Earlier today, I was listening to a business report on the radio in which an economist actually recommended that homeowners who purchased a home in the mid-2000's with little or no money down, who are now at least 12 months behind on their mortgage and have been unable to modify their mortgage because of insufficient income, actually file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and GET IT OVER WITH - MR. OBAMA IS NOT GOING TO SAVE YOUR HOME!!!
Unfortunately, this mantra is going to going to get louder in the coming months as (a) banks may have already modified the vast majority of those who can truly afford to make timely mortgage payments, and (b) State ...
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White House Pressing Banks to Enter into More Mortgage Modifications
According to Reuters, eight investors accused Bank of America of questionable behavior and the White House has warned it will hold lenders responsible for any illegal foreclosure practices. Bank of America and GMAC Mortgage, two of the largest mortgage servicers, also faced criticism they were acting too fast in announcing the lifting of foreclosure freezes they imposed in response to accusations of shoddy paperwork.
This comes months after New York City’s Comptroller, John C. Lui wrote letters to CitiGroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo asking what efforts they undertook to respond promptly to customers’ requests about modifying ...
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Can’t Modify Your Mortgage? Consider the Benefits of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Many homeowners today are facing foreclosure due to failed attempts at loan modifications. In such circumstances, filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be a way for those who have a regular source of income to reorganize their debt into a manageable monthly payment. It can be a great alternative to a loan modification if you still want to keep your home, and in addition, you may be able to eliminate most of your unsecured debt during the process.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy has many benefits, perhaps the most commonly known is the ability to stop foreclosure and allow a homeowner to get caught up on past due mortgage payments. In the event that you ...
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Mortgage Modification and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – Do Them In Sequence – Not Simultaneously
Despite the recent revelations regarding the mortgage foreclosure process, I am finding that more and more local homeowners are beginning to make headway in the mortgage modification process. Unfortunately, in many cases, this proves to solve only half the problem.
Many homeowners I encounter in my practice are not only facing difficulties with their first mortgage, but may also be dealing with a second mortgage obligation as well as credit card obligations. While in many instances, the second mortgage and credit card debt can be dealt with in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, including the possible striping/cramming down of the second mortgage, it ...
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Tips on Retaining Possession of a Property in Foreclosure
In general, homeowners facing foreclosure, as the legal owners of the property, are allowed to stay in possession their homes up until the day of the foreclosure sale itself, if they choose. Judicial foreclosure, the process utilized in New York where I practice, can take anywhere from 12-18 months to complete. Just because a default has occured does not mean that all is lost. Even after the initial loan default, a homeowner is given a period in which they can cure their default and reinstate their mortgage. This is called the "redemption period". During this time, they have the opportunity to raise the money necesary to repay their ...
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