save your home

Hi its Memorial Day Weekend- the rest of the country is doing their barbeques and pool parties.  However in our main Kendall office I can see the baby ducks in the back paddling (not walking) in our parking lot.  At home, my wife is scared to go in the back yard because of all the frogs and the roads up to our Ft Lauderdale office are a mess. 

However, it’s important to remember, no matter how wet it may be, at least it’s not a hurricane.  Many of our fellow South Floridians received phone calls right after the hurricane from their mortgage companies asking if the home had sustained damage.

“Ack, my house is being sold this Monday!”

We hear that a lot. As a matter of fact I heard that 4 times since yesterday morning. (Today Is Friday Jan 6th, 2017 – Happy New Year by the way.)  We can help.

Last night was a busy one at the Bankruptcy Law Clinic.  Two last minute bankruptcies to save people's homes.  But this morning we had a nice surprise....

Here are a couple of bankruptcy questions we get when we answer the phone.  Got your own questions, call us now!  305-663-3281

Florida Leads The Nation in Vacant Foreclosures—How to Avoid Losing Your Home

If you are going through a foreclosure or if you are on the brink you are not alone.. and we can help.

“Stop foreclosure now!”  Ever seen a handmade sign bearing these words on the side of the road?  Or perhaps you’ve received an email from someone who promises to work with your bank and keep foreclosure from happening?  Foreclosure defense and “avoid foreclosure now” promises are everywhere....

South Florida is ground zero for the worldwide housing crisis.  By some estimates, 20% of homes in Dade county are in foreclosure.  In the past two years, there have been over 350,000 foreclosure filings in Dade county alone. 

In addition, thousands of South Floridians are trying to get loan modifications, but relatively few are getting any meaningful reductions in the principal of their loans.  Did you buy a house a few years ago and owe $350k? Is it now worth only $150k?  Too bad, maybe the bank will temporarily reduce your  payments and stick the difference on the end of your loan.  Maybe they’ll change the loan from a 30 year to 40 year loan (and make even more money off of you), but actually reduce the principal of the loan?  Forget about it!

So, what to do?  Well for those who have second mortgages, bankruptcy may be the ultimate loan modification through a process called lien stripping. 

Lien stripping is a very powerful and helpful tool within Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Law for homeowners in or near foreclosure.  Second mortgages and Home Equity Lines of Credit can be completely eliminated in chapter 13 bankruptcies as long as the value of your home is less than the amount you owe on your first mortgage.

Chapter 13 is a debt repayment plan that gives you up to five  years to get caught up on back mortgage payments and other debts by repaying creditors what you can afford. After you have successfully finished your Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the mortgage company must remove the junior mortgage(s) from your property and the arrears on the mortgage(s) do not have to be paid back. This can be enormously helpful with keeping your home!

The reason behind this is that the lien stripped loan will be converted from a secured debt that is required to be paid in full to an unsecured debt through the bankruptcy. Unsecured debts are not required to be paid in full in a Chapter 13. In fact, most of the time, the unsecured debts are paid next to nothing. This is completely legal and is done with Court approval. This can be a great benefit for you as the second or third mortgages can be removed and NOT paid according to your Chapter 13 Plan.

There are many ways a bankruptcy can help people with only one mortgage or who cannot afford to make any payments.  Please call us at 305-663-3281 24 hours a day for a free consultation to learn how.