Foreclosure Article
Will bankruptcy save my home from foreclosure?
WILL BANKRUPTCY SAVE MY HOME FROM FORECLOSURE?
What will bankruptcy do?
When bankruptcy is filed it provides an automatic stay in foreclosure proceedings. This means that a trustee sale cannot be held so long as the bankruptcy is filed before the trustee sale starts.
Do I automatically get to keep my home if I file bankruptcy?
No. Bankruptcy does not allow the homeowner/borrower to keep their home while also ending their obligation to pay the home loan. Bankruptcy may be tool to provide temporary or long term assistance to the borrower but it’s a strategy that should be pursued after consulting with an attorney.
How can bankruptcy help?
There are a couple of ways a bankruptcy might help, and may be recommended by your attorney.
The effect of filing a bankruptcy grants an automatic stay in debt collection efforts including foreclosures. An automatic stay basically means all collection, repossession, and foreclosure efforts are put on hold until the bankruptcy process is complete. This period may allow your attorney to work through your foreclosure case more thoroughly or give her or him time to work something out with the lender.
Another way a bankruptcy might be helpful is that it may allow certain debts to be discharged, meaning your obligation to pay ends, or it may reorganize your debts into a more manageable payment. This may help by freeing up money so that you can more easily make your monthly payments.
Is there a downside to declaring bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy may negatively impact your credit score however at the point most people are considering bankruptcy, their credit scores have already taken a hit. There may be other cons to pursuing the path of a bankruptcy but they will depend on other factors that your attorney will discuss with you. Remember no one case is the exactly the same as another.
Bankruptcy is often made more difficult when mistakes are made in the process. Often people will file before meeting with an attorney and overlook important facts or issues in their case. Other common mistakes occur when individuals, in anticipation of filing bankruptcy, make additional purchases or attempt to pay off certain debts to maintain relationships with whoever lent them the money. This should be avoided until consulting with an attorney because certain purchase may make the bankruptcy look fraudulent, and payments made can be undone through the bankruptcy process - adversely affecting both the borrower and the person or business that lent the money. Meeting with an attorney, even if it’s just for a brief consult could prove instrumental in making the process smoother, less stressful, and help avoid these and other pitfalls.
Where can I get more information about bankruptcy?
The US Bankruptcy Court of Arizona has vast amounts of information online as well as a help center and hotline to answer questions. The hotline number is 866-553-0893. However, individuals should also contact legal aid, especially if they are also dealing with foreclosure related issues or at risk of foreclosure. To apply for legal assistance use the Access To Justice Online Intake System.
Where can I find legal help with a foreclosure?
Individuals faced with loss of a home through foreclosure/trustee sale or dealing with issues related to a foreclosure can apply for free and reduced fee legal services through the Access to Justice Online Intake System, the link is also available on the top right of AZLawHelp under the “LegalLEARN” section. Individuals may also contact legal aid directly, however due to high call volume there may be long wait times on the phone and the phone system may disconnect calls when overwhelmed. To find the legal aid agency serving a particular county in Arizona, select the desired county in the drop-down under the section titled “FIND FREE LEGAL HELP” on the right column of AZLawHelp.
Comments:
QUESTIONS
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we are currently listed as owner's to a mortgage but signed transfer of property- deed papers to an investor of whom we have been making monthly payments to. We have been informed by the mortgage that our payments have not been submitted and that we will soon be in foreclosure. What can we do? This investor promised to assume the mortage as well as the property but really only filed tranfer of property and continues to collect our money, of which has been steady each month.
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If both parties names are on the house if one party stops paying am I responsible for all of it.
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I have 2 investment homes in AZ and my primary home in CA where I live. Short sale is not an option for me b/c I don't qualify because I have assets. My question is if I foreclose on the 2 investment homes will the lenders put liens on my primary home that has about $200k in equity? Or do I just have poor credit for 7 years?
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The home I'm renting is about to be auctioned....will I have to leave immediately or do I have 30 or 90 days?
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my home was auctioned in a forclosue on 02/28/14....I am now being evicted by monday.....where is the 70000 equity in my home ?
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I am leasing a house threw a management company and found out that the house is in foreclosure and an auction date has already been set. The way I found out is the attorney for the lender posted the notice on our door not by the management company. I had to let them know. Am I still suppose to pay them the lease payment?
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Can a second (junior) mortgage Deed of trust lienholder obtain a deficiency judgment against me. The Arizona single family home foreclosed Trustee sale on September 2nd, 2014. They are just now trying to get a hold of me. There is no way I can even afford to pay. Thank you
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I have lived here for 12 years. My name on warranty deed and signed into a trust. New company is servicing my account and will not recognize me as the owner. Foreclosure sale is Jan 14th. Have tried for several months to communicate but they will not. My name is not on the loan. Can you help me. I have a buyer for the property. They will not talk to me about it.
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My family and I had moved into our new home after paying six months in advance and signing our lease . One and half months into being our home , the sheriffs arrived at our door saying that they had put warning's on our house, though we never saw any . Conveniently, our landlord was nowhere to be found . What agency will help us get into A home and help with a couple month's rent?
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I ended up in a rescue scam for foreclosure. I paid money to a mortgage company to help me and they did nothing. I have now lost my home and want to know what I can do to get my money back frome the rescue scam.
STORIES
LegalLEARN
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Free & Reduced Fees Legal Aid Resources
Click Here to apply online, or call
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FIND LEGAL HELP
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OTHER LEGAL RESOURCES
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State Bar of Arizona
www.azbar.org -
Maricopa County Bar
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Referral number 602-257-4434 -
Pima County Bar
www.pimacountybar.org
Referral number 520-623-4625 -
National Domestic Violence Hotline
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Bankruptcy Court Self Help Center
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Certified Legal Document Preparer Program
Link
ORGANIZATIONS
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View full description - Arizona Secretary Of State
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