Foreclosure
If you want to stop foreclosure in Virginia or Washington, D.C., you must act quickly to protect your rights. If you have missed mortgage payments and a foreclosure auction has been scheduled, your lender will not stop the foreclosure process until the sale of your home is complete.
The experienced foreclosure prevention attorneys at Lee Legal can help you determine your options, whether mortgage modification, refinancing, short sale, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, strategic default or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You may want simply to “buy time” in which to figure out which option is right for you. We can help you:
• Cancel a foreclosure sale or auction
• Prevent foreclosure if you are in pre-foreclosure
• Negotiate more favorable mortgage terms
• “Strip” unsecured equity loans
We will work closely with you to identify and prepare a strategy specific to your individual circumstances and goals. In the current Virginia housing markets of Arlington and Alexandria, as well as D.C., the equity in your property will often justify the decision to avoid foreclosure. If you are facing foreclosure, you have options, but you must act quickly.
Foreclosure can have serious consequences on your credit and tax liability, so you should seek immediate legal advice on how best to proceed.
In a typical Virginia foreclosure, no notice of default or default judgments are required. A substitute trustee will be assigned and Notice of Sale is published for four consecutive weeks. The foreclosure auction takes place 30-60 days later, and in many cases the real estate is sold to the primary mortgage lender. A Memorandum of Sale is issued by the sheriff’s office. There is no post-foreclosure redemption period in Virginia.
Washington, D.C. has a non-judicial foreclosure process, which begins with a Notice of Foreclosure posted or mailed according to the form prescribed by the Recorder of Deeds. An auction notice (PL-90) is published five times. A trustee is assigned and the foreclosure auction takes place in 75-90 days. In late 2010, the D.C. Council passed an emergency bill requiring lenders to send homeowners a form to opt in or out of mediation along with the notice of foreclosure. If borrowers choose to enter mediation, they will have an additional 90 days to hammer out a new deal. D.C. does not have a right of redemption.
You will want to hire an attorney familiar with every aspect of foreclosure laws and the foreclosure process, one who answer your questions with confidence. Foreclosure defense and litigation, especially where bank misconduct is involved, can be incredibly complex, spanning real property law, contract and trust law, and commercial law. Lee Legal will help you examine all of your options:
• Short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure
• Mortgage work-out, refinance and modification
• Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop foreclosure
• Surrender, especially for an under-water or upside-down home
If you have additional foreclosure questions or seek more information on foreclosure prevention, see my article Anatomy of a Foreclosure for a thorough examination of the foreclosure timeline and process.
One more difference between Lee Legal and other foreclosure lawyers: we will help you rebuild your credit and credit score after foreclosure. Get the real facts on foreclosure. Contact Lee Legal today.
To stop foreclosure in Virginia, call (703) 879-2870.
To stop foreclosure in Washington, D.C., call (202) 448-5136.