Ventura Foreclosure Defense Attorney
We Can Help You Protect Your Home
If you are struggling with debt and behind on your mortgage, your home is at risk. For many borrowers, keeping their house is paramount. You do have options available to you, even if your creditors are knocking down your door for payments. The California debt relief and foreclosure defense attorneys at Rounds & Sutter will review your financial situation and help you explore your best options to prevent foreclosure during this difficult time. We are here to help you protect your house and put you back on the road to financial recovery and freedom.
Types of Foreclosure
When you take out a mortgage loan to purchase property, you agree to make monthly payments on that loan until the debt is fully repaid. The loan also places a lien on your home as collateral (making it a “secured loan”). Collateral operates such that if you default on your loans for a sufficient period of time, the lender may seize your property and sell it to recover some or all of your outstanding debt. The repossession and sale process is known as foreclosure.
Foreclosure can occur in two forms in California: judicial and nonjudicial. Judicial foreclosure requires the lender to go through a court proceeding to seek foreclosure, and borrowers can defend themselves in court. Nonjudicial foreclosure grants to the borrower the power to foreclose without first having to go to court. Lenders prefer nonjudicial foreclosure, as the process is faster and imposes fewer obligations on the lender.
Fighting Foreclosure
If you are behind on your mortgage payments in California, you have several options to consider in order to prevent foreclosure. Your foreclosure defense attorney can discuss which of the following choices is best for your case:
- Bringing overdue payments current in a single payment.
- Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Transferring the deed to the lender rather than foreclosing.
- Homeowner relief programs. State or federal relief programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).
- Depending on your circumstances, bankruptcy may prevent foreclosure.
- Short sale. Sale of real estate where the owner owes more to the lender than the property is worth. This essentially operates as a pre-foreclosure sale.
- Loan modification. Renegotiating the terms of your loan to make payments more affordable.
- Forbearance programs. Temporary relief on mortgage payments.
Your foreclosure defense lawyer at Rounds & Sutter will walk you through your various options to delay or prevent foreclosure and help you determine which options are available and which is best in light of your individual circumstances.
Foreclosure Protection During Coronavirus
Many Americans are struggling with mortgage and rent payments due to the hardships imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, a variety of state and federal orders and programs have been put into place to provide relief to debtors.
Most immediately, the federal administration ordered that all foreclosures and evictions must cease for 60 days, beginning on March 21, 2020. The moratorium on foreclosures may extend past May should the situation fail to improve. Many individual lenders, such as Ally Bank and Bank of America, have announced that they will be suspending mortgage payments and otherwise granting relief from eviction or foreclosure proceedings for qualified borrowers for several months or more.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have also said that they are offering forbearance options to borrowers who are underwater as a result of the pandemic. Forbearance allows mortgage payments to be suspended for up to 12 months.
Speak with a knowledgeable debt relief attorney to find out if your lender is offering any mortgage relief and, if so, how to qualify. Your attorney will also keep you apprised of foreclosure relief developments under California state or federal law as they arise.
Save Your Home. Protect Your Future. Call Rounds & Sutter to Explore Your Options
You may have a variety of options to prevent foreclosure, including lien stripping, bankruptcy, and other legal procedures. You may even be eligible for foreclosure relief under state or federal law. If you are behind in your house payments or in default, or if you are facing mounting pressure from various financial obligations, contact Rounds & Sutter for a free consultation. We will take the time to listen to your situation and help you decide the best course of action to protect your finances, your family, and your home.