Slamming the Door in the Consumer’s Face: Courts’ Inadequate Enforcement of TILA Disclosure Violations and the False Hope of a Foreclosure Defense

By Michael Sabet.

Do you remember not remembering the word foreclosure? The late 1990s to early 2000s was certainly a wonderful time to be a homeowner. Everyone and their neighbor seemed flush, and few envisioned the debilitating darkness at the end of the tunnel.

Since late 2005, the residential real estate market has been progressively deteriorating. Homeowners in some areas have watched the value of their homes drop to less than half of what they paid only five years ago. Meanwhile, the clock has struck midnight on all those adjustable rate mortgages that had two-to-five-year teaser rates. And the mortgage brokers who manufactured all those dreams of homeownership are of no help—most are either out of business or unwilling to refinance without proof of significant cash reserves. All of this has come together to create one of the worst home foreclosure crises in U.S. history.

The economic and social costs associated with home foreclosures are numerous. Widespread foreclosures tend to have a devastating effect on home values, which in turn negatively impacts the national economy as a whole. On a more individual level, a home foreclosure is an involuntary removal of a person’s shelter, and can equate to homelessness for an entire family. The Truth-In-Lending Act (“TILA” or “the Act”) has proven to be one way that federal law addresses the incidence of home foreclosures.
keep reading.