In my bankruptcy alphabet, H is for house. Can I keep my house if I file bankruptcy, anxious homeowners ask. In most cases, my answer is “yes”. Should you keep the house is another question. Houses are vulnerable in bankruptcy only if there is If the trustee can’t sell the property for enough money to […]
5 Essential Tips To Understand Your Mortgage Loan
Figuring out what your home loan balance is can be harder than a calculus exam. For most people, their mortgage is their biggest debt. And their home is their most important asset. Yet, the people accounting for your payments are increasingly incapable of the very basics of their job. And that makes your job, as […]
The Judgment Lien That Escaped Your Bankruptcy
What do you do when you discover old judgment liens on your home long after you filed bankruptcy? Your bankruptcy case is closed. You’re recovering nicely. Then you find there’s a judgment lien on your house from before your bankruptcy that you didn’t know about. And the law says that liens survive a bankruptcy case, […]
You Keep Underwater Property in Bankruptcy
Good news or bad news, the bankruptcy trustee doesn’t want your underwater property. Trustees only want the good stuff, the assets that generate cash to pay creditors. That doesn’t include real estate where the debt is on par with the property’s fair market value. Will we have to sell? My clients this week own a […]
Vince Lombardi Is To Blame
Ever feel like you’re battling your mortgage lender for your life? Or the life of your home? The unfairness and irrationality of mortgage servicing makes it easy to see the fight as one for your self worth. Who is comfortable being a victim of incompetent and indifferent institutions toying with your life? I’m equally indignant. […]
Before You List Your Home For Sale: The Essential First Task
Selling your home? A letter to the servicer of your mortgage. You want full disclosure of what charges, fees, expenses and other “stuff” they want to collect from you when your sale closes. For all you know, they’ve stuffed your loan full of fees, not authorized by law or agreement, that pad their bottom […]
Make Sure Your Mortgage Is Current At Bankruptcy’s End
What do you really owe on your home mortgage when you get to the end of your Chapter 13 case? For years, homeowners couldn’t tell where they were or how to get answers. But with the recent changes to bankruptcy rules, you don’t have to wonder where you stand with your mortgage lender. Starting December […]
No House, No Discharge When Chapter 13 Goes Off Script
Sound the alarm. Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases are getting dismissed right and left when debtors fail to make mortgage payments. What began as a trickle of Chapter 13 cases ending badly has become a torrent. More and more, bankruptcy judges are strictly enforcing the direct pay term of Chapter 13 plans. If your plan says […]
The Thousands That Sat In Mortgage Suspense Account
Sharp eyes on the part of the debtor spotted the unapplied suspense balance, and diligence on the part of his attorney, saved one homeowner $27,000. Mortgage payments during Chapter 13 During his Chapter 13 case, the borrower continued to make monthly payments on his mortgage. But the loan servicer for Bank of America dumped payments […]
Do You Need To Reaffirm Your Home Loan After Bankruptcy?
Banks, most especially Wells Fargo, seem to relish denying refinance applications for debtors who didn’t reaffirm home mortgage in bankruptcy. You didn’t reaffirm your existing home loan, so we can’t refinance that debt, they chortle. Sometimes, the dig is even more painful (to me at least): your attorney didn’t do this right so you are […]
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