t have a judgment against you for a money judgment that can be collected against any of your assets, even after the mortgage foreclosure or the foreclosure sale.
In order to establish this judgment, the lender has to go through a supplemental proceeding (or a deficiency judgment proceeding) in order to establish the amount of the deficiency judgment. This is somewhat technical and therefore many of the lenders (from my discussions with this legal community in West Pasco) have not pursued these deficiency judgments.
So, until such time as the lender establishes deficiency judgment, you do not owe the lender any money, or it has not been reduced to a judgment amount to determine the amount of it. Also, if you go through a foreclosure, you won’t get a 1099 because the amount has not been established.
If you have any other questions about deficiency judgments, give me a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.
- Published in Real Estate - Foreclosure, Videos