Can I modify my mortgage loan after my bankruptcy was discharged?

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Can I modify my mortgage loan after my bankruptcy was discharged?

My mortgage is too high and I’m starting to get behind on my payments. My lender is threatening to file a motion to release to the courts. I have a fannie mae loan. My tax assessor says that my house is worth $296,000; my loan is $405,000. Is there a way I can fight this being that I have a Chapter 7 on my home and my intentions are to try and keep it? 

Asked on May 20, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, California

Answers:

Mark J. Markus / Mark J. Markus, Law Offices of

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

OK, it's not clear from your facts, but I'm going to make a couple of assumptions:

1.  You filed a Chapter 7 case and you are presently in the case (i.e. it has not yet been closed).

2.  by "motion to release" you really mean that your lender has filed a "motion for relief from the automatic stay" to allow them to proceed to foreclosure.

 

If those assumptions are correct, there isn't much you can do in a Chapter 7 case.  If you are behind in your payments to the mortgage, you could convert your case to a Chapter 13 and do a repayment plan to cure the arrearages, but without knowing your financial situation I don't know if that is a feasible alternative for you.

If you need to lower your mortgage payments, you need to try to work out some sort of loan modification with your lender.  That is something you'd need to do outside of bankruptcy in any event.

 

Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law

Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.

http://www.bklaw.com/

Mark J. Markus / Mark J. Markus, Law Offices of

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

OK, it's not clear from your facts, but I'm going to make a couple of assumptions:

1.  You filed a Chapter 7 case and you are presently in the case (i.e. it has not yet been closed).

2.  by "motion to release" you really mean that your lender has filed a "motion for relief from the automatic stay" to allow them to proceed to foreclosure.

 

If those assumptions are correct, there isn't much you can do in a Chapter 7 case.  If you are behind in your payments to the mortgage, you could convert your case to a Chapter 13 and do a repayment plan to cure the arrearages, but without knowing your financial situation I don't know if that is a feasible alternative for you.

If you need to lower your mortgage payments, you need to try to work out some sort of loan modification with your lender.  That is something you'd need to do outside of bankruptcy in any event.

 

Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law

Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.

http://www.bklaw.com/


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