Serving Clients Throughout Nassau County & The Surrounding Areas
Nassau County is a special place. Not only does it provide easy access to the cultural Mecca of Manhattan, but it is a thriving center in its own right — full of a wide array of: business opportunities, lovely residences, all types of shopping (farm stands, gourmet markets, high-end clothing chains, discount outlets, elegant boutiques), beaches, historic sites, elaborate public gardens, restaurants of every venue and cuisine, first-class medical facilities, excellent schools, golf courses, parks, myriad movies, legitimate theatres, sports arenas and concert sites. To serve its bustling economy, Nassau also has an enormous number of banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders, all of which need attorneys to represent them. One of the foremost attorneys in this field is the Law Office of Jonathan Roman, located in New Hyde Park.
What Jonathan Roman Does as a Lender Representative
As lender representative attorneys, we routinely perform a multitude of lender services, including:
- Documenting, negotiating and closing commercial lending transactions
- Establishing, modifying, restructuring, extending permanent loans (loan workouts)
- Prosecution of foreclosures (contested and non contested), REO properties and eviction proceedings
- Working out deeds in lieu of foreclosure, short sales, cash for keys, etc.
- Protecting your business from lender liability
How Lender Representation Protects Your Interests
If you are a lender, there are several reasons you need our legal representation when your firm is at risk. For one thing, we are set up to protect you from getting entangled in lender liability laws in the first place. For another, if you have unwittingly gotten yourself into trouble with these complex laws, we are here to help extricate you. The skilled attorneys at the Law Office of Jonathan Roman have full legal knowledge of the intricacies of borrower-lender relationships, so we are well-prepared to defend you against charges of breach of contract or fraudulent lending practices.
We understand that each case has distinctive elements; for this reason, we consistently tailor our methods to your individual needs. We have a track record of keeping our clients safe from having to pay damages. One of the primary tools we use is the court decision that defined borrower-lender relationships as non-fiduciary, meaning that your interactions with borrowers do not, except under particular circumstances, elevate you to a position of trust.
How Lender Liability Became a Major Issue
During the real estate slump of the mid-1980s and again in the 2000s, lender liability drew a great deal of attention. Since that time, it has become an important area of legal dispute. Originating as a means of protecting borrowers from lenders who were taking advantage of them, some to the point of behaving in a predatory manner, lender liability laws established regulations to guarantee fair lending practices. Straying from the path of such regulations can put your institution at risk of accusations of breach of contract or claims of fraud.
While originally borrowers had the short end of the stick in breach of contract and fraud incidents, once lender liability was exposed, lenders were at equal risk. If your borrower is able to prove that you used fraudulent methods, including proceeding without his/her consent, you will experience double jeopardy — not only may the agreement between you and the borrower be null and void, but you will be in the crosshairs of a lawsuit. This is precisely when you need Jonathan Roman to defend your position.
The Parol Evidence Rule
As with most civil lawsuits, monetary damages are at the core of the matter. In borrower-lender complaints, borrowers are suing lenders for monetary damages, including the costs of obtaining a replacement loan and loss of any profitable opportunities as a result of the fraudulent loan. In mounting a defense to protect you from such a lawsuit, our attorneys frequently use “the parol evidence rule,” a regulation that prevents admission of prior oral arguments to question or contradict the signed agreement.
The Uniform Commercial Code
A number of lenders have gotten themselves into trouble by bucking The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), the collection of federal laws that govern commercial transactions. We are, therefore, carefully positioned to protect you against charges that you have violated any of the complicated terms specified in the code as “commercially reasonable.” Common charges of breaking the code are that you did neglect to publicize the sale widely enough to receive a sufficient number of bids and/or that you knew, or should have known, that the appraisal of the property was unacceptably low.
Inappropriate Collateral Sales
In worst case scenarios, lenders who have been charged with UCC violations and have also wrongfully repossessed or disposed of the collateral property, may not only have to forfeit its security interest and be liable for damages but may also lose the right to collect a deficiency. Under such circumstances, our powerful team of attorneys can be invaluable.
Not only are we adept at negotiation in such matters, we are excellent litigators. Should your case make its way into the courts, you can count on the outstanding attorneys at the Law Office of Jonathan Roman to vigorously protect your rights in the courtroom.
Fiduciary Relationships
Fiduciary relationships are defined as relationships in which one party is responsible for looking out for the other’s financial interests. While in the past borrowers attempted to attribute fiduciary duties to their lenders, this is no longer considered normal practice. Nowadays, attorneys acting as legal representatives of lenders have clarified that such responsibility exists only if the borrower:
- Has verifiable faith, trust, and confidence in the lender
- Is dependent on the lender’s superior knowledge of financial matters
- Has relinquished control of his/her financial affairs to the lender
Because these criteria are not typically present in professional borrowing relationships, in most cases you, the lender, will not be considered to have a fiduciary relationship with the borrower. Nonetheless, it may be difficult to prove the lack of a fiduciary relationship with your borrower if you have previously served as his/her financial advisor. If such is the case, it is especially essential that you have our skilled lender representation.
If you are seeking superior lender representation in New York check out the fine credentials and well-deserved reputation for success of the Law Office of Jonathan Roman. We are dedicated to assisting our clients effectively and efficiently in all legal matters and especially in protecting them from legal liability. Please get in touch with us by phone or by filling out a contact form on our website so that we will already be on board when you need us.