If you are facing a foreclosure:
- A Chapter 7 may enable you to discharge any remaining loan deficiency if you have to give up your house and it does not sell for enough to pay the entire mortgage debt.
- A Chapter 13 may extend the time that you have to get caught up on payments and save your house.
Bankruptcy & Foreclosure in Texas
Sometimes Bankruptcy & Foreclosure in Texas go hand in hand. Many people in Texas file for Bankruptcy to Stop Foreclosure. When people are facing foreclosure it can be very stressful time and filing Bankruptcy may not only Stop Foreclosure but allow you to regain control of your finances as well as your peace of mind.
Foreclosure in Texas a legal process by which a bank, financial institution, mortgage company or lender can terminate or end your legal right or other interest in your home or other real property. This usually occurs after you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments or property taxes. At a foreclosure sale, the bank, financial institution, taxing authority, mortgage company or lender may sell your real property on the courthouse steps at a foreclosure sale to satisfy the secured debt as well as the legal costs involved in the foreclosure process.
Just because you owe them money and may be behind on your payments, a mortgage company, taxing authority or bank cannot just go to you house, throw you out and change the locks. There is a legal process that must be adhered to and the creditors must follow the rules within their legal rights to do so. Remember that you have legal rights and you may be eligible to exercise those rights under the Bankruptcy Code to stop the foreclosure and save your Texas home or real property. It is extremely important to exercise your rights prior to the foreclosure sale.
If you are facing foreclosure in Texas and want to save your home or property, and Stop the Foreclosure we may be able to help. The Law Offices of R.J.Atkinson,LLC has helped over 1500 people file for Bankruptcy Relief.
Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Individual debt adjustment or personal reorganization under Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may allow you to stop the foreclosure, keep your home, exempt property and re-pay the arrearage as well as other debts over a 3 to 5 year period of time while continuing to make ongoing mortgage payments. In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy mortgage arrears can be cured within a period of 5 years.
Many people decide to file bankruptcy to save their home from foreclosure. Filing bankruptcy (any type) halts the foreclosure of your home. But Chapter 13 Bankruptcy forces your creditor’s to accept a repayment plan that is based on your income and not their demands. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is a court supervised repayment plan that is a responsible way to repay your debts and put you back in control of your finances.
The greatest benefit a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is often the ability to keep all of your property and repay all or part of the debts you are behind on. You get some breathing room and potentially a fresh financial start if you complete your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan and receive a discharge. Chapter 13 offers individuals a number of advantages over liquidation under Chapter 7. Most significantly, Chapter 13 provides individuals an opportunity to save their homes from foreclosure. And, filing under this chapter, individuals can stop foreclosure proceedings and may cure delinquent mortgage payments over time. The automatic stay can relieve the financial burdens of stress and restore peace of mind by stopping creditor collections and harassment.
The Changes to the New Bankruptcy Law now have an impact on the automatic stay in that the mortgage company may be able to move quicker depending on the particulars of the case as well as if you are a previous bankruptcy filer. Additionally the filing of a Bankruptcy to simply with the intent to delay creditors is a violation of the law. You should contact an Attorney experienced in Bankruptcy & foreclosure to determine your options. Contact The Law Offices Of R.J.Atkinson,LLC to see how filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may Stop foreclosure and if you are behind on your mortgage payments, you should contact us immediately to determine your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy options. Quick action can sometimes avoid the expense of the foreclosure process altogether and deter additional costs and fees.
Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Another Bankruptcy option to deal with foreclosure is to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. When you file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy The Automatic Stay which stops most all legal actions against you goes into effect immediately upon the filing of the Chapter 7. The filing of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy prior to an actual foreclosure sale of a property will remove your personal liability on the mortgage debt and you will not have any further obligation to continue to pay should the property actually be foreclosed on. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will also provide possible options to avoid certain tax liabilities.
The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing will temporarily stop the foreclosure. After you file, the mortgage company must file a Motion to Lift Stay or similar Motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court in order to foreclose on the property. The Motion, which usually takes a minimum period of 20 to 40 days, could even take up to 2 or 3 months depending on the facts of the case and the Bankruptcy Court’s docket. After the mortgage company obtains the legal right in the Bankruptcy Court to take action against the property, the mortgage company must then re-post the property for another foreclosure sale. This process usually takes about a little more that a month and you will continue to own the house until the actual date of the foreclosure sale. You can still live in the house in the meantime because you still own it. Also this might allow you the time needed to maybe sell your home, refinance it, bring the mortgage current, or at the very least, provide you a bit more time to arrange for somewhere to live.
Some people just want to give back or “surrender” the property to the mortgage company. If that is the case, you won’t be making the payments on the property and as such you could use the opportunity to obtain funds for the expenses of moving.
At the foreclosure sale the lender must sell the property and credit the proceeds to your debt. If any money is left over, the lender must pay it to you. Typically, the sale brings in less than the debt which, in most cases, you will technically owe. The Bankruptcy Court will discharge the balance along with your other unsecured dischargeable debts. When you obtain your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharge any mortgage deficiency, which go to include your other dischargeable debts are eliminated, discharged or cancelled. These debts never have to be re-paid.
The Changes to the New Bankruptcy Law now have an impact on the automatic stay in that the mortgage company may be able to move quicker depending on the particulars of the case as well as if you are a previous bankruptcy filer. Additionally the filing of a Bankruptcy to simply with the intent to delay creditors is a violation of the law. You should contact an Attorney experienced in Bankruptcy & foreclosure to determine your options. Contact The Law Offices Of R.J.Atkinson,LLC to see how filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may affect your foreclosure.