Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

If you are in dire financial straits, one of the first payments to go is often your mortgage payment.  However, being behind on mortgage payments for any reason – or having other problems with your mortgage – can result in foreclosure and potentially lose you your house.

Our attorneys help protect those facing mortgage foreclosure.  We may be able to stall or stop foreclosures so that you can get some breathing room and time to recover your ability to pay.  Often, filing for bankruptcy can help save your home and let you reorganize other debts as well, but other options might also be available for you to keep your house in foreclosure.

Call our mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates at (609) 755-3115 for a free, confidential case evaluation.

Why is My House in Foreclosure in Medford, NJ?

When you take out a mortgage to buy your house, the loan terms include the promise to make payments according to the other terms and to keep up with those payments during the life of the loan.  Mortgages are secured against the house itself, with the lender getting the ability to take the house to cover the cost of the loan if you fail to pay it.  Foreclosure is the process by which the lender takes the house away from you, but lenders are only supposed to resort to foreclosure in the most dire circumstances.

Lenders use foreclosure when they think there is no other way to get their money.  If you are behind only a few months and have the financial ability to get your payments in, our mortgage foreclosure defense lawyers might be able to arrange something with your lender to get them to stop foreclosure proceedings and set you back on the right track toward making payments.

If they are determined to foreclose on your mortgage, then we still have some other possible options to let you keep your house:

Modify the Loan or Refinance

Sometimes, lenders are willing to accept a modification that might help you recover and make your payments on time again.  This could change the amortization schedule, refinance the loan to a new interest rate, or otherwise make the loan more payable so that you can keep your house and the lender can walk away satisfied that they are getting the money owed to them.

Payment Plan

If you are behind, it is possible the lender might accept a new payment plan that sees you paying the back payments soon, on a schedule you can afford.  Lenders often have to put a lot of time and expense into foreclosure, so it might be better for them – and you – if you can modify the repayment and stay on course.

Redemption

If your house is sold during a sheriff’s sale, NJ law often gives you 10 days to “redeem” your home by paying off your mortgage.  If you can get the money another way and potentially pay off the debt, you can get your house back after a sheriff’s sale – though this is not always possible if you have serious debt.

Bankruptcy

Often, bankruptcy is one of the best ways to not only stop foreclosure proceedings but also stop a sheriff’s sale and ultimately keep your house.  Federal bankruptcy protections usually allow you to keep your house and to automatically stay any collections efforts, meaning that the calls, letters, and wage garnishment need to stop immediately.  Depending on the type of bankruptcy you use, you could potentially even protect your house – though allowing the sale to go through might be better for you overall if you have a lot of equity in your home and few other assets or incomes.

Using Bankruptcy to Protect Your House from Foreclosure in Medford, NJ

As mentioned, filing for bankruptcy means getting an automatic stay of all collection efforts.  This can help people with severe debt stop all collections calls and other efforts for repayment, including a pause on foreclosure and sheriff’s sales of your home.

Federal protections usually exempt core possessions like your home and car from being seized and sold off in bankruptcy, which can help you keep your life stable even while everything else might be a whirlwind.  However, there are two major types of bankruptcy to consider, and bankruptcy might not be right for every foreclosure case.

When to Use Bankruptcy

You should typically only consider bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure on your home if you are in serious debt and have no other way out.  If your only problem is some late payments or mistakes in communication and mix-ups with checks, you might have other recourse to protect your home other than bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Options

Individual bankruptcy is usually filed under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, with Chapter 7 usually being referred to as “liquidation bankruptcy” and Chapter 13 being referred to as “reorganization bankruptcy.”

If you have little income, then you might qualify for Chapter 7, where your assets can be sold to cover your debts.  However, this might ultimately mean selling off your house during the process, though it happens in a way where you have more control than a forced foreclosure.  If you have a lot of equity in your home, it might be the best way to get you out of your financial hole and keep you and your family afloat.

If you have stable income but just have too much debt to cover, Chapter 13 might be better for you.  This usually has stronger protection for your home and allows you to reorganize all of your debt into a repayment plan that will set you on a path to financial recovery over the next several years at a value your income can cover.

Call Our Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Attorneys in Medford, NJ Today

For help with your case, call the mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates at (609) 755-3115.