Showing posts with label Bankruptcy Lawyers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bankruptcy Lawyers. Show all posts

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Foreclosure Schemes Mislead Desperate Home Owners: Bankruptcy Protection Is a Better Solution

A sad reality of today's economy is the number of people facing foreclosure. The thought of losing your home is traumatic. You may have already attempted to negotiate with the mortgage company, but found that a foreclosure is inevitable. If you are facing this dilemma, you need some good advice from an expert that can show you how to protect yourself. A bankruptcy attorney is an example of a professional that can provide solid advice. Bankruptcy protection may be your next best option. Unfortunately, many anxious home owners are prone to bad advice from unethical companies who see an opportunity to take advantage of their desperate situation. These companies attract these home owners by offering to show them a way out of foreclosure, and even claiming to get them out of their mortgage altogether. Some of these companies operate in a legitimate and ethical manner using an experienced mortgage attorney. Yet, there are a number of companies that attract vulnerable clients through misleading claims and empty promises.
I had recently been invited to interview with a company in Orange County, California that promoted itself as a non-profit consumer protection company. They claimed to specialize in helping people who were in trouble with their mortgages. The CEO of the company sent me a biography on the company and its founder. The information he sent was impressive. I was excited and intrigued about the thought of helping desperate home owners find a solution. I decided to do more research on the company and the topic of foreclosure rescue. After doing a great deal of research, I became very disillusioned. It seemed that many of these companies that provided this kind of service to home owners attracted their customers through deception and empty promises. After further research, I discovered that the company that I was to interview with was one of those companies. Their operation was not only acting unethically, but illegally. I was alarmed by the consumer complaints that were filed on the internet. This led me to further research on this company's license, court records, and the Better Business Bureau reports. The news was not good.
Over the last few years, news reports have circulated about subprime mortgages that were granted by inexperienced or unscrupulous underwriters leading to several lawsuits against the mortgage industry. Many of the homes facing foreclosure today were financed by a subprime mortgage. Many of these companies will attract customers by convincing them their mortgages were mishandled or illegally put together. They claim that they can locate flaws in their mortgage contracts that will get them out of their mortgage, and stop foreclosure.
The first thing they will explain to their client is that they must do a forensic mortgage analysis. Of course, this requires an upfront fee usually in the amount of $3500. Once the analysis has been paid for, the company will then ask for fees to file a complaint with the court to initiate the law suit. This fee can be as much as $10,000. These companies usually advertise no upfront fees. In fact, by California law, they cannot ask for upfront fees. According to many consumer complaints directed towards this particular company, several customers paid upfront fees without ever receiving an analysis or having a complaint filed with a court.
When an individual finds themself at the brink of foreclosure, bankruptcy protection should be considered as an option. While filing, bankruptcy may not prevent an individual from losing their home in the end, it will stop the foreclosure process and mortgage payments for up to three months. This gives the home owner one last chance to renegotiate with the mortgage company. However, when filing bankruptcy there are several other factors a home owners must consider besides their mortgage. For example, a bankruptcy takes all of an individual's debt into consideration when filing. Therefore, all debt including cars, credit cards, and medical debt must be considered in the bankruptcy court along with home mortgages. In addition, the bankruptcy court will separate an individual's debt into secured and unsecured debt. A home mortgage and auto loans are examples of secured debt. Credit cards and medical debt are usually classified as unsecured debt. These two types of debt receive different treatment in the bankruptcy court. An experienced bankruptcy firm will provide an individual with all the benefits, and disadvantages of filing a bankruptcy.
If you are faced with the foreclosure of your home it is important to get the solid advice of someone who is experienced. Too many companies in business prey on vulnerable people by claiming to provide an easy fix. In reality, very few people would benefit from the services a foreclosure recovery service offers. Only a small segment of mortgages have flaws big enough to file a worthy law suit. In addition, these lawsuits rarely relieve the home owner of their mortgage debt. On the other hand, filing a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy is a legal option for most home owners about to face foreclosure. A reputable bankruptcy attorney can explain the advantages a bankruptcy has to offer, and smoothly lead them through the filing process, and court procedure.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6338511
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