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.