Threatened with Losing Your Home?
Are you having difficulty staying current on your mortgage payments? Have you missed a payment? Has the bank sent you a notice of default? You need a Gainesville foreclosure defense attorney on your side to guide you through the process of preventing foreclosure and to fight to protect your future. Losing your home can be a devastating experience. Even if you are ready to move on, the economic consequences of foreclosure can have a devastating effect on your ability to secure credit and find a new place to live. You simply cannot afford to let this happen to you. Come to The Law Offices of Justin McMurray, P.A., where we help individuals and families in your situation.
Negotiate for a Loan Modification
In all likelihood, you purchased your house with the intention of remaining there for years, or perhaps even for the rest of your life. You may have spent years watching your children grow and were looking forward to many future years of happiness. Fortunately, there may be a way to keep the dream alive, no matter how serious the situation may be. An attorney from our firm can represent you in negotiations with the bank over a possible loan modification, which would reduce your mortgage payment by extending the loan period or lowering the interest rate or even the principal.
Failing this, we can fight the case in court, using proven foreclosure defense strategies such as disputing the bank's right to foreclose and alleging that you have been the victim of predatory lending. Another option is to declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will not get rid of your mortgage debt, but it can stop foreclosure with an automatic stay against creditor actions, and you may even be able to use a Chapter 13 repayment plan to cure the mortgage over a period as long as five years.
Negotiate a Short Sale of the Property
Many people who have reached the point of foreclosure are ready to give up the house and to move on in life. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it sounds. First, if the mortgage is underwater, with the property worth less than the balance of the loan, the bank may sue you to pay back the deficiency when the foreclosure sale does not raise sufficient funds to pay off the mortgage. Second, the fact of having a foreclosure on your credit report can not only make it impossible to purchase a new home for several years, it might also make it difficult to find a landlord who will rent to you.
Instead of letting this happen to you, you can seek our help in negotiating with the bank for a deed in lieu of foreclosure, an approach which involves surrendering ownership of the property in exchange for forgiveness of the loan. The result is essentially the same as a full foreclosure, with the difference that you save the bank considerable time and money by approaching them with the solution rather than forcing them to carry out the full foreclosure process. In the event that you have an underwater mortgage, it might be best to negotiate with the lender for approval of a short sale, which would enable you to sell the property for less than the amount you owe without being held liable to pay the deficiency.
Speak with a Gainesville Foreclosure Defense Attorney
There are many ways to avoid a foreclosure, and when you come to our firm for a free consultation we will take the time to review all your options and help you make an informed decision as to how to proceed. By consulting with a Gainesville foreclosure defense attorney, you could learn about exemptions to specific types of bankruptcy or debt relief alternatives. Contact us now – we are ready to help!