Posts tagged as:

avoid foreclosure with bankruptcy

Homeowner claims bankruptcy 11 times and stays in home 7 years payment free

by Moe Bedard

The DeMauros are still in foreclosure. But by declaring bankruptcy 11 times, they have managed to hang on to their house and to continue living there — seven years after they made their last regular mortgage payment.

Though an extreme example, the couple’s story is an increasingly common

1 comment Read the full article →

House Democrats Bring Up Mortgage Bankruptcy, Yet Again

by Moe Bedard

House Democrats are bringing up mortgage bankruptcy and I wanted my homeowners readers to know that blah, blah, blah…blah-blah. Yes, this Washington bankruptcy flap coming from Democrats over the last two years is getting rather old folks. So old that the only word that comes out of my mouth to comment on this news is blah, blah, blah.

2 comments Read the full article →

Mortgage Bankruptcy Bill Passed by Congress

by Moe Bedard

After almost two years, it now looks like bankruptcy judges will soon be allowed to offer loan modifications through bankruptcy court as a last resort for a homeowner to stop foreclosure.
The process of claiming bankruptcy on your mortgage has been dubbed “cramdown.”

Under current BK laws, bankruptcy courts may reduce many forms of debt for struggling [...]

23 comments Read the full article →

Mortgage Bankruptcy Cramdown = Washington Showdown

by Moe Bedard

It looks like the controversial home mortgage bankruptcy bill will be delayed because of a severe snow storm that covered Washington D.C. today, forcing the U.S. House of Representatives to push back their bankruptcy votes to a later date.
The bankruptcy provision, known as a “mortgage cram-down,” would empower Federal Courts to write down the interest [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

Congress Still Concerned About Mortgage Servicers & Loan Modifications

by Moe Bedard

This Thursday the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that would provide much needed help to  struggling homeowners. The bankruptcy bill that we have been talking about for well over a year on LoanWorkout.org, HR 200, would allow bankruptcy courts to modify mortgages and slash principles for underwater homeowners.
See Moe’s past bankruptcy blog posts [...]

Read the full article →

Legislature May Pass Bill Modifying Bankruptcy Providing Judges Wide Reaching

by Moe Bedard

Following the trends of bankruptcy law over the last year the subject of “cramdowns” has made some lenders tremble and others, like me, anxious to see what our legislature will do to empower homeowners nationwide. If this new legislation makes it in to the senate and passes, I’m hoping President Obama will sign the new [...]

Read the full article →

Loan Modification Can Stop the Foreclosure Crisis

by Moe Bedard

If we can spend $700 billion to bail out the brokers on Wall Street, the very least we can do is allow working Americans who are willing to repay their debts as best they can, under court supervision, the dignity of staying in their homes. With one in 10 homeowners behind on their mortgages, and 10 million foreclosures expected over the next several years, the time for meaningful action is now.

Mr. Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan, is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Read the full article →

Cram Down Nation: Do Lenders Fear Obama?

by Moe Bedard

Obama Bankruptcy quotes from July 2008:

Families, he said, who “are being preyed upon by predatory lenders. If you’re protecting America, America should be protecting you from unfair bankruptcy laws.”

He said he would create a “fast-track bankruptcy practice” for military families, which would ease restrictions against declaring bankruptcy, eliminate “unnecessary” paperwork and “let them keep a greater share of the value of their home.”

Read the full article →

Congress Forges Mortgage Bankruptcy Deal With Citi

by Moe Bedard

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), with Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) announced that an agreement was reached with Citigroup today, on legislation that will allow homeowners at risk of foreclosure to alter the terms of their mortgages in bankruptcy.

Read the full article →

Developers use new laws to stave off foreclosure

by Moe Bedard

As residential and commercial real-estate markets falter, developers are increasingly turning to bankruptcy to stave off foreclosure on their troubled properties.
In the past, developers often filed for bankruptcy for the entire company, tying up all properties owned by their companies.
Changes to tax law and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the past decade enable developers to [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Bailout includes no bankruptcy aid for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

The Wall Street rescue deal does not include a provision allowing judges to revise loans on primary residences.
LA TIMES WASHINGTON — As congressional negotiators labored over the giant financial bailout plan last week, business leaders saw little to applaud in more than a few of the ideas under discussion, including one that proposed changing the [...]

Read the full article →

Will Congress Give the Courts Power to Modify Mortgages?

by Moe Bedard

Congress voted that primary residences would not be allowed to be modified when they rewrote the bankruptcy laws in 1978. I wonder who swayed that decision (banks maybe)? Bankruptcy judges already have the ability to modify the terms of other debt, including car loans and even 2nd homes, to help consumers with a reasonable payment [...]

Read the full article →

Will the Bailout Help Homeowners on Main Street?

by Moe Bedard

If US Treasury Secretary Paulson and President Bush have it their way, the world’s largest bail out will give the US Treasury what is essentially a blank check to do with it as they please. Meanwhile, the tax payers and the homeowners footing the bill will get nothing, nada, go straight to foreclosure because we’re too busy bailing out [...]

Read the full article →

Judges would be allowed to rewrite mortgage terms under a Democratic plan. Critics fear rate hikes.

by Moe Bedard

WASHINGTON — Over the opposition of the nation’s lenders, Senate Democrats are seeking a change in the bankruptcy law that they say could keep hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed borrowers in their homes.
The proposal, part of the Foreclosure Prevention Act embraced by leading Democratic lawmakers, would allow judges to ease the terms of mortgage loans [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Which is worse: Foreclosure or Bankruptcy?

by Moe Bedard

The single most important question consumers ask themselves during the present economic crisis: Is it better to lose your house to foreclosure or file for bankruptcy protection?
A foreclosure will remain on your credit report for 7 years, while a bankruptcy remains for 10 years. If you ever plan on getting any kind of loan, especially [...]

9 comments Read the full article →

House Bill Would Allow Bankruptcy Courts to Modify Mortgages

by Moe Bedard

This Bill right here would stop foreclosure for hundreds of thousands of homeowners and save them from their toxic mortgages that are eating them alive.
Under loan modifications, the lender and loan-servicing company change the mortgage terms to make them more affordable to the borrower. This can include lower interest rates and forgiving a portion of the [...]

3 comments Read the full article →