Aston Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

Mortgage payments can be hard to keep up with if you experience sudden financial changes. For those who fall too far behind, mortgage foreclosure could cost them their home. While foreclosure can feel overwhelming, you might have options to fight the foreclosure and hopefully keep your home.

Options for avoiding foreclosure include curing the default, filing for bankruptcy, or negotiating with creditors. Under federal law, lenders may not initiate foreclosure proceedings until a debtor is at least 120 days delinquent with mortgage payments. Typically, lenders must provide notice to debtors before beginning foreclosure. We may be able to delay foreclosure if you never received proper notice or other procedures were disregarded.

Ask our mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys with Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates for a free initial case review by calling (215) 701-6519.

How to Fight a Mortgage Foreclosure in Aston

Facing foreclosure is never easy, but you may have legal options to fight it. Lenders typically just want their money, and if our mortgage foreclosure defense lawyers can find a way to help you make that happen, you might be able to keep your home. If not, other options exist to help you.

Cure the Default

In Pennsylvania, homeowners facing foreclosure have a right to cure the default and reinstate their mortgage.

Under 41 Pa. Stat. § 404(a), you may cure your default and prevent the sheriff’s sale of your home after the lender has provided their notice of intention to foreclose. Typically, homeowners may cure their default up until one hour before the sale.

Curing the default requires paying your past due mortgage so that your payments are current. Depending on how far behind you are, this might be a large sum. You must also pay other fees and costs the lender incurred during the foreclosure process, which may include certain legal fees.

If you are about to receive a large influx of money, notify your attorney. Financial help from family, winning, and inheritance could help you in this situation.

Negotiate with Creditors

While lenders might have the ability to foreclose, they are not required to do so. In some circumstances, homeowners may negotiate with creditors and reach agreements to avoid foreclosure. It is a good idea to have a lawyer with you when you enter negotiations.

One possibility is that we can persuade the lender to delay foreclosure a bit longer. Perhaps you are behind on payments because you were suddenly laid off from work, and it has taken a while to find a new job. If you are starting a new job soon, the lender might be willing to wait a bit longer until you have an income again.

We might instead negotiate to change your mortgage terms. If you cannot keep up with monthly payments because they are too costly, we might persuade the lender to reduce your monthly payment to something more affordable.

Bankruptcy

Homeowners often avoid the idea of bankruptcy, but it might help you avoid foreclosure.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can  reorganize your debts and finances without taking away property like your home. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1322(a), petitioners create an affordable yet aggressive payment plan to repay debts.

You might be under the plan for several years, but it may help you avoid foreclosure and pay off other debts in the process..

Additionally, the bankruptcy court will impose an automatic stay under § 362(a), which prevents lenders from taking legal action against you. The bank cannot foreclose while the automatic stay is effective.

If you are in foreclosure when you file for bankruptcy, it must immediately halt and cannot resume until your bankruptcy case is complete. By then, you may have caught up on your debts under your payment plan.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy might also be available and would include an automatic stay, but it might not let you keep your house.

When Mortgage Foreclosure May Occur

A lender may not foreclose on your home until you are at least 120 days delinquent with mortgage payments, according to 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f). They may also foreclose due to violations of a due-on-sale clause or because they are joining the foreclosure action of a superior or subordinate lienholder.

Missing one mortgage payment should not trigger foreclosure. However, you might receive notice from the lender about the missed payment, and you may incur late fees. If the lender attempts to foreclose but you are not 120 days delinquent, tell your attorney immediately.

How Mortgage Foreclosures Begins in Aston

Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state where the foreclosure process happens through the courts. When a loan servicer or creditor wants to initiate foreclosure, they must file a case against you, like a lawsuit. Since judicial foreclosure is a bit more time-consuming than non-judicial foreclosure proceedings, we may have more time to prepare.

You must be given advanced notice of the foreclosure. In Pennsylvania, lenders must provide an Act 6 notice explaining the impending foreclosure. Lenders may not foreclose without providing this notice. If you were not properly notified, we may delay the foreclosure, possibly buying extra time.

Even if notice is provided, it might be inadequate. The notice should describe why the lender is foreclosing, the nature of the default, the debtor’s right to cure the default, and the time in which the debtor may cure the default, among other details.

If the notice is lacking, we can challenge the foreclosure. The same is true if other procedural steps are skipped. Additional delay means more time for you to pay.

Talk to Our Aston Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Attorneys About An Initial Case Evaluation

Ask our mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys with Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates for a free initial case review by calling (215) 701-6519.