New Jersey Foreclosures Legal Questions

This is a very interesting foreclosure and bankruptcy question. If you have to mortgages on a home, which is under water (or not) and you stopped paying on the second mortgage, the bank can still foreclose the house based on the second mortgage. Especially if the bank for your first and second mortgage is the same bank, they will most likely foreclose because they'll get the first mortgage paid and will claim a loss to the IRS on the second mortgage, which is essentially the same thing as the bank being paid. If you were to file either a chapter 7 bankruptcy or a chapter 13 bankruptcy, then you could file what is called a motion to avoid lean. Essentially what this does is take into account your Homestead exemption and the actual value of your home, and if the second mortgage or a lean were to compromise your Homestead exemption you could have that mortgage or lean removed within bankruptcy. This is essentially a mathematical equation, and if the math works you can simply remove the second mortgage. This is huge for most of my bankruptcy clients. When they come to may because they're having trouble paying their bills, I discharge their unsecured debts such as credit cards and medical bills and with a motion I stripped the second mortgage from the property so once bankruptcy is over the only mortgage my clients need to pay is their first mortgage, their second mortgage completely disappears. The second mortgage is even removed from the Registry of Deeds, so when you refinance you need not deal with the second mortgage at all or if you sell the home, the second mortgage does not need to be paid back. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://www.fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob, #student, #loans, #education, #IRS, #taxes... Read Answer

Mortgage companies do not go after someone because they were married to a person who owed money, so you really want to get the story straight because what your attempting to explain simply is not possible. For a mortgage company be to be going after your fiancé, he has to have been on the mortgage. It is entirely possible that he was a co-borrower on the mortgage and was not named on the deed. But the only way for a mortgage company to be serving your fiancé with a lawsuit, was if he signed the mortgage itself. If your fiancé is not on the deed, but find the mortgage, the best choice would simply be to file bankruptcy. No lawyer is going to be able to help with this situation, as your ex wife cheating on you does not take away your liability to repay a mortgage you signed. If your fiancé in fact did not sign the mortgage, then any attorney can get this lawsuit dismissed, simply on the grounds that your fiancé is not a party to the transaction. Although in my experience I've never seen a banks attorney that was so bad that didn't verify the such simple facts before filing a lawsuit. It looks like you really need to get the story straight of what is going on, because what you're describing sounds like you may have been lied to. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob, #student, #loans, #education, #IRS, #taxes... Read Answer

First of all you need to list the house at a price that it will sell for, not the price you need to buy another house. The simple fact is you need to deal with the foreclosure and deal with the as soon as possible. If they start moving on foreclosure proceedings you may always file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, which will stop the foreclosure proceedings and usually give you about six months to a year before the bank forecloses. You do not want the bank to foreclose simply because you wanted to make money off the sale of your house. What you do not want is the house foreclosed upon before you file bankruptcy, because any amount that is owed that did not cover your mortgage will be placed as income for that calendar year on your IRS taxes. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob... Read Answer

Many real estate agents attempt to give legal advice, I feel because they spend so much time around attorneys. The simple fact is your real estate agent is completely wrong. Local bank cannot make up their own rules, they are governed by the same rules that the large banks are governed by. Mortgages are governed by federal law and small banks cannot make up their own rules. With that being said I'm sorry to inform you that the passing of your wife will have no bearing on stopping your foreclosure. There are two things you can do to stop the foreclosure and give you enough time to sell your house. The best method would be to use a chapter 13 bankruptcy, the problem with this is if you can't make your normal monthly payments you most likely will not be able to make your normal monthly payments and the additional payments due in the repayment plan. If this occurs simply have your attorney file to convert your chapter 13 to a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy will discharge your debt and also give you the breathing room to sell your home. If your home does not sell, you can simply walk away from it and you will not suffer any of the tax ramifications of your home being sold at a foreclosure sale and owing the bank the delinquency between the mortgage and sale price. If you mathematically cannot make your mortgage payments and your certain you will be foreclosed upon, either chapter 13 bankruptcy or chapter 7 bankruptcy will be the best chance you have in staying on a foreclosure and not facing the IRS tax ramifications of the delinquency between your mortgage and the sale price of your home. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob... Read Answer

The simple answer is yes, an HOA does have the right to file foreclosure on properties for dues that are in arrears. The best way to fix this situation is to pay the home owner Association dues. Bankruptcy, either chapter 7 or chapter 13 will help the situation. The reason for this is that they are foreclosing on the liens placed on the property, not on the debt. The only chance that you would have this to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy and file a motion to avoid lien, if this motion is accepted by the bankruptcy court judge then the debt associated with the homeowners Association and the liens that they were foreclose on would be null and void. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob... Read Answer

The answer is yes, if you are filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy in which to save your home you can still do that if you have not yet received a bankruptcy discharge. If you are still in chapter 7 bankruptcy, and have included your home mortgage, and now wish to save your home you do have an option, convert to a chapter 13 bankruptcy. In chapter 13 bankruptcy, you are allowed to repay your delinquent payments while still making your normal monthly payment. Thus in a chapter 13 bankruptcy you can save your home from foreclosure. But if you've received a discharge from chapter 7 bankruptcy, you cannot convert it into a chapter 13 bankruptcy, unless you reopen the case and the bankruptcy court allows you at that point to convert to a chapter 13 bankruptcy.   I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147... Read Answer

You can only do a short sale if your lender agrees. A short sale will cause slightly less damage to your credit score than a foreclosure. If you are going to walk away, at least try to negotiate a cash-for-keys deal with the lender. Many lenders will pay a few thousand dollars to avoid the time and expense of foreclosure.... Read Answer

I am impressed you got as far as you did without an attorney. You should hire an attorney from here on out, because the legal ramifications are substantial. Expect to pay a retainer of $3-5k, and you may be in for a long fight. Ultimately the mortgage may be null. Then its a matter of what you have stated under oath regarding the obligation.... Read Answer

If there has been a judgment of foreclosure and sale, your home can go to auction not less than 90 days after the judgment. The judgment will specify when the redemption period ends. You should receive a notice from the lender of the sale date. Assuming the sale is held on that date, the lender then must obtain an order approving the sale. Typically that is about 2 weeks after the sale. Then, you can be required to vacate 30 days after that.... Read Answer

Did the first attorney charge an up front fee? If so, he violated the law and you are entitled to a full refund regardless of whether he did any work for you. Refusing to respond to client communications is itself a separate violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. You should file a formal complaint with the State Bar of California. In the meantime, you should hire a different attorney right away so you don't lose any rights.... Read Answer

Instead of just walking away, you should contact the mortgage company and try to negotiate a "cash for keys" deal. Lenders are often willing to pay money for moving expenses or other sums to avoid the cost and delay of foreclosure. You would simply sign a deed to the lender in exchange for an agreed sum of money. An alternative would be to talk to a real estate agent about a short sale, which means negotiating with the lender to allow you to sell the house to a third party for less than the amount of the mortgage loan balance. There is no fixed amount of time that an owner can remain in the property after the foreclosure sale. If you don't move out voluntarily, the lender has to file an unlawful detainer action against you in court (the same as a landlord evicting a tenant). Once the lender gets a court judgment, it will deliver a writ of possession to the sheriff's department, which will physically evict the people and their property from the building. The timing depends on how busy the court and sheriff's department are.... Read Answer