FILING Chapter 13 bankruptcy is often a last resort for people in foreclosure when no other options exist. A lot of homeowners usually put off making this decision for a long time until they find themselves backed into a corner with no way out. Most of the time they’ll attempt to do a loan modification first, hoping to avoid filing bankruptcy. When that fails and the bank starts foreclosure proceedings, they realize that filing Chapter 13 may be their only hope.
The crash of the housing market in the last several years has been financially devastating for a lot of families. For the first time in their lives, a lot of homeowners faced the prospect of losing their home. Mortgage delinquencies resulted in the highest number of foreclosures that most of us have never seen in our lifetime. For a long time, many people were talking about a housing bubble that was expected to burst anytime soon but most homeowners underestimated the magnitude of the problem until it blew up in their faces.
We are still now dealing with the aftermath of the crash although foreclosures have somewhat leveled off. If you are one of the millions of homeowners struggling to keep their home, I understand your pain. Over the last several years I’ve sat down with countless people in my office, trying to figure out ways for them to keep their home. And although I’ve had a lot of successes over the years, there have also been cases where people simply had no choice but to let the bank foreclose. Those conversations haven’t always been easy- but I want people to know that foreclosure doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Neither is bankruptcy, when you have no other options left. But you need to take action while you still have some time left or you may later regret your inaction. The clock is ticking.
How do you look at your children in the eye and tell them that your family is moving out of the only home they’ve ever known? How do you tell your spouse that you’re losing the dream home that you’ve built together from your hard-earned savings? Perhaps you purchased your home thinking that this is the place where you were going to retire at the end of your life. Or maybe you looked at it as an investment that would pay off someday. Unfortunately, that day never came. So now you are faced with some hard decisions that have to be made that may affect you and your family for a long time.
Filing Chapter 13 can help you stop foreclosure dead in its tracks. Once you file, all creditors including your lender are prohibited by law from continuing any collection activity against you or your property and that includes foreclosure. The Court will give you 3-5 years to pay back mortgage arrears. And if you have a second mortgage that is unsecured with equity due to the fact that your property is upside down, you may even be able to wipe out your second mortgage (known as “lien stripping”).
If you need help with a pending foreclosure, I’d like to help you figure out your best options- bankruptcy, loan modification, short sale, etc. To schedule a free consultation, please call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772. We have offices in Glendale, Cerritos, West Covina and Valencia.
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None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 4,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772.
