CHEKIAN LAW – YOUR VEHICLE TO STOP FORECLOSURE
What Is Foreclosure?
In California, real property foreclosure is approximately a 120 day process from start to finish. Most mortgages here have 2 components: a promissory note and a deed of trust. When you obtain your mortgage, the lender records the deed of trust at the county recorder where the property is located. The deed of trust has a feature called a power of sale, which gives the lender the right to foreclose without filing a lawsuit and allows it to sell the property at a public auction if the borrower defaults on the loan payments. The threat of foreclosure begins when a borrower misses payments contractually due on the promissory note. The default is usually missed monthly payments, or failure to pay the entire loan balance if the loan has a lump sum or balloon feature.
Foreclosure Timeline.
Before the 120 day foreclosure period starts, the lender must give the borrower certain notices containing a loan balance accounting, opportunities to cure and contest the default, an invitation to apply for loan modification and assistance, and the identification of a single point of contact for the lender. Following this, if the default is not cured, the lender may record a notice of default, which starts the 120 day clock ticking down to foreclosure. The notice of default specifies the amount of the default, identifies a foreclosure sale company, identifies the borrower and lender and the property address. Since this is public record, the borrower typically receives a barrage of mail from companies and lawyers hawking everything from bankruptcy, to keys for cash, to schemes to sell partial interests of the property, to hard money loan offers, and lowball offers to buy the property for all cash. Once 90 days pass from the recording of the notice of default, the lender publishes and records a notice of sale, 21 or more days thereafter, which gives notice to the world of the minimum sales price and the time, date and place of the foreclosure sale. An experienced pack of bargain hunters usually attend the sale.
Foreclosure Sale.
At the foreclosure sale, the property may be sold to the successful bidder who meets or exceeds the minimum sales price to pay off the foreclosing lender, or, if the minimum price is not met, the property title reverts back to the lender, who owns the property subject to any senior liens or encumbrances. The new owner then attempts to evict any remaining occupants in the property, usually by filing an unlawful detainer lawsuit, which can go to trial in as little as 3 weeks from the filing date with the court, or longer if a response is filed. If the new owner prevails at trial, he gets a writ of possession, which enables a sheriff or marshal to serve it on all occupants, requiring them to move out, usually within 5 days from service. If occupants still remain after 5 days elapse, the sheriff or marshal can forcibly evict any occupants.
How We Help To Stop Your Foreclosure.
You own your “piece of the rock” in Los Angeles County or Orange County. Congratulations. Foreclosure is deeply disturbing to all involved, especially if the property is your home. Your home is where you watch your kids grow up, where you sleep, play, laugh, learn and generally live your life in this marvelous world. At Chekian Law, we genuinely sympathize with your plight and do whatever we can to work out the best solution for you to keep and stay in the property if you so desire, we can help to get more time to sell or move out of the property. In the case of income property, you can continue to collect rents in most cases while we work out solutions for you.
Bankruptcy Stops Foreclosure.
The most common way to stop foreclosure is by a payment plan or reorganization set up with the help of a bankruptcy lawyer in Los Angeles. To clear your debts getting help from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer in Los Angeles may be helpful, but to prevent foreclosure and giving up your possessions, this can be accomplished by a Chapter 11 bankruptcy attorney for higher debt individuals and companies, but usually a Chapter 13 is filed. Even if your sale is at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, if you file a Chapter 13 at 8:00 that day, you can still stop the foreclosure sale . In a Chapter 13, in most cases you resume making the regular monthly mortgage payments, plus you pay a “catch up” payment monthly, so that at the end of the Chapter 13, you are totally current on your mortgage debt and there is no foreclosure activity. Bankruptcy can also help buy you more time to catch your breath, so you can accomplish a loan modification, or pursue a sale or a refinance to eliminate the foreclosure. These cures can be accomplished inside of bankruptcy with court orders, or shortly after you dismiss your bankruptcy. Here at Chekian Law, we have over 20 years of experience as a bankruptcy lawyer in Orange County helping people just like you save their homes by using the powerful tools of bankruptcy. See if a Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer in Orange County can help you or if you need other attorneys for bankruptcy.
Non-Bankruptcy Alternatives Eliminate Your Foreclosure.
Sometimes you don’t need bankruptcy to delay or to stop your foreclosure. Do you need a little more time to close your escrow, complete your refinance, or accomplish a loan workout? The foreclosure sale is in 10 days and the lender won’t postpone? At your wits end? Contact our debt settlement lawyer in Los Angeles, we can help you, by using the threat of bankruptcy and by persuading the lender that it’s in their best interest to wait so you can fix the problem.
We have low flat fees and free consultations, so it’s a no-brainer. Ask Michael Chekian, the premier “stop foreclosure attorney in Los Angeles”, and the well known stop foreclosure attorney in Orange County.
(310) 390-5529– Voice Live.
877 243 5529 – Toll free
800 592 5124 – 24 Hour Recorded Bankruptcy Information Line.
mike@cheklaw.com