Benefits of Chapter 13 bankruptcy to prevent or stop a mortgage foreclosure in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale

These days, the value of real estate in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale is skyrocketing.  It also looks like real estate values are going to continue to rise.  Of course we all know that banks and other mortgage lenders are excited about that because when they foreclose, they will have their mortgage satisfied, and in many cases, make a profit.  If you are behind on your mortgage, and cannot afford to immediately catch up, you have two options without losing your equity in the house.  The first option is that you can sell the house.  The problem with that option is where are you going to go?  Rents have never been higher, and as stated before, real estate prices are very high.  Also, if you were behind on your mortgage, it might be difficult for you to get a new house with financing.  The second option is to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Fining a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale will immediately stop any foreclosure.  It will also stop any lender from filing a foreclosure.  Section 362 of the U. S. Bankruptcy Code says that all collection activity MUST stop immediately upon the filing of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  This is called an Automatic Stay.  It is the main reason people file for bankruptcy.  It prohibits anyone from doing anything to attempt to collect on a debt.  So you can no longer be sent letters from creditors.  You can no longer receive phone calls from creditors.  If you do, a motion for contempt can be filed.  Creditors are very scared of the Automatic Stay.  Once your Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is filed, your attorney will file a pleading in the state court (a suggestion of bankruptcy), which notifies everyone that your bankruptcy case has been filed and all proceedings must cease.  If a foreclosure has not been filed yet, a notice will be sent to the lender or their lawyer or both telling them about the filed Chapter 13 case.  Any collection activity that happens after the Chapter 13 bankruptcy has been filed is void.  It has no effect, even if the lender didn’t have notice.  So if you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy before the foreclosure lawyer files the state court foreclosure case, you cannot be charged any of the fees or costs for the filing of the foreclosure.  If there is a foreclosure that has been set, you can file the Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and as long as it was filed before the sale has taken place, the sale is void.  At our office, we have the fax number to all the foreclosure sales departments.  So if the foreclosure is set for 10am and the Suggestion of Bankruptcy is sent to the foreclosure department prior to 10am, that sale will be taken off the calendar.  Even if the sale goes through, but they have received notice a minute before the sale took place, that sale is void.  Everything has a time stamp on it.  So if the foreclosure sale takes place at 10:15am and the Chapter 13 bankruptcy was filed and notice was sent at 10:14, the sale will be reversed as if it never took place.  

Once the Chapter 13 bankruptcy is filed in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, a lot of documents are necessary to give to the Chapter 13 trustee.  It’s very important to the success of your case to get these documents to your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale immediately.  Things move very fast in bankruptcy court.  Prior to filing the Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, your bankruptcy attorney should give you a list of documents necessary for the Chapter 13 trustee in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.  It’s best to have these documents prior to the filing of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.  In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, your attorney will file a repayment plan.  You must be able to afford the repayment plan payments.  Your first payment is due 30 days after the Chapter 13 case is filed and every 30 days after that.  The payments must be made by cashier’s check or money order to the Chapter 13 trustee.  The payments must be sent to a lockbox in Memphis, TN.  You must keep all of your receipts of the cashier’s checks or money orders.  That will be proof that the money has been sent to the Chapter 13 trustee.  If it has not been sent, your Chapter 13 case will be dismissed.  There will then be a very informal hearing by phone with the Chapter 13 trustee in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.  You will be able to call in 15 minutes prior to your hearing.  You will be able to listen to the questions of the Chapter 13 trustee or their lawyer in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale asks.  The questions will literally take two minutes.  The questions are the same for everyone.  There will be additional hearings, called confirmation hearings, which your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale will attend.  You will not have to attend.  These hearings are set to make sure all documents requested by the Chapter 13 trustee have been received.  Also, these hearings give your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney to object to any claims filed by your creditors.  Your Chapter 13 plan in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale will include all of your debt.  If you have secured debt (debts with collateral, like a mortgage or a car) that you don’t want to repay in the bankruptcy repayment plan in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, you can pay that outside the plan.  This is advantageous if it saves you money to keep that payment outside of the Chapter 13 repayment plan.  If your mortgage lender files a proof of claim showing how much they say you owe, your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney can object to any of the charges they are requesting.  Using the example above where a foreclosure was filed after the Chapter 13 bankruptcy was filed but before they got notice of the filing, your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale can object to those charges saying they are not allowed to collect the money they are requesting for the fees and costs expended for the foreclosure after the bankruptcy was filed.  Mortgage lenders are infamous for adding whatever they can to get more money from debtors in bankruptcy.  Many lawyers will not object to their claims because it’s extra work.  But a qualified and experienced Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale will file objections if the lender is charging more than they are allowed to be reimbursed for.  In a Chapter 13, you will have five years to repay the arrearage and the regular monthly payments, which must be included in the repayment plan.  Obviously, the longer you have to repay the debt, the lower the payments will be.  Once your filan payment is made, your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney will file a motion to deem mortgage current.  Once that motion is granted, your mortgage lender cannot claim money was owed while you were in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  After the last payment to the mortgage company is made through the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan is made, you must begin to make your payments directly to the mortgage lender.  If the mortgage lender will not accept those payments, you can make the payments to your Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, and a motion to compel the mortgage lender will be filed to force them to accept the post Chapter 13 bankruptcy payments.  One reason your mortgage lender may not accept payments after your Chapter 13 repayment plan ends is that the automatic stay is still in effect.  They don’t want to get in trouble for collecting a debt while the bankruptcy case is still open.  It does take a few months to close your case after your filan repayment plan payment is made because the Chapter 13 trustee must be audited in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale to make sure everyone who was supposed to be paid was paid the correct amount.  Once that is done, you will get a discharge (the end result of your bankruptcy), and your case will be closed.  Once you have received your discharge, all of your unsecured debts will be satisfied, and you will be current on your mortgage.  If a foreclosure was filed, it will be dismissed.  

To make things more affordable, in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, all unsecured debts (credit card debts and medical bills and personal loans) must be included.  They will, in most cases, be paid a small fraction of what they are owed.  The reason they get such a small amount is so that you will be able to afford the Chapter 13 repayment plan payments easier.  So all of your debts are consolidated into one payment to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee.  As said above, you can have a secured debt paid outside of the Chapter 13 repayment plan in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale if it makes things less expensive and more affordable.  Chapter 13 is a great option if you are in foreclosure or about to be, and you want to save your house.