Fresno Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

Avoiding Foreclosure in Fresno, California

If you have defaulted on your mortgage debt, you may be at risk of having your home repossessed by your mortgage lender so that it can be sold off for repayment. This process is known as home foreclosure. Many families in the U.S. have sadly been uprooted from their homes and left without places to live because of the foreclosure process. If you have received notice that your home is being foreclosed upon, you may have options for putting a stop to this action.

At Arnold Law Group, APC, our Fresno bankruptcy lawyers guide homeowners through various types of foreclosure defense options, which leave many of these individuals with the ability to keep their properties (or to get rid of their properties on their own terms). You may be able to stop foreclosure by filing for bankruptcy or by taking advantage of other strategies, such as a loan modification, short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Strategies for Keeping Your Home

Here is further explanation on the different types of foreclosure defense options that may be available:

Bankruptcy: Once you file for bankruptcy, all of your creditors or certain creditors will be legally required to stop carrying out collections efforts against you while you are still in the bankruptcy process. This means that even your foreclosure proceedings must be placed on hold. (However, some lenders may be able to get around this by getting the court to lift the stay for the foreclosure proceedings.)

If you do not have any problems with your automatic stay, you can use your bankruptcy period to get back on track with your mortgage payments so that you are no longer at risk of foreclosure. For Chapter 13 bankruptcy filers, this bankruptcy period is three to five years. Furthermore, some Chapter 13 filers may even be able to eventually get rid of debt from second and third mortgages.

Home loan modification: If your lender is willing to work with you, you may be able to modify the terms of your home mortgage loan. For example, you may be able to receive a lower interest rate, lower monthly payments or even a lower overall balance. These changes are meant to make the loan more affordable so that you can avoid foreclosure.

Short sale: When a person owes significantly more on his or her mortgage than the home is actually worth, the mortgage is considered "underwater." Many people who have underwater mortgages use short sales to avoid foreclosure. When this happens, the homeowner sells the home for less than the mortgage balance, and the lender agrees to accept the lower payoff. As long as the right steps are taken, the homeowner will not have to pay any more of the mortgage debt after the short sale.

Deed in lieu: In this process, the homeowner transfers ownership of the home (or the property deed) to the lender. In return, the lender is released from his or her mortgage loan, giving the individual a clean break from the property. People usually turn to this option only when other foreclosure defense options are not available or were not successful.

Choose the foreclosure defense path that is right for you with the help of our Fresno bankruptcy attorneys! Contact Arnold Law Group, APC and take advantage of our case evaluations.