How to Stop Home Foreclosure
Facing the prospect of losing your home can be overwhelming and disheartening. When you receive notice of a pending foreclosure, or are facing serious economic troubles and have fallen behind in your mortgage payments, you need to take immediate action. The best thing you can do to safeguard your South Carolina home is hire a competent foreclosure defense attorney who knows what to do.
State laws about home foreclosures are slightly different in South Carolina than in most other states, so it is crucial you seek counsel from a lawyer who knows every detail to better defend your home. A lender will file a lawsuit when they decide to foreclose a property. The homeowner will be notified of the foreclosure within 20 days, and will be given 30 days to respond. In the ideal situation, the homeowner will resolve the default of the loan, otherwise the case will then turn over to a hearing officer who will have the property sold.
The homeowner may fight the foreclosure through loan forbearance, loan modification, or filing for bankruptcy. A forbearance agreement could potentially be the easiest way to avoid foreclosure. In forbearance, the lender agrees to reduce or suspend mortgage payments for a designated period of time. However, at the end of the agreed period the homeowner must return to paying the full amounts, in addition to paying back to extra amount missed during forbearance.
When a homeowner applies for a loan modification, the home foreclosure will immediately stop. Modifications could involve changing from a variable rate to a fixed-rate mortgage, or extending the payment period and thus reducing monthly payments. If the modification is approved, the foreclosure will stop permanently, as long as the homeowner continues to make the allotted payments.
Bankruptcy can be a smart option to save your home, especially if you are facing financial troubles that lead you to have monetary issues elsewhere. When you file for bankruptcy, the foreclosure will instantly halt under an automatic stay. There are multiple bankruptcy options, either Chapter 13, or Chapter 7, depending on your specific needs, though either could enable you to keep your home.
Homeowners may also choose to go with a short sale instead of foreclosing their home. Regardless of the course of action you choose, Attorney Traywick can help you take whatever course you are comfortable with in order to help your family regain financial stability.
Attorney Traywick has extensive knowledge of foreclosure defense laws in South Carolina, and is dedicated to defending homeowners in need. For legal help regarding your possible home foreclosure, contact Traywick Law Offices for a free consultation.