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Expert: - 5/13/2010


Question
Hi, thanks so much for volunteering. I'm not even sure if my question is ethical, but I'm running out of options so I'm going to ask. My home of 15 yrs in Jacksonville, FL has been in foreclosure almost 2 yrs. I have been job hunting for that long. I'm a degreed professional and I'm searching relentlessly. So finally my mortgage company wants to go to court in Duval County June 16th, 2010. And no, Legal Aid can't help me since they have so many free cases already and I'm unemployed.

1. What can I do to get more time to get a job. Do I even have a leg to stand on come this court date?

2. Is this a viable plan... file chapter 7 to stop the foreclosure. Since the interviews are suddenly picking up, I may have a job before this bankruptcy even gets to court. With a new job in hand, cancle the bankruptcy and renegotiate with my mortgage company.

3. Will filing chapter 7 (can't do chapter 13 unemployed) a month prior to this court date be accepted by the courts?

Thank you for any help advice you can offer.
Lisa

Answer

Leon Bayer
Dear Lisa,

I am surprised that you have any difficulty finding work, because you have a very bright, keenly analytical mind! You will be a valuable asset to any employer.

What you are asking about is a strategy that I have employed many times for people who want to save their home from an immanent foreclosure sale but are not quite ready to file a Chapter 13. I find it truly amazing that someone without significant consumer BK law practice experience would think of doing this. I thought I was the smartest person in the world. Obviously, there are others just as smart, including you.

The filing of a Chapter 7 will generally delay a foreclosure sale by a month at the least, and 3 or 4 months if you get lucky.

If there is a genuine change of circumstance soon after filing a 7, you can make a motion to convert to Chapter 13. Once in the 13, the court will probably allow you to start making normal mortgage payments, plus something extra to catch up the arrearages over as long as 5 years. The court is unlikely to let someone cancel the Chapter 7, and do not assume that your lend will suddenly work with you just because you have started a job. In my experience, most lenders would rather foreclose, and have no actual desire to participate in modifying a loan, (they pretend to have loan mod programs and procedures because of concerns about political correctness - but rarely will they actually modify a loan).

Please get yourself top notch legal representation. Your best chance of saving your home will happen with superior legal representation, plus luck.  
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThank you so much for the consise and timely info- I appreciate your time! Well, obviously unemployment = no top-notch lawyer. And Legal Aid will not help because they are overwhelmed- I understand that. I'm hopeful to find I can do this on my own. Thanks again for the kind words, Lisa


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Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer Leon D. Bayer

Expertise

Leon Bayer has successfully represented clients in bankruptcy for over 30 years. He is frequently called upon by the media, the California Bar and other associations to provide insight and help educate attorneys on bankruptcy issues. If you or other readers want to keep up with my blog postings about life in and out of bankruptcy, you can follow my blog at http://www.bankruptcyblogger.org/ and my personal web site at http://www.debt-relief-bankruptcy.com and A Human Guide to Bankruptcy at http://www.thebankruptcyguide.net/ Leon also writes about bankruptcy law for Nolo, see http://www.nolo.com/law-authors/leon-bayer.html and his "Ask Leon" bankruptcy law blog column at http://blog.nolo.com/bankruptcy/

Experience

Leon is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California, and has been a practicing bankruptcy lawyer in Los Angeles, California for 33 years.

Organizations
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers, California Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Publications
Author, ?The Essentials Of Chapter 13,? Daily Journal Report, December 18, 1987.
Contributing Editor, Basic Bankruptcy, California Practice Handbook, Matthew Bender 1992, 1993.
CEB Consultant, CEB-Personal and Small Business Bankruptcy Practice in California, 2003.


Education/Credentials
B.A., J.D.

Awards and Honors
President, 1995-1996-Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum; Member - Los Angeles County Bar Association Committee on Commercial Law & Bankruptcy, 1988. Law Advisory
Commission-Personal & Small Business Bankruptcy Law of the State Bar of California, 1996-2000

MR. BAYER SAYS: The big banks and credit card companys have been working overtime for many years to undermine the Consitutional right of the American people to be able to claim bankruptcy protection. In 2005 the banking lobby successfully convinced Congress and the President to make the laws and proceedures more complicated, hopeing that it will stymie legitimate people from filing bankruptcy. They succeeded in gaining these complex new legal proceedures by greasing the legislative system with hundreds of millions of dollars in "campaign contributions." The good news for the American people is that while the new laws have made the proceedures needlessly complex to the point where inexperienced people can't help but trip over the maze of new rules and regulations, the process is still doable, especially with a lawyer who is well trained and experienced in this specialty.

Past/Present Clients
I have probably handled something on the order of about 15,000 bankruptcy cases thropughout my career.

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