There's a difference between wrongful foreclosure and
foreclosure defense. Wrongful foreclosure involves litigation between the borrower and the foreclosing lender after the foreclosure has taken place. Foreclosure defense involves strategies and possible litigation against the lender before foreclosure. Obviously, there is a big difference in someone's life before and after a foreclosure takes place, and the legal strategies and theories also involve big differences when one is thinking about how to implement the right strategy. Attorneys that do not understand the intricacies of the process or the motivaton of lenders at each stage after notice of default run the risk of succumbing to sophisticated lender defenses and will not provide the services that homeowner's need.
In the pre-foreclsure context, there are numerous strategies that can work to stop your overbearing lender from taking your home. If you are upside down in your mortgage, if you do not want to try and keep your home, and if you want to try and avoid the need to file bankruptcy, a short sale is an excellent way to accomplish the sale and conveyance of your home to get you out from under it. In order to do this successfully, you need a professional who understands the process to be able to effectively negotiate with your lender. The path you take to accomplish this will largely dictate your results. You can hire an attorney that may charge you fees on the front end, who will tell you that they understand how to require your lender to start listening to why they need to change their position and who will try to establish value by threatening litigation against your lender at the pre-foreclsoure stage. Alternately, my advice is to find a Realtor who knows and understands short sales and who has the business experience to handle not only the negotiation with your lender but the sale of your home in as expeditous a manner as possible. There are not many Realtors that fit this profile. In order to succeed, you need a full-time Realtor who is not engaged in another business or is handling real estate clients on a part-time basis.
There are numerous advantages to structuring your short sale this way. The most noteable advantage to you is that you get the professionalism of a team that can handle your short sale from start to finish and it won't cost you anything. That's right, you get better service and accomplishment of your objectives without it costing you anything. The reason that it does not cost you anything is because Realtors work on commission, not up-front fees. You might think that using a Realtor to negotiate with your lender might get you less than using an attorney, but the reality is that this is not usually the case. Realtors understand the market value of your home; attorney's don't. Realtors understand the market as it relates to the real estate lending process, most of the time better than attorneys do. And, a solid, professional Realtor will have a relationship with a title attorney (a distinct and specific area of law practice that is different than a "real estate" attorney-make sure your attorney owns and operates a title agency that handles real estate closings). The Realtor will likely get better legal advice from the title attorney he or she works with on a regular basis and they will be able to get the help of that attorney at no cost to you because the attorney will get paid for handling the closing when the Realtor sells your home rather than from your pocket up front.
If you need the services of a Realtor, a knowledgeable Middle Tennessee Realtor is Ross Winchel. You can find him at www.rosswinchel.com. Ross works with
www.cainpllc.com and
www.tennesseetitlellc.com, and we would most likely handle the legal work for your short sale if he lists your home and negotiates your short sale. Your lender ends up paying all of the necessary fees including commissions when it accepts less than what is owed on the property and allows it to close. Beware of Realtors who say they understand short sales; most do not. If you have spent any time negotiating with yor lender on any level, you probably already know that it is extraordinarily difficult to make any progress at all. Ross Winchel understands how to make progress. If you are facing foreclosure and you want to get out from under your house without having the foreclosure on your record, contact Ross Winchel to help you and he will in turn get Cain & Associates involved at the appropriate time.
Another useful strategy in stopping your foreclsoure before it happens is a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. The Bankruptcy Code is very useful when you have burdensome and oppressive debt over and above your mortgage. Bankruptcy becomes useful when even short selling your home will not get you out of financial trouble. There are times when a short sale can be useful even if you know you are going to file bankruptcy, but consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer in Franklin, TN is imperative to understand the intricacies of when doing so is in your best interest. If you are behind in your mortgage payments, you have lost your job or no longer earn enough to make your mortgage payments going forward, and you have other overwhelming debt, a short sale will probably not help you. In that case, a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy would most likely be the best option.
Under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the foreclosure is cancelled, your mortgage debt is dicharged, you get the opportunity to vacate the home in an orderly manner and not by lender-forced eviction or foreclosure, and your debt is discharged in order to give you a fresh start. A
Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Middle Tennessee typically takes about two to three months from filing of the petition to discharge. As long as the bankruptcy petition is pepared completely and competently by a
bankruptcy attorney in Franklin, TN, the process is relatively straightforward.
Under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the foreclosure is cancelled and you get the opportunity to make a reasoned decision about whether you can keep your home. In a
Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you repay some or all of your unsecured debt over either a three or five year repayment plan by making payments every month. If you can show that you make enough money to make your mortgage payments every month, even if in order to do that you have to stop making payments on unsecured debts (credit cards, medical bills, etc.), then you can get a repayment plan confirmed and there is not much your creditors can do about it. For some, keeping their home is very important, and even when you are behind on your payments, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can allow you to catch up and keep your home. Contact a
bankruptcy lawyer in Franklin, TN to find out more.