Attorney Fees in Commercial Forclosure - What’s Reasonable?

[Leeann Aubuchon]

Hello, My husband and I were swindled by a general contractor and received a favorable judgement against him. We executed a levy on the contractor’s office building in Jacksonville, FL, and gained possession of the property through a sheriff’s sale. Unfortunately, the contractor stopped paying the mortgage right after we won our judgement as he likely anticipated the levy. Then he raised several objections to the sale which tied things up further. Ultimately, the building ended up in foreclosure 19 days ago. The principal balance of the loan is $68k. Upon receiving the payoff statement we were floored to see attorney fees amounting to $24,302.32. The legal services included drafting the complaint, defendant fees and summons fees (with actual court costs amounting to $1,700). Our attorney also raised a brow at that fee and said she would reach out for clarification. That fee coupled with interest, late fees, and protective advances total $98,774.98! I believe Fannie Mae imposes a ceiling on judicial foreclosures in FL, but I don’t think such a limit exists outside of this. I’m just wondering if this amount seems high to anyone else or if it’s on par with typical atty fees associated with commercial foreclosures.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for taking the time to read it!