One of the main reasons people come to see a bankruptcy attorney is to save their home. Unfortunately, many people wait too long and make financial decisions prior to seeking the advice of a bankruptcy professional.
Many people trying to do the right thing run up large credit card bills, take out high interest pay day loans, cash in or borrow against their retirement accounts, and sell or transfer assets trying to keep up on their mortgage.
All of these things in the end will make it more difficult to achieve your goal: SAVE YOUR HOME. When you are having financial problems the sooner you consult with a bankruptcy attorney the better.
If you are still current on your home but are having problems keeping up to date on your mortgage because of your other debts you may be able to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. There are limits on what your income can be and how much equity you can have in your home to qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy allows you to keep making your normal mortgage payments while wiping out your credit cards, medical bills, personal loans and other unsecured debts.
Require the mortgage company to start accepting your normal monthly payments
Allow you to pay the mortgage arrears over a 5 year period
Allow you to pay property tax arrears over a 5 year period
Strip off second mortgages and home equity lines of credit if your house is worth less than the balance on your first mortgage
Stop wage garnishments and repossessions
Stop credit cards, medical bills and payday lenders from calling and harassing you and your family
Since you have to pay back the money you are behind on your mortgage over a 5 year period the sooner you file the bankruptcy the more feasible. Many people fall 3 or 4 months behind on their mortgage. They then call the mortgage company and apply for a loan modification and spend the next 12 months sending documents to the mortgage company, getting the run around just to have the mortgage company in the end deny the loan medication. Now they are 16 months behind on their mortgage instead of 4. If they have a $2,000 mortgage payment this would mean they have to pay back $32,000 (+ late fees and foreclosure cost) rather than $8,000. The sooner you come to see us the better the chances for a successful outcome.
We have heard hundreds of horror stories of people paying thousands of dollars to loan modification companies and debt settlement companies located across the country just to find out they are a scam. In these cases it is almost impossible to get your money back and you wind up in much deeper debt than if you had met with a bankruptcy professional to start. If you are going to hire an attorney or a loan modification company it should be somebody you can sit down with and discuss your options face to face. We handle loan modifications through the Bankruptcy Court’s loss mitigation program. You can find more information on this under the loss mitigation heading of our website and we would happy to sit down with you and discuss your options.
We can help you save your home, but you have to take the first step.