Whitehall, PA Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

Foreclosure occurs when a bank or some other lender seizes your home. Often, this happens because homeowners are very far behind on mortgage payments. Fighting a foreclosure can be difficult, but it is possible. Our lawyers can work with you to figure out how to fight foreclosure on your home.

While foreclosure might seem like some inescapable nightmare, you are protected by certain rules and procedures. For example, the bank cannot seize your home after one missed mortgage payment. The law requires that a homeowner be delinquent with mortgage payments for at least 120 days before foreclosure is even possible. You must also be notified of the foreclosure well in advance, so there should be no unfair surprises. Since Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state, the process must go through the courts, which may give us time to build a defense. We might negotiate with the lender, take the issue to court, or file for bankruptcy to hopefully avoid foreclosure.

Call (215) 701-6519 and ask our mortgage foreclosure defense lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates for a free, private case review to begin.

When Mortgage Foreclosure May Happen in Whitehall

Mortgage foreclosures do not happen out of nowhere. Banks and other lenders must abide by very strict laws and procedures when they initiate foreclosure. For example, banks and lenders may not initiate foreclosure for any old reason. Only specific circumstances and conditions allow mortgage foreclosure to occur. More specifically, according to 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f), you must be at least 120 days delinquent with mortgage payments before the bank can even begin mortgage foreclosure proceedings.

If you miss one, two, or even a few mortgage payments, the bank cannot foreclose unless you are at least 120 days late. On top of this, the bank must follow requirements regarding how they notify you about late payments and foreclosure. Ideally, the bank should send you a notice if you miss even one payment. If you have missed enough that the bank is close to being able to foreclose, you should be notified in advance. The goal is to prevent homeowners from being surprised or ambushed with foreclosure proceedings. If you are in foreclosure but never received notice from the bank, our mortgage foreclosure defense attorneys may use this information to fight the foreclosure in court.

What to Prepare for During Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings in Whitehall

The key to fighting mortgage foreclosure is to be prepared. Your lawyer should go over all the possible twists, turns, and outcomes of your case so you can be as prepared as possible.

First, the mortgage foreclosure process in Pennsylvania is a judicial process. Foreclosure must go through the courts, which often gives us more time to deal with the case than in non-judicial foreclosure states. The bank must file a case against you like a lawsuit, and you and your lawyer can fight the case in front of a judge. If the bank has violated any rules or failed to follow important procedures in initiating the mortgage foreclosure, we can address the issue in court.

We must also be prepared for the possibility that you might lose your home. The bank may seize your home if the mortgage is unpaid for too long, and getting the house back is not always possible. While there are various strategies we can use to fight the foreclosure, as described below, we must be prepared for what happens if we cannot reclaim your home.

How to Fight a Mortgage Foreclosure in Whitehall

Fighting a mortgage foreclosure will be difficult, but it is not impossible. Depending on your situation, we might have a few options for how to deal with the impending foreclosure. The bank might be willing to hold back on foreclosure if we can work out an agreement. We might instead let the matter go to court and fight it there. If all else fails, bankruptcy can help you.

Negotiate with Creditors

Many people facing foreclosure do not realize that the bank can be reasoned with. Depending on how far behind you are with mortgage payments, your attorney might help you work out an agreement with the bank. The bank might agree to forego foreclosure for now if you can provide a portion of your delinquent payments. Better yet, if you know you have a financial windfall incoming (e.g., a new job, assistance from family, inheritance), the bank might be willing to wait for the money rather than foreclose.

Take it to Court

Did the bank do something wrong? If they did not follow proper legal procedure when initiating the foreclosure, you can bring up the problem in court. Sometimes, letting the case wind its way through the courts is the best strategy to fight foreclosure. Courts are supposed to be impartial, and they will not automatically side with the bank. The court might side with you and decide that the foreclosure cannot go through, at least not yet.

In some cases, the ban lacks the legal standing to foreclose at all. Maybe they initiated foreclosure before you were at least 120 days delinquent with mortgage payments. In such cases, the foreclosure is not valid. This might buy you some time to get your finances in order before the bank tries to foreclose again.

Bankruptcy

Although this might not be an ideal outcome, you can file for bankruptcy and put a stop to foreclosure, at least for the time being. For individuals, chapter 7 or 13 can help, although other chapters exist. When the court accepts your bankruptcy petition, an automatic stay should be imposed that stops creditors, lenders, and banks from pursuing legal action against you for unpaid debt. This means if the bank is trying to foreclose when you file for bankruptcy, the foreclosure must stop immediately.

Talk to Our Whitehall Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Lawyers About Your Case Now

Call (215) 701-6519 and ask our mortgage foreclosure defense lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates for a free, private case review to begin.