News Topic: Homes and Bankruptcy

For too many Americans, the word “foreclosure”  or ” surviving forclosure” symbolizes a feeling of powerlessness that has defined the nation’s economic climate for the past several years. If you are looking at your financial situation and fear that a ... Read full article

Chapter 13 bankruptcy has its benefits One of the benefits of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the ability to modify or “cram down” certain secured debts. For example, a consumer who owes far more than their car is worth has the option of cramming down ... Read full article

Yes, Bankruptcy Might be Able to Save Your Home Yes, under certain circumstances, filing for bankruptcy can save your home from foreclosure, but read on, there are certain conditions that must be met before you qualify for relief. We’ll do our best to give ... Read full article

Surrendering Property Usually Allows the Debtor to Walk Away From Underwater Property. What Happens When the Bank Refuses to Take Ownership? One of the big advantages for consumers filing bankruptcy is the ability to surrender property they can no longer ... Read full article

When someone mentions bankruptcy or foreclosure, it might make you cringe. But many residents of Dayton, Ohio, know of the financial issues that can lead someone toward those outcomes. Sometimes the two come together, but that isn’t always the case. ... Read full article

You’ve been served a notice and foreclosure is impending. You feel helpless and want to save your home. There is something you can do. Foreclosure defense involves fighting back against a lender who is trying to foreclose to either stall the foreclosure ... Read full article

Homestead Exemptions Don’t Protect Investment Property Although homestead exemption laws vary by state, none of them protect investment property. A homestead is, by definition, a primary residence. You don’t necessarily need a white picket fence and a ... Read full article

By: Aaron Huff Over the last few years, a new buzz term has enterred the vocabulary of our troubled economy.  Loan Modification.  The mortgage creditors make it sound so easy.  The President and Congress make it a talking point as if it were a “fix” for ... Read full article

Lien Stripping in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy For our readers playing along at home, the basic rule with mortgage modification in bankruptcy is as follows: first mortgages on a debtors primary residence cannot be modified by filing for bankruptcy, however, ... Read full article

“A full-fledged recovery in the housing sector will likely elude the U.S. in 2012.” — Frank Nothaft, chief economist for mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac A rising number of foreclosures and a stagnant economy add up to another difficult year for ... Read full article

Avoiding a Second Mortgage in Bankruptcy As a consequence of the decline in the real estate market many clients are asking about the status of their second mortgages. It is not understood by most lay people under what circumstances a second mortgage can be ... Read full article

People who are facing mortgage foreclosure routinely ask me if they can get their house payment lowered by filing bankruptcy.  This question highlights a common misconception of bankruptcy law, and may be the result of news articles dealing with ... Read full article

Countrywide Home Loans Will Pay $108,000,000 to Customers Affected by its Unfair Lending Practices – and Give Adequate Notice of its Charges to Debtors in Bankruptcy   This Department of Justice News Release is Reprinted Here as an Educational Service It ... Read full article

I Filed Bankruptcy, My HOA Is Suing Me… Can My HOA Sue Me After I Filed Bankruptcy? HOA lawsuits to collect delinquent HOA assessments (HOA dues) are on the rise. Most attorneys agree on the reason for this. It used to be that if you didn’t pay your HOA ... Read full article

 In the current home foreclosure crisis, it seems some banks have become trigger happy.   It has become a bit of a recent anomaly why banks have suddenly and mistakenly gone after some homeowners with whom they have no claim.  Recently, Bank of America ... Read full article

With the housing market the way it is, many people want to know: what is the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure sale?  And what difference does it make in bankruptcy?   In a short sale, you have defaulted on your loan and cannot make the ... Read full article

Many homeowners applied for HAMP modifications through The Home Affordable Modification Program in hopes of avoiding bankruptcy. But then they discovered that mortgage servicers are horribly slow in processing the paperwork. Plus, the mortgage companies ... Read full article

Whether a debtor files Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, her bankruptcy should have no effect on an already completed loan modification, whether the homeowner is making payments under a trial modification or a permanent one as long as the homeowner continues to ... Read full article