Coral Springs Attorney: Preventing Foreclosure in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Saving Your Home by Filing for Bankruptcy in Florida

Falling behind on mortgage payments is a terrifying nightmare for every homeowner.

Is the bank threatening to foreclose on your house?
Has your mortgage lender denied your loan modification application?
Are you looking for a way to keep your home?

You are not alone. Home foreclosure threatens thousands of Floridians just like you.

In March 2010, about one in every 80 Florida homes experienced a foreclosure filing, according to RealtyTrac. Florida is one of eight U.S. states with a mortgage delinquency rate higher than the national average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Contact our Coral Springs foreclosure lawyer today to schedule an initial consultation.

Don't Let Fear Keep You From Saving Your Home; a Fort Lauderdale Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer Can Help

A common misperception is that you will automatically lose your home to foreclosure if you fall too far behind in payments. The mortgage industry reinforces this misperception. Banks use scare tactics to frighten people into paying a mortgage they cannot afford or to convince them to walk away from their homes instead of fighting to save them.

Don't walk away from your family home without a fight. In Coral Springs, get practical and realistic advice about preventing foreclosure from a debt relief attorney who has served Florida since 1995. At the law offices of Michelle Armstrong, P.A., we give advice to debt-burdened clients after a thorough review of financial circumstances. If we think we can help you save your home, we'll tell you so. If we don't think we can save your home, we'll give you that news too, along with an alternate plan to save whatever financial stability you have left.

How Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Can Stop Foreclosure

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a debt repayment plan that the homeowner proposes to bankruptcy court. Once approved, the homeowner uses the debt repayment plan to catch up on mortgage payments and avoid home foreclosure. In order to use Chapter 13, you must have a stable income source and enough disposable income to make the regular monthly mortgage payment and a catch-up payment.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you pay your mortgage company the regular monthly payment and a catch-up payment toward the arrears. As long as you follow the debt repayment plan and make your payments, your mortgage lender cannot bring or continue a foreclosure proceeding. At the end of the plan, all your back payments will have been paid in full and your home will be safe.

You can file for Chapter 13 debt reorganization before or after a foreclosure suit has been served. You can even file just before the foreclosure sale in order to stop the sale.

How a Home Loan Modification Can Prevent Foreclosure

Many mortgage lenders are approving loan modifications as an alternative to continuing to foreclose on such a high number of homes. Depending on your circumstances, one of the following loan modification programs may be available:

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is also called the Obama Plan. Under the rules of HAMP, your mortgage bank will modify your home loan to decrease your monthly payments to 31 percent of your gross monthly income. Banks will make this modification if they can get the monthly payment within 31 percent by extending the term of the loan to 30 or 40 years or lowering the interest rate to as low as 2 percent.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has a program similar to HAMP.
If a borrower does not qualify for HAMP or the FHA's program, the mortgage bank may still agree to modify your home loan. These private agreements are often called internal modifications. The bank might fold your past-due amounts back into the principal, lower your interest rate or extend the loan term.

Contact Us at Our Mortgage Debt Law Firm Serving Pompano Beach: Affordable Fees and Payment Plans

If you are behind in your mortgage payments, cannot work out terms with your lender, and want to save your home, contact our Fort Lauderdale Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney at the law office of Broward County bankruptcy lawyer Michelle Armstrong to schedule a free bankruptcy consultation.

We work hard to make our fees affordable, and payment plans are also available. Chapter 13 bankruptcy fees can usually be paid through your Chapter 13 debt repayment plan, with a partial down payment before filing.

For your convenience, we work with an associated bankruptcy attorney in Plantation.

We are a federally designated Debt Relief Agency under the United States bankruptcy laws.