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Guide to Foreclosure
Foreclosure Guides
- Introduction
- Keeping Your House
- Negotiation With Lender
- Bankruptcy And Foreclosure
- Foreclosure In The Court
- Leaving Your House
- Staying In Your House
There may be ways to fight your foreclosure case and/or delay the process so that you can either get a mortgage modification, refinance, sell your home or do a short sale. A good foreclosure defense attorney can help you with these options.
Mortgage Or Forclosure Process Irregularities
Your foreclosure defense attorney will be able to review your foreclosure paperwork and your mortgage and loan documents to determine if there has been any irregular actions taken by your lender or loan service during the mortgage or foreclosure process.
Rights Violated?
The foreclosure defense attorney will conduct a forensic loan audit to determine if any of your rights were filed. Some of the defenses that can be raised are:
- Improper assignment of your mortgage from one lender to another loan service or lender.
- Violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and asking that the entire loan be rescinded.
- Predatory loan practices
- The lender's failure to attach a copy of the original mortgage or assignment to the foreclosure documents.
Consulting A Forclosure Attorney
Choosing A Forclosure Attorney
Choosing a good real estate foreclosure defense attorney is important. You need to find one that is experienced in the foreclosure process in your state and has a success rate of stopping foreclosure actions and negotiating other options for their clients. The best way to find an attorney is from a referral source. If you don't know anyone that can give you a referral, then I would suggest checking with the State Bar in your area to get a referral from them, look on the Internet or a yellow page telephone directory, or ask your Realtor or accountant. The most important thing is to get help right away. Time is of the essence.
Forclosure Attorney Cost
The cost of a real estate foreclosure defense attorney varies so interview at least two or three attorneys before making a decision. Some charge what is equal to two months of your mortgage payment, while others charge a flat fee. Ask what they are going to do for you, what type of papers will be filed, if any with the court, and what their success rate is before you hire anyone
Delaying Sale Of Home
The best advice is to stay in your home as long as you can so you can save money to move and possibly work out a payment plan or other alternative with your lender. A good foreclosure defense attorney may be able to stall the foreclosure so you can stay in your home as long as a year without having to make any mortgage payments by raising some of the defenses mentioned above.
Judicial Foreclosures
Challenge the action in court by getting an attorney. If you cannot afford one, then try and challenge it yourself. The courts are backed up with foreclosures right now, and as long as you follow the rules and respond within the required time frames and serve the lender copies your responses and motions, you can probably delay the foreclosure sale up to 1-2 years.
Filing for bankruptcy as discussed above is another way to delay the sale of your home as the bankruptcy court puts a stay and your creditors cannot pursue any foreclosure or other legal actions against you. By filing a Chapter 13, you can keep your home and make payments to the lender in accordance with a court approved repayment plan over three to five years.
Non-Judicial Forclosures
You can file a wrongful foreclosure action in the court against the lender for violating the law, predatory loan practices, violation of truth and lending laws, and other defenses discussed above. You can also file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy action which stays the foreclosure.