Voluntary Consumer Protection Disclosures
We at the Manning Law Office, APC (“Attorneys”) believe in adhering to the highest ethical standards in the practice of law.
Consequently, this law office voluntarily provides all clients and potential clients with the consumer protection disclosures below. Pursuant to Civil Code Section 2944.6(a) it is not necessary to pay a third party to arrange for a loan modification or other form of forbearance from your mortgage lender or servicer. You may call your lender directly to ask for a change in your loan terms. Nonprofit housing counseling agencies also offer these and other forms of borrower assistance free of charge. A list of nonprofit housing counseling agencies approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is available from your local HUD office or by visiting www.hud.gov.
It is also your right to know:
1. Attorneys cannot force lenders to modify your mortgage and cannot provide any guaranty, warranty or prediction of the outcome in your matter.
2. Attorneys are not able to guaranty the outcome or timing of loan modification and/or litigation related loan modification efforts and therefore Attorneys do not offer a refund of any fees or costs in the event your loan is not modified or if foreclosure occurs.
3. Attorneys do not advise you to stop making your mortgage payment(s) to achieve a loan modification in connection with litigation or for any other reason. The decision to stop making your mortgage payment(s) is yours alone and should be made based on your complete financial picture and your ability to pay.
4. Attorneys advise you to make your mortgage payments and not to default upon your mortgage obligation if you are financially able to do so. Loan modifications are intended for homeowners with a hardship or otherwise in genuine financial distress.
5. Attorneys tend to work with the same lenders over time but do not claim special “connections” or “insider contacts” with your lender or your lender’s counsel will give them an advantage in achieving a loan modification or in preventing foreclosure.
6. Attorneys are not accountants or tax experts and cannot provide tax advice.
7. Attorneys practice real estate law but do not claim any specialty accreditation in real estate law by the State Bar or any other entity or organization.
8. Attorneys cannot prevent foreclosure where the lender is legally entitled to foreclose upon a property.
9. Attorneys do not claim that Attorneys are able to modify consumer loans in all or virtually all instances, or even in a particular percentage of cases. In fact, Attorneys make no claims that should be interpreted as a guaranty, warranty or prediction of the outcome in any matter.
10. Lawsuits to prevent foreclosure may lead to foreclosure prevention and in some cases to loan modification. Such lawsuits rarely, if ever, result in monetary damages for borrowers or in recovery of legal fees and costs for borrowers. If your goal is to obtain monetary damages, you should consider other alternatives.
11. Depending upon the theory of liability asserted by Attorneys, in the event any opposing party is designated the “prevailing party” at the conclusion of any litigation, the Client could be required to pay any opposing party’s attorney’s fees, costs or both.
12. Attorneys statements, if any, that you may qualify for a loan modification and/or court supervised loan modification settlement conference are based upon your apparently meeting all or substantially all the requirements of a government or lender litigation program(s) or based upon Attorneys knowledge of the qualification of other apparently similarly situated persons.
13. If you are confused by any of this information, ask the attorney, Joseph R. Manning, Jr., personally.Joe@ManningLawOffice.com.
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