Stop Home Foreclosure
Having exhausted federal bailout funds, lenders across the country have increased their rates of foreclosure on defaulted loans, in an effort to clean up their portfolios and become more attractive to investors. San Diego homeowners are disproportionately affected because the San Diego housing market has suffered an exceptionally large drop in housing prices and because the downturn in the Southern California economy has caused a large percentage of homeowners to default on their loans. If you are behind on your mortgage payments and have tried to modify your loan without success, then you know first hand that lenders simply are not modifying most people's loans. The percentage of homeowners that receive a loan modification is very small. Most people who are behind on their home loan payments and need to stop foreclosure, file Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop home foreclosure and save their home.
You Need a San Diego Foreclosure Attorney & Chapter 13 Attorney
When you fall behind on your home loan payments, your lender will begin foreclosure of your home. It can all happen very fast. In San Diego, lenders will begin foreclosure after you have missed 2-3 payments. Your lender then files a Notice of Default against your property. From the moment the foreclosure Notice of Default is filed against your home, the clock starts ticking: You have 90 days to bring your loan payments current. Otherwise, your lender will record a Notice of Sale, setting a foreclosure sale date for a foreclosure auction of your home, where your home is sold to the highest bidder. If you are unable to bring your home loan current, a foreclosure lawyer who is a Chapter 13 attorney, can help you by filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure and save your home. You will need an attorney who is both a San Diego foreclosure lawyer and a bankruptcy attorney that specializes in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, to help you successfully stop a home foreclosure and save your home.
How a San Diego Foreclosure Lawyer & Chapter 13 Lawyer Can Help
If you are facing a foreclosure sale of your home, bankruptcy can stop foreclosure of your home and save your home from a threatened foreclosure sale. Filing bankruptcy will immediately stop foreclosure in San Diego. Upon the filing of a bankruptcy, an automatic bankruptcy stay goes into effect and freezes your foreclosure, at least temporarily. There are exceptions to the bankruptcy stay, and before filing bankruptcy you need to have a bankruptcy lawyer verify that there will be a stay when you file bankruptcy. Depending upon your circumstances, your lender may be able to obtain permission from the bankruptcy court to proceed with a foreclosure auction, even though you have filed bankruptcy.
Ch. 13 to Stop Foreclosure Permanently
To permanently stop foreclosure of your house in bankruptcy, you will need to have your attorney present to the Court a Chapter 13 repayment plan that will be approved by the Court. In your Chapter 13 case, you must propose a "plan" that repays your missed payments and any unpaid property taxes over a 3-5 year period. Because your plan will ultimately bring your home loan current, your lender is being paid in full and therefore is prohibited from being able to foreclosure on your home. The importance of hiring an attorney who is both a foreclosure attorney and a Chapter 13 specialist cannot be overstated. Chapter 13 cases have a high rate of dismissal. Only a San Diego bankruptcy lawyer who is a Chapter 13 specialist will be able to consistently obtain court approval of a Chapter 13 plan and in the smoothest manner possible.
What To Do After a Notice of Default
If you receive a Notice of Default, you need to immediately seek the assistance of a San Diego foreclosure attorney who is also a bankruptcy lawyer specializing in Chapter 13. If you have received a Notice of Default, time is the biggest enemy. Statistically speaking, the more time that goes by, the greater the chance that you will lose your home in foreclosure. Talk to an attorney right away and discuss proposing a viable Chapter 13 repayment plan, that the Court will be able to confirm, and whether or now you qualify for Chapter 13 relief. If you qualify for Chapter 13, and you can successfully confirm a Chapter 13 plan, you will be able to save home and will no longer have your house in foreclosure. Even if you have not received a Notice of Default, time is still the biggest enemy. The greater the number of missed payments you have, the more difficult it will be for your Chapter 13 attorney to propose a Chapter 13 plan that the Court will confirm.
After Foreclosure
After a foreclosure, you cannot get your property back, absent showing that the foreclosure was wrongful, which is a very difficult standard to meet. But even if you have accepted that you have lost your home, your liability to your lender may not be over. Depending upon the nature and amount of liens against your property, your lender may be able to sue you after foreclosure. Also, if your lender writes off the balance of the debt you owed on your home loan, you could incur after foreclosure tax liability, for example, for a home equity loan that was wiped out by the foreclosure. A bankruptcy can eliminate such taxes incurred after foreclosure.
Free Consultation
Call Bankruptcy Legal Center to set up your free consultation with a San Diego bankruptcy attorney and foreclosure attorney specializing in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, to learn how you can permanently stop foreclosure and save your home from a threatened foreclosure auction. Call 619-501-9711, or toll free at (800) 44-DEBTS (800-443-3287).
