Loan Lawyers had two clients who found themselves in a similar predicament. They had a scheduled court ordered sale date on their home while the bank was actively reviewing their application to modify their mortgage. The bank argued that they were only days away from having a decision and moved to cancel the sale of the home, unfortunately the court would not agree to canceling the sale.
The only way in which the borrowers could cancel the respective sale of their homes was by filing for bankruptcy. The filing of a bankruptcy stays all collection activity including the sale of a home. The bankruptcy court has initiated the mortgage modification mediation program. Essentially, it allows those in bankruptcy to apply for a modification through their bankruptcy case.
Luckily for these clients, they did not have to reapply for a modification through the court’s modification program. Within weeks of filing their respective bankruptcies, they were approved for a modification which they applied for prior to filing the bankruptcy and were able to save their homes.
For the first client, the foreclosure was her only debt which needed to be addressed through her bankruptcy filing. We were able to dismiss her case as there was purpose for her to stay in a bankruptcy – now that she saved her home and had no other substantial debt to address.
The second client elected to remain in his bankruptcy. He was behind on his homeowners association who had threatened to put him into foreclosure. Remaining in a Chapter 13, allowed him to remove the lien the association had placed against his home. By staying in the bankruptcy, he was able to save his home and address his credit card debt. Chapter 13 allowed the opportunity to round up his creditors and deal with them in a unified manner.