If your Texas home is going to be sold at foreclosure, it can obviously make your life very stressful. Many people in Texas who are facing foreclosure like those in life’s other stressful situations can make mistakes. Making a mistake when your home is up for foreclosure can cost you your home. When a foreclosure is pending, it is imperative to obtain legal advice as soon as possible. If your Texas home posted for foreclosure contact Texas Bankruptcy Attorney R.J.Atkinson to see your available options to stop the foreclosure and save your home.
Foreclosure in Texas happens on the first Tuesday of the month so once you have received notice of the foreclosure, the clock is ticking. If you need to stop the foreclosure and are struggling with the decision to file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, consider all the famous individuals that have filed bankruptcy to deal with their debt. You don’t have to be famous to stop a foreclosure you just need to know your options and avoid making the common mistakes by people facing foreclosure. This doesn't mean that the decision to file bankruptcy should be taken lightly, but it is one that should be contemplated with the assistance of an experienced Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer.
Filing for bankruptcy to stop foreclosure can put you back in control and allow you to repay your mortgage arrears, property taxes, homeowner’s association dues over 3 to 5 years while keeping your home. Contact the Texas Bankruptcy Attorneys at The Law Offices of R.J.Atkinson for a free bankruptcy evaluation.
The following are some of the common mistakes that people make when their home is posted for foreclosure:
- 1. Not Getting Legal Advice When Facing Foreclosure.
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Foreclosure is a legal proceeding by which a borrower or homeowner in default is deprived of their interest in their property. It involves a forced sale of the property at a public auction with the proceeds of the sale being applied to the debt. In Texas a foreclosure proceeding can happen in as little as 45-60 days from the first notice or default is received. Most always, the foreclosure is initiated by a lawyer or law firm who represents the lender. One might think that a legal proceeding initiated by a lawyer in a Texas Court of Law, seeking to take their house away would prompt the person being foreclosed on to get legal advice. Surprisingly, this isn’t always the case. Many people facing foreclosure often wait until days before the foreclosure sale to get legal advice if at all. More surprisingly is that some people will meet with “mortgage assistance companies”, “mortgage negotiators”, investors, and many others who may be legitimate businesses as well as some who may be scammers, before meeting with an attorney.
If you are facing foreclosure, you should seek the assistance of an experienced attorney who has experience with foreclosure, bankruptcy, forbearance agreements, and all options available to address the foreclosure. Before your situation gets worse, or before you take actions which could hurt your situation instead of helping it, seek the advice of an experienced Texas Bankruptcy Attorney to determine all of your Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Alternatives to deal with the foreclosure. More importantly, you should get a free initial consultation to see what mistakes to avoid.
So if you are facing foreclosure, get legal advice as soon as possible because if you wait to the last minute to do so you may run out of time to comply with the pre-filing bankruptcy requirements and not be able to file for bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure sale.
- 2. Refusing to Consider Bankruptcy as an Option to Stop Foreclosure.
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When you bought your home you probably never thought about loosing it at a foreclosure sale. Most people who file for bankruptcy never thought they would ever need to file for bankruptcy; or that filing for bankruptcy would ever be their best option to deal with the pending foreclosure they never thought would happen. If you’re like the majority of people, the word bankruptcy doesn’t always sound positive. In fact, many people consider the prospect of filing for bankruptcy to be an extremely bad thing to do. It’s not until those people are facing a life changing financial problem, or the potential loss of their home do they consider bankruptcy.
For many Texas homeowners, filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is often the best method to stop a foreclosure and allow them to keep their home. Chapter 13 allows 3 to 5 years to catch up on past due payments, so you can get some breathing room or enough time to sell your home for its fair market value should you want to.Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can also significantly reduce credit card debts and other unsecured debts while allowing you to keep your home. Chapter 13 bankruptcy has many benefits for those facing foreclosure. A Texas Bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of R.J.Atkinson can explain how Chapter 13 Individual Debt Adjustment might work in your situation.
Even when faced with loosing everything, some people still refuse to consider bankruptcy because of the negative connotations in the media spread by mortgage lenders and credit card companies. Don’t let the mortgage lenders and credit card company misinformation deprive your of your home and a fresh financial start.
- 3. Giving Up on Saving Your Home.
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Every month throughout the State of Texas, there are thousands of people whose homes are posted for foreclosure. Some of them get so overwhelmed by the foreclosure process that they just decide to throw the towel in and give up. They end up loosing their home because they let the foreclosure run its course. It’s not over until it’s over. If your home is posted for foreclosure, you shouldn’t give up without being fully informed of all your options to deal with the foreclosure.
If your home has equity, or if you have fallen on hard times due to a divorce, medical illness, job loss, or any other financial setback, don’t give up until you know what your options are. At The Law Offices of R.J.Atkinson an experienced Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer can help you explore your available options to deal with foreclosure in Texas. If you are going to be homeless, or you’re about to loose all you have worked for, you owe it to yourself and your family to take any reasonable steps that may help you to keep your home. At the very least see what your available options are at a free initial consultation with a Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer
- 4. Asking too Much for your Home When Selling It Before Foreclosure.
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If your home is up for foreclosure, the clock is ticking. Sometimes the sale of your house is your best option for dealing with the foreclosure. This can be especially true when you can still make a profit and get out quickly. The fact that you are in foreclosure usually deflates the price that you might otherwise receive for your house. An aggressive price needs to be picked considering the limited time available to sell. You should listen to a competent real estate agent and make sure that the agent understands the limited amount of time to sell the house so the house is priced and marketed aggressively.
If you could sell your home for a profit but 20 to 30 percent less than what you could get under perfect conditions, or loose your house at a foreclosure sale what would you do?
If you receive an offer for less money but don’t want to accept it, consider buying more time. If you need time to sell under better conditions, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may provide an opportunity to properly market your home and get the best price while you keep your home and make payment based on your disposable income. Don’t hold out until your house is sold right from under you without considering all of your options.
- 5. Attempting to get a Second Mortgage to Pay the Amount you’re behind on the First Mortgage.
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If you’re in foreclosure because you weren’t able to pay your first mortgage, why would a different lender give you money to pay off what you couldn’t pay the first mortgage holder? If you are able to convince a second mortgage lender to lend you the money, chances are the rate will be quite high and probably very expensive. With most second mortgages, there are sometimes fees associated with applying which are charged whether you get the loan or not. Your equity in the property that may have existed before the second mortgage will most likely be gone when and if you obtain a second mortgage.
In addition to the closing costs, points, application fees, and the potential loss of your equity, you will have to pay a higher payment each month. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may be a better alternative to obtaining a second mortgage when you are facing foreclosure. Chapter 13 may allow you 3 to 5 years to make up missed payments based on your disposable income. There are no high interest rates, application fees, or closing costs. If you want to get a second mortgage to pay off what you are behind to stop a foreclosure, make sure you weigh all of your options including Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
- 6. Waiting for the Mortgage Company to get back to you with a workout or Forbearance Agreement.
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When the mortgage company posts your house for foreclosure you only have a limited amount of time to take action to stop the foreclosure sale. When it gets to foreclosure, the mortgage company pays a law firm to initiate the foreclosure process which costs money. Why would the mortgage company allow you to repay them what you’re behind when they can sell your house and get their money fast? In other words what motivation do they have to allow you a workout when you couldn’t pay them in the first place?
Having seen thousands of foreclosures and having represented thousands in bankruptcy, very seldom has a workout or forbearance agreement been successful; at least in the practice of this law firm. That’s because the lender’s usually have no motivation whatsoever to offer a workout unless it is very temporary or over a short period of time. Every month we see people who call the day before the foreclosure sale saying that the mortgage company didn’t accept their proposal or in worse cases the mortgage company never even returned their call.
Even if you believe you can get a forbearance agreement to work, don’t wait on the mortgage company to get back to you. Get back to them. Be proactive and call them until they get you an answer. In the mean time, explore all of your options to stop the foreclosure before it’s too late. Just keep in mind that if you are eligible to file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you can stop the foreclosure and repay whatever is past due over 3 to 5 years based on your disposable income and not on the potentially unreasonable demands of the mortgage company.
- 7. Delay and Procrastination.
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Once the foreclosure process has started, its time to do something, and do it quick. Get the facts and get them from an experienced Texas Bankruptcy Attorney. If you don’t act timely you can loose your home and your peace of mind.
It’s understandable that most people who end up facing foreclosure have never been in foreclosure before so they aren’t familiar with the seriousness of a foreclosure proceeding. As in many things in life, people will delay taking action until the last moment only to find it’s too late and many of their options are lost. Ignoring a foreclosure won’t make it go away.
Texas homeowners who want to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy to save their home from foreclosure must be proactive. They need to take steps early on to get the process started. Whether its procrastination, or the inability to face the possibility of loosing their home, many people will wait to the day before, or the day of foreclosure sale to consider filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to save your home…
Foreclosure in Texas happens on the first Tuesday of every month. If you wait until the Friday before the foreclosure sale or even worse, the Monday before, you may cause yourself undue stress. For most bankruptcy lawyers in Texas, the Friday and Monday before the foreclosure sale is the busiest time of the month. Why? Because many people facing foreclosure wait to the last minute before they seek legal advice. There is always a rush days before the foreclosure sale to file for bankruptcy.
Texas Bankruptcy Attorney R.J.Atkinson takes the time to meet with last minute clients in order to prepare and file emergency Chapter 13 Bankruptcy cases to save their homes. If you are eligible, waiting until the last minute before filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure often causes needless stress and strain since there are many things are necessary to prepare a bankruptcy case.
Making mistakes when you are facing a foreclosure can not only make matters worse, but can also cause you to loose you home.
Filing bankruptcy isn’t as simple as filling out a few bankruptcy papers and signing your name. Bankruptcy has eligibility requirements, residency requirements, pre-filing requirements, property exemptions, timelines to consider, and various other rules and requirements before and after you file. To see if filing bankruptcy if for you, it’s important to get help from an experienced Texas Bankruptcy Attorney.
The bottom line is that it is better to get all of your options to stop foreclosure early on so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. If Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is right for you then you have to file your case before the foreclosure sale in order to save your home. Don’t wait until the day before the foreclosure sale to decide as the lack of preparation will only add frustration and stress to the situation. You cannot save your home once the foreclosure sale has begun.
Don’t let your Texas home get foreclosed because you waited to the last minute.
Whether you live in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, San Marcos, Waco, New Braunfels, Victoria, Plano, Arlington, Garland, Irving, The Woodlands, Humble, Addison, or anywhere in the State of Texas, if you are facing foreclosure, don’t wait until the last minute to see what your options under Bankruptcy are to stop the foreclosure.
If you’re up facing foreclosure Contact the Texas Bankruptcy Lawyers at The Law Offices of R.J.Atkinson for a free initial consultation to see how we can help you with your foreclosure.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to save your home. Texas Bankruptcy Law Firm
Contact Texas Bankruptcy Attorney R.J.Atkinson at: 800-436-9056
