There Are Many Ways to Address Foreclosure in Indiana
Myth: Filing bankruptcy is the best way to deal with a home foreclosure.
Fact: Not always. If the only significant debt you have is your home mortgage, there may be other alternatives that will allow you to get out from under the obligation without having to file bankruptcy.
At the Law Office of Colby J. Leonard, we offer a free initial consultation to explain the full range of foreclosure alternatives that are available to you.
Foreclosure alternatives are expanding daily. They include:
- Short sale: With a short sale, you put your home on market, get your best offer and present it to your mortgage company, even though it is less than the full amount you owe. If they accept it, you will not be liable for the deficiency balance on the mortgage. Be sure to get a lawyer's help to ensure that the mortgage company waives the deficiency and does not attempt to come back and sue you for the balance.
- Deed in lieu of foreclosure: You agree to quitclaim your property back to the mortgage lender in exchange for writing off your mortgage note. Lenders will usually only accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure if the house has sat on market for at least 90 days and has not sold. It is very important that you have an attorney assist you through this process, to ensure that they don't try to hold you liable for any deficiency balance.
- Loan modifications: Due to the extreme economic conditions, lawmakers have been trying to push through laws to assist homeowners in keeping their homes. The Law Office of Colby J. Leonard is actively watching these laws as they develop. In the meantime, we are communicating with the mortgage companies and trying to negotiate loan modifications such as reducing the interest rate, converting adjustable rate mortgages (ARM's) to fixed rate loans, and even tacking arrearages to the end of the loan.
Did You Know?
- Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy may stop a foreclosure temporarily. However, you still have to catch up on your payments or the bank will continue to foreclose on your property shortly after you file.
- If you are behind on your mortgage payments, filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy will enable you to put your arrearage into your repayment plan and pay it off over a three- to five-year period.
- If you have an FHA mortgage, any deficiency after the sheriff sale will be covered by the federal government, meaning that you should not have any personal liability. However, if you have more than one mortgage, you will likely be personally liable for any deficiency on these loans.
Free Attorney Consultation
If you are facing home foreclosure, you have nothing to lose by seeking an attorney's advice. You have a lot to lose by postponing it. Call 317-622-0385 (866-654-5889 toll free) or fill out the contact form on this Web site to arrange a free initial consultation with the Law Office of Colby J. Leonard. We have offices in Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana.
"We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."
