Emerging Trends in Short Sales

Online, October 13, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Local attorneys Jo Ann Koontz, Cynthia Riddell and Tom Avrutis will speak on Emerging Trends in Short Sales: Post-Closing Deficiency Collection and Bankruptcy, at a seminar scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, 2011, from 12 to 1:30 p.m.

The seminar is a follow-up to the oversold August seminar offered by the Realtor-Attorney Joint Committee of the Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR) and the Sarasota County Bar Association (SCBA). It will be held at the SAR office at 3590 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34239.

When sellers are considering whether to short sale their properties, the deficiency judgment is often the biggest concern. Bankruptcy and the timing of filing bankruptcy (before, during or after the short sale) is another major concern. The seminar will focus on current trends and emerging issues with lenders obtaining deficiency judgments, the sale of judgments to investors, settling outstanding balances prior to obtaining deficiency judgments, and how to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Koontz is an attorney and Certified Public Accountant in the Sarasota law firm of Yesner & Boss. She focuses her practice on residential and commercial real estate transactions, federal and state tax law matters and business law. She received her bachelor's in business administration and her law degree from Ohio Northern University.

Riddell is an attorney with Riddell Law Group. She graduated from Stetson College of Law and is a consumer bankruptcy attorney helping individuals file for relief under the bankruptcy code. She has written articles for the Bradenton Herald about subjects including short selling property after a bankruptcy filing as well as deficiency judgments in Florida. She is admitted to practice in Florida as well as the U.S. Middle District Bankruptcy Court of Florida. She is a Sarasota County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Board Member, a member of the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Avrutis, of Hodges, Avrutis & Foeller, has been practicing in the area of collection litigation for more than 28 years. He obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with high honors, and also obtained his law degree from the University of Florida. He frequently provides Continuing Legal Education seminars for attorneys in the collections area. He has authored a chapter in the Florida Bar Creditors' Rights Practice Book and was a past director for the Sarasota County Bar Association.

The seminar is free for SAR and SCBA members and $10 for non-members. No walk-ins will be allowed. Bring your own lunch. SAR members should register online on www.sarasotarealtors.com. Non-members and SCBA members should email Catherine McCaskill at [email protected].