Foreclosures Legal Questions

One property will not be affected by another property going into foreclosure, as long as the collateral used to secure the debt is each individual property and each property was not also used to secure the other property than the foreclosure of one property does not affect the other. But foreclosure will certainly affect you, which is why you should file for chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge the debt of the property that will be foreclosed upon so you will not have to deal with the tax consequences of foreclosure. When your house is foreclosed and sold at auction below the mortgage value, the bank can go after you for the deficiency payment or most likely, will report this to the IRS and you will have to pay on this as income. Basically if your mortgage is for $200,000 in your home sells for $150,000, you owe a deficiency of $50,000. The bank can either go after you directly for this $50,000 or reported to the IRS as a loss, and you will be taxed as you made an additional $50,000 for that tax year by the IRS. This is why it is important to speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney to determine your liability. 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 More

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by your attorney putting a lien on the house. If you are talking about a lien to secure the attorney's fees for the partition suit, then yes you could sign an agreement to do that. Short of persuading your siblings to be reasonable, I am not aware of any way to sell the home without getting a judgment in a partition proceeding. You are allowed to sell just your one-third interest, but it is highly unlikely you could find a buyer for that. However, it appears that it would be easy to get your siblings served with summons and complaint and that they are not likely to file an answer or otherwise respond. In that event, you can obtain judgment by default in a relatively short time. Defendants have 30 days after being served to file an answer or other responsive pleading. At that point, you can apply for a default judgment. Since all you are asking for is a judgment of partition and there are no damages that need to be proved, you may be able to obtain judgment simply by submitting a sworn declaration without the need of a hearing (which could take a while to schedule). Or if necessary, your attorney may be able to file a motion and persuade the court to expedite the default judgment process.... Read More

So far the common theme has been that self lawyering the issue, to date, has been a dismal failure. Unless something changes dramaticallyin your skill set, this is not likely to change, whether its fair or not all aside. You simply need to hire a lawyer to address this ASAP before something irreparable happens. If you have any questions or concerns, please call our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation.... Read More

THIS is something that you should have considered long before buying real estate at auctions. If you are aksing about getting the occupant out of the house, it could take many months and thousands of dollars in legal fees if they refuse to leave. You need to retain a landlord tenant lawyer in the area where the property is located to help you with this ASAP. If you have any questions or concerns, please call our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE consultation.... Read More

If you have a mortgage indemnity insurance or a life insurance policy that may assist you in the event of default after death you need to review the specific terms of those policies. A mortgage lender will typically have every right under the terms of a mortgage though to foreclose if they have not been paid. Contact an attorney for review of the specific documents in your case. Consultations are typically free.... Read More

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 More

DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!   People think that becoming co-borrower is of little or no consequence, this could not be further from the truth. Take the first two letters out of co-borrower, what do you get borrower, that's what you become. The co-borrower to any mortgage or loan is just as libel to pay back the debt as the borrower. First of all if you're not getting put on the deed, but your becoming a co- borrower, that is just crazy. It will make you liable for the debt, but you will not have any interest in the home itself. So if after taking the risk of being a cold borrower or even worse being forced to make payments as a co-borrower, you still end up with nothing in the end. What is the worst thing that can happen? Let's pretty simple, you have to breakup, he can stop paying the mortgage and you're stuck with the debt. If he loses his job in files bankruptcy he will be off the hook, then you will have two choices either continue to pay the debt on a piece of property you do not own or file bankruptcy yourself. 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 More

THIS is why people should never represent themselves in lawsuits even though they are allowed to. As the dismissal was with prejudice, your case is over and lost and the responsibility lies solely on the plaintiff's lawyer, i.e. you. Now you are confronted with the potential of paying for the other sides legal fees and costs or the ridiculous expense of reviewing the case for appeal. Should you have futher questions, please feel free to contact our office at 1-800-922-6442 for a FREE telephone or in office conference.... Read More

It depends on the legal form of the ownership. The deed probably says that you and the other owner hold title as "tenants in common." In that case, either co-owner can sell his/her interest in the property or leave it to his heirs upon his death. On the other hand, if the deed says that you and the other owner hold title as "joint tenants," this means that upon the death of any owner, the surviving owners acquire the deceased owner's interest in equal shares. So, if there are three joint tenants and one dies, the two surviving owners now each own a one-half interest in the property. A joint tenant can sell his ownership share to a third party, but this destroys the joint tenancy and converts it into a tenancy in common among the other original owner and the buyer. The problem, of course, is finding a buyer who is willing to take partial ownership along with one or more strangers. The alternative is for you to commence a proceeding against the other owner in the Superior Court in the county in which the property is located by filing a Petition for Partition. You don't have to prove any good reason; you are entitled to the partition as a matter of right. In your case, if the parties cannot agree on what to do with the property, the court will order it to be sold and the net proceeds divided equally among the co-owners (or according to their respective percentage of ownership in the property). With a little help, you might be able to handle this yourself, but it would be much easier and quicker to hire an attorney. It could be that as soon as you serve the Petition and Summons on your co-owner, he will agree to sell rather than fight the lawsuit.... Read More

There are many options available to you. First, you may defend any foreclosure case which may be filed against you. It is highly recommended however that you get an attorney willing to litigate the matter and not just "delay the inevitable." Second, you should check out the Florida Hardest Hit Fund. If you qualify for help you may be able to have all past due payments made for you and keep your home. Contact me for any help needed.... Read More

Losing a rental to foreclosure, is exact same thing as losing your primary residence or Homestead to foreclosure. Homestead exemptions do not work against mortgages. The most likely result will be that one the house is foreclosed and sold at auction, it will be sold for significantly more than is owed on the remainder of the mortgage including the deficiency payments. Most banks no longer even attempt to collect this money from the home owner, they simply reported as a loss on their taxes. This is a very bad situation for the homeowner, as this gets reported to the IRS on a 1099 form as you received the amount of money that you were deficient as income. Basically if you have a mortgage for $200,000 and your home is sold at auction for $100,000, you have a deficiency of $100,000. Now the bank will do two things either come after you, this is very unlikely at this point in time, most likely the bank will simply reported as a loss to the IRS. The problem with this is you will be assessed taxes as if you made an extra $100,000 in that calendar year that the bank reported the deficiency. Once the IRS has assessed this on your taxes, bankruptcy will not be as helpful. To prevent this from happening you should file either a chapter 7 bankruptcy or a chapter 13 bankruptcy prior to the foreclosure sale. You're not attempting to keep your home, you just want to remove your obligation on the debt prior to the foreclosure sale so you do not get any tax ramifications. There are ways to write off tax debt, but they are extremely difficult and there are waiting period involved. The best recourse when you know you are going to be foreclosed upon and cannot get out of foreclosure, would be to file bankruptcy and remove the obligation of the debt prior to being foreclosed. 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 More

There are two options that work in all the states of the United States, and possible other options that are state specific for the particular state you live in and you would want to speak to a lawyer in your state about if any of those options are available. The first option to stop a foreclosure to save a home is usually filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy automatic stay will stop all foreclosure proceedings and allow you to make payments on your mortgage when the bank no longer is accepting payments and also allow you to establish a repayment plan to repay back payments. My law firm happens to also file discrimination complaints for handicapped people with the US Department of Treasury under their sub department of housing and Urban Development or HUD. These complaints can determine if the bank in fact discriminated against you because of your handicapped and gave you a predatory loan, knowing you would not be able to afford to pay back based on your disabled status. This option is offered in all 50 states. The vast majority of attorneys do not file these complaints, as most are unaware of them. But at our law firm we have employed the former director who basically "wrote the book" on the procedures needed for filing these complaints. If you feel you have been the victim of a predatory loan based on your disability, then this is the cheapest and most useful option available.     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 More

As of yet I have not heard of any protection for people who have been forced to leave their home or in the process of foreclosure in moved out of their home. I have clients that have been in foreclosure since 2006 and the bank still hasn't foreclosed on the property. This leaves the land owner responsible for property taxes and any utility bills associated with the property. This becomes even a worse problem if their multifamily dwellings and you have people that are living there especially if they are not paying rent. You may want to take some actions to protect yourself such as keeping the property in short or boarding up all the doors and windows so no one can get inside as you will be responsible for anything happen on that property while the property still in your name. 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 More