BiggerPockets

What are they waiting for...its either pay up, loan mod, short sale, or foreclosure. Sorry for the negative response but many people try and prolong the foreclosure process as long as possible as a type of free rent. Im not a fan of that..

yea, i know how it works...

you may not like the idea of prolonging the foreclosure but that is what I'm trying to do...

i know that there are plenty of people that do that...I am just looking for a recommendation or referral from someone on this board...

thanks

Simpson, which bank owned the property? And curious, don't banks supposed to send notice property is being auctioned 3-months in advance? Why only 3 weeks?

The tactic of last resort is ... bankruptcy. Bankruptcy comes with an "automatic stay" on all debt collection activities, and the foreclosure process is a debt collection activity.

Not that I would recommend bankruptcy, but you asked for alternatives.

The downside to bankruptcy (and the bankruptcy attorneys aren't always forthcoming with this info) is that you have to make the monthly payments on time in full, AND a payment has to be made to "catch up" on the amounts that are behind / delinquent. This often means that the "mortgage" payment that has to be made in bankruptcy is like 1.5 to 2 times the normal amount. So you have people who could not make the normal payment in full and on time now having to come up with that amount and then some ... and that is where the bankruptcies end up getting dismissed. And once the bankruptcy is dismissed, you are back at the place where you are today, facing foreclosure. Last figures I had heard were that roughly 80% of those in foreclosure who declare bankruptcy end up having the bankruptcy dismissed and back in foreclosure.

And since the defaulted borrower is in a desperate situation, with few alternatives, and the attorneys are licensed and trusted parties - well, these people just trust that the attorney will help them. Not knowing that it might only be the sort of temporary deferment of the inevitable.

And for foreclosure investors, many investors know that those in bankruptcy (and struggling to make the payments) eventually become much more willing to sell than they were before their declaration of bankruptcy.

I wanted to take a second to thank everyone who expressed genuine interest in trying to help my friend out with his situation; this forum is great!

I was trying to convince my friend's family to retain lawyers who specialize in delaying foreclosures and renegotiating notes.

The father of my friend who is actually losing the house has decided against my advice and is hiring a bankruptcy lawyer.

I really appreciate all your help in the situation!

Another link with statistics on bankruptcy:
http://www.phil.frb.org/research-and-data/publications/business-review/2007/q4/li_chapter-13-filings.pdf

Here is a link for "show the note" defense:
http://www.thhf.org/blog/2008/10/foreclosure-dismissal/

Eddie,

What I have posted here is primarily for Chapter 13, since the reforms of 2005 will place most filers into that category. And certainly there is allowance for people to continue to earn a living, otherwise they might have no income with which to pay back their debts.

As to the disclosures that are required, like you I have not had to be in that position; I just am repeating info that I have heard from a seller (she would not have gone into bankruptcy had she known how large her monthly payments would come to and that every bit of income had to be directed to the repayment, is what she said to me), and from training events. I just want to be certain that anybody who is pursuing bankruptcy as a means to stop foreclosure gets informed that there will be a struggle to pay, and that only by carrying out the bankruptcy payment plan to completion will they be able to keep the house; otherwise, it is only a temporary delay to the eventual loss of the house.