Stop paying mortgage

[simon2020]

Long story short.

Started loan mod process 1/2009

Bank took forever to even respond back with an offer.

Filed for ch 13 April 2009

Confirmed plan June 2009

Mortgage held outside the plan

Mortgage co. would not talk to me and told me to send them a letter indicating my lawyer said ok to talk to them about a loan mod.

They said they cancelled my "approved" loan mod because I filed and must now start all over.

Paying on time with Trustee so no problem there.

Now that ch 13 plan in place, my 5 year ARM has increased by $400. I warned my mortgage company I would have to file ch 13 if they could not help with a loan mod. Keep in mind, they did approve me prior to filing, but dragged their feet - even past my confirmation stage.

They now have my attorney's letter but still dragging their feet.

Question: I am tempted to skip next month's mortgage payment since I am now being squeezed by the increase of the ARM loan resetting. btw, my plan is 100%.

What are the risks for skipping a payment since it is outside of the plan? I plan to use the (1) skipped mortgage payment to offset the increased $400 for future months just in case they take another 3-6 months modify my loan down - even if it's just down to the "intro" rate before the reset it would help -- my plan was written that way assuming it was fixed.

Any input would be appreciated.

[simon2020]

Anyone have Bank of America has their mortgage servicer?

[lrprn]

What are the risks for skipping a payment since it is outside of the plan?

The instant you are late on your mortgage payment, that immediately opens the door to BofA petitioning the court to lift your automatic stay so they can repossess the house. The 'argument' you propose has no legal standing. You could easily lose your house if you could not immediately make up the arrearage.

Since BofA was obviously dragging their feet on your loan mod before you filed, to stake your house on them agreeing to a loan mod AFTER filing Ch 13 doesn't make sense.

With the increase to your mortgage because of the ARM, it would make far more sense to modify your Ch 13. Is your lawyer aware of the increase in your mortgage? Have you discussed modifying your plan with him/her?