losing house in Chapter 13

[doglover]

Hi, I have a question....... When we filed BK last October we were 2 months behind on our house payments so those missed payments are in our repayment plan Well 6 months ago I wasn't able to make my house payment and as soon as I got the money I just made it but it puts us actually 1 month late well I'm not able to make all our house payment this month now. I called the mortgage Co. and "the computer" shows that we missed a payment in July and then the last payment they received was Nov. 18th. She also told me that when we missed it in July when we did make our payment in August that actually was for July and same for August, Septemeber, etc...To say the least she really confused me So I basically asked her what she was saying and she told me this," we have to pay on the 1st of every month and that's what is in our contract" so I asked since I haven't what is going to happen and she told me that it is up to the Trustee, that the mortgage Company can't do anything because of the automatic stay but if the Trustee finds out that I haven't benn upholding my part of the deal then the Trustee can dismiss our case. Then she told me that they don't report our recent missed house payments to the credit bureaus though.

Ok, now that you have the low down.......I'm scared to death that I'm going to come home one day and there will be a lock on our doors. If I call my attorney he will just tell me, "find a way and get caught up". Ummm ok....if it was only that easy. I can afford my house it's just hard right now with Christmas and slow hours at work.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated...whats going to happen??????

[justbroke]

Ok, now that you have the low down.......I'm scared to death that I'm going to come home one day and there will be a lock on our doors. If I call my attorney he will just tell me, "find a way and get caught up". Ummm ok....if it was only that easy. I can afford my house it's just hard right now with Christmas and slow hours at work.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated...whats going to happen??????

Well, to ease your mind a little... they can't just come put locks on your door. There's an entire process for this, and as eluded to, the Trustee would file a Motion to Dismiss. This usually comes with a 20 day answer period, in which you and/or your lawyer respond as to why the case shouldn't be dismissed. If you answer, then a hearing is scheduled and then they decide what to do. It could be 30 days just for that part.

Then, if your case is dismissed, you can actually motion to reinstate it (because you had really good reasons to get behind), or file a new Chapter 13. (A new Chapter 13 requires first day motions, and a lawyer really needs to do it.)

Otherwise, you can wait for the foreclosure process to begin. And that will take some time depending on your State. (It can take 6 months in some States to foreclose.)

So.... it's not going to happen tomorrow, that you come home and locks are on your door. Believe it or not, you own your home... not the Bank. They have to follow very rigid guidelines to recover the deed and title to the home.

I would start to work on figuring out exactly what is wrong with your payments. First, your payments MUST BE ON TIME. There is no true grace period in a Chapter 13. Just as the Trustee won't continue to allow late payments, neither will the Mortgage company (being paid outside the plan).

It is possible to do a post-confirmation modification to your plan to address a post-petition gap (or arrearage) issue. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know if that would work. I am actually addressing a gap (post-petition arrearage) issue myself in court on Tuesday. I'll let everyone know in my blog.

[doglover]

Thank you very much!!!!! I feel 100% better now. Just to clarify on 1 thing......will I be able to do a post-modification to my plan before foreclosure starts?
Where is your blog, I would love to follow your journey. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

[justbroke]

Thank you very much!!!!! I feel 100% better now. Just to clarify on 1 thing......will I be able to do a post-modification to my plan before foreclosure starts?
Where is your blog, I would love to follow your journey. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

Well, you would get a Motion to Dismiss and then your answer will be that you'll cure it through a Plan modification. Foreclosure isn't even in the picture at this point, because the Dismissal would have to happen first, or the Lender would need to file a Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay... which would probably make the Trustee just file the Motion to Dismiss anyhow.

FYI, My blog is listed under my name to the left... it reads Blog Entries: 4 (right now). Click on the number. It's not up to date, but I'm sure I'll be spewing more information after two hearings I have on Tuesday.