Houston Bankruptcy and Foreclosure
How to Protect Your Home
Your home is one of your most important assets. Of course, your mortgage payment may be your largest monthly bill, and you may find it difficult to pay it on time when financial crisis hits. Whether from job loss, a medical emergency or other unexpected bills, failing to make mortgage payments eventually will result in the mortgage company foreclosing and taking possession of your home. Once a bank or other entity has filed a mortgage foreclosure action, it generally will no longer accept any payments toward the mortgage debt. As a result, your only option for foreclosure help, other than to pay the mortgage loan in full, may be to file bankruptcy. Discuss all available alternatives with your Houston bankruptcy attorney today. The Law Office of Patrick T. Williams can give you the information that you need to halt the foreclosure process and save your home.
How Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Affects Foreclosures
Unlike a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which requires liquidation of most assets, including your home in some circumstances, Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop your mortgage lender from moving forward with a foreclosure sale. Your Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing creates an automatic stay, which prevents any creditors from taking further action against you for the debts you owe. The automatic stay has the same impact on a mortgage lender as it has on any other creditor, stopping any pending foreclosure sale. The automatic stay remains in effect until the bankruptcy court lifts the stay at the creditor’s request, dismisses your case or grants your bankruptcy discharge.
Saving Your Home Through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
In Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings, you enter into a repayment plan that lasts from three to five years, depending on the amount of your debts and the amount of income you can pay toward those debts each month. At the end of the repayment plan, assuming you have complied with all the terms of your plan, the bankruptcy court discharges any remaining balances on your debts. You can include your mortgage in your Chapter 13 repayment plan in order to catch up on any delinquent payments. As a result, you can use Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings to prevent your mortgage holder from foreclosing on your home. Although Chapter 13 case will not discharge your entire mortgage, you can use it to catch up on the amount you were behind at the time you filed.
When you are on the brink of losing your house, Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be your only option. While you may be able to work with your mortgage lender on a loan modification, sell your home in a short sale or work out another agreement to remedy your delinquent mortgage payments, these solutions often fail, and they often fail when it is too late for you to take another road. Consult a Houston bankruptcy lawyer to explore all of your available options and get foreclosure help. Contact the Law Office of Patrick T. Williams for a comprehensive, personalized consultation with your Houston bankruptcy attorney and find out if you can file Chapter 13 to stop a foreclosure.
