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How Do I Save My Home from Foreclosure in Washington Dc?
If you fall behind on your mortgage, you may find yourself asking: How do I save my home from foreclosure? Whether you want to keep your house or whether you simply want to avoid the damage a foreclosure does to your credit, you should explore alternatives to having a lender foreclose. An experienced Washington DC foreclosure prevention lawyer can help you to explore the different options available to you so that you can find the right solution for you.
Saving Your Home From Foreclosure in Washington, DC
In Washington DC, you may want to avoid having a foreclosure on your record. If you do not want to keep or cannot afford your home, you can consider alternative solutions. These include short sale and deed in lieu of foreclosure. Both options allow you to give up the property while providing protection from deficiency judgments. Both damage your credit less than a foreclosure, too.
If you want to keep your home, on the other hand, then attempt modification of your mortgage first. The federal Making Home Affordable (MHA) program created a number of different solutions. These include:
- The Home Affordable Modification Program, which reduces your monthly payment so it does not exceed 31 percent of your pre-tax income.
- The Principal Reduction Alternative, which reduces the balance on your mortgage to the value of your home.
- The Second Lien Modification Program, which reduces second mortgages or home equity loans.
- The Home Affordable Refinance Program, which allows refinance even in cases where you owe more than the value of the home.
Choosing the right program depends upon your situation. In order to participate in any of these programs, you must first contact your mortgage lender. Confirm your lender’s participation and your eligibility. There may be many legal and procedural requirements to participation.
Bankruptcy Can Help Save Your Home From Foreclosure
In some cases, homeowners are not eligible for modification or the foreclosure process moves forward before a homeowner can stop it by modifying a mortgage loan. Bankruptcy can also provide a solution to save your home from foreclosure. While you cannot discharge mortgage debt in bankruptcy, you can sometimes have second mortgage debt reclassified as unsecured and included in a chapter 13 repayment plan. Your mortgage may also become more affordable after discharging other debts through Chapter 7.
Bankruptcy can help you to save your home even if the bankruptcy doesn’t affect the mortgage debt, because it puts an automatic stay into effect and stops a foreclosure from moving forward. This can buy you time to negotiate a modification with your lender that allows you to keep your home. An experienced bankruptcy lawyer in Washington DC can explain more about how bankruptcy can help you to save your home.
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Brian Lee from Lee Legal was an amazing attorney to work with. He took his time, reviewed my documents and we discussed my situation thoroughly. He explained the process and my options as well as gave his recommendation. Not only did he assist, but he ensured that I knew this...
I was very nervous and scared about going through this process. But Brian was very knowledgeable and helped me through it. I was notified about any and all updates to my case and he was very responsive when I had questions regarding any concerns I had. Although a bit nerve...
Brian provided me with a very detailed analysis about my potential case after our first consultation. He promptly responded to all my complex questions, especially navigating student loans and some tax discussions. He is very professional and experienced at what he does, I would...
I've had the pleasure of working alongside Brian V. Lee for several years, and I can say without hesitation that he is one of the most knowledgeable bankruptcy attorneys in the DMV area. Brian's command of Chapter 7, 11, and 13 practice is exceptional, and his clients in the DC...
Brian has the amazing talent of taking complicated legal matters and distilling them down to seamless, frictionless resolutions. He is a phenomenal problem solver and a trusted advisor.
Brian is both warm and professional. He helped me navigate a financial issue that I had not been looking forward to working on and he made the entire experience non-stressful, receiving a lot of anxiety I had around the matter. He is straight forward and a fantastic problem...
I had the opportunity to work with Brian at a time when I was challenged by a professional setback and forced with the challenge of making some very difficult legal decisions. Additionally, I worked with him again as I was dealing with some financial issues pertaining to my...
Still several years from Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness and saddled with significant student loan payments in proportion to my income, I came to Lee Legal to explore the bankruptcy path. Through his counsel, Brian took the fear out of the process and helped me to...
