If you are reading this blog, you are looking for help.
The first thing I want you to know is help is available, don’t wait to reach out to an attorney. When you receive a notice that a foreclosure sale is going to happen, your time to act is limited, just a few days. Start calling for an appointment now.
A foreclosure is a sale of your home because of a default on your home loan. Missouri is a non-judicial foreclosure state, and that means the mortgage company can sell your home without setting foot into court. They are allowed to notify you of the sale by mail, and you are given at least 20 days notice of that sale.
That means you have at least 20 days to stop the foreclosure.
One way to stop the foreclosure is to catch up with your payments. Contact the company that sent you the foreclosure notice and find out how much you will have to pay to stop the foreclosure. Ask how they want the payment made to ensure the foreclosure is stopped. Ask what day they need to receive the payment by. Ask how to send the payment to them. Follow up to make sure the payment is received, and get a receipt and proof that the foreclosure is stopped in writing.
Another way to stop the foreclosure is to file a lawsuit and ask the court to halt the foreclosure with an injunction. This method takes some time because the legal paperwork needs to be drafted, filed with the court, and ruled on by a judge - all before the foreclosure sale. However, if this foreclosure is wrongful, because your mortgage company made an error or acted fraudulently, this might be the best option for you.
The third way to stop a foreclosure is to file a bankruptcy. Bankruptcy’s automatic stay immediately stops all types of collection activities - including foreclosure. That means that you must file the bankruptcy before the foreclosure is scheduled to happen. Filing a bankruptcy after the foreclosure date will not save your home. A chapter 13 repayment bankruptcy will let you catch your mortgage payments up over 5 years. At the end of the bankruptcy your mortgage will be current.
It is important to remember that if you are trying to get a modification on your mortgage and you receive a foreclosure notice, you must act to stop the foreclosure. The modification department and the foreclosure department are usually separate and do not affect each other. You can stop the foreclosure with one of the above methods and then continue to work on your modification, but do not ignore the foreclosure notice because of a possible loan modification. If someone in the modification department tells you that the foreclosure is canceled, get it in writing, then confirm with the foreclosure company that the foreclosure is stopped, and get that in writing too!
Comments