|
Free Consultation! Call us 24/7!
Stop Foreclosure
Stop Foreclosure in Baltimore
If you’re behind on your mortgage, HOA dues, or Property Taxes you could find yourself faced with a foreclosure action. This process involves suing for the recovery of your real property to pay off a debt in which you have defaulted. The house is sold at auction and the liens are paid off in order of priority. For this reason, junior lien holders rarely initiate foreclosure proceedings. This is especially true after the reversals the housing market has seen since the 2007 highs. At the Grafton Firm, we can help you Stop Foreclosure in Baltimore and all around Maryland.
To Stop Foreclosure in Baltimore – First you should know Maryland’s Foreclosure process
A foreclosure begins with the filing a Complaint in Circuit Court in the County where your house resides. This is filed by the law firm for your mortgage company. A copy of the foreclosure paperwork is mailed, hand delivered, and may even be taped to your front door. Notices will also be sent to “All Occupants.” This means that if you are renting your house or even renting a room in your house your tenants will be notified of the foreclosure.
Included in the paperwork are modification applications and information on how to request mediation of the foreclosure hearing. You have only a short period of time to respond to the initial foreclosure filing. If no response, no modification application, or no mediation request is filed, the foreclosure will proceed. The next step in the process is a filing of the Final Loss Mitigation Affidavit. This is the next to last stage before your house is sold. The sale date will be published, usually in The Daily Record and on various online directories.
If that sale date comes and passes the likelihood of saving your home just dropped to close to nil. The process continues with something called Ratification. While the sale is almost universally irreversible, it is not completely official until Ratified by the Circuit Court.
So, How do you Stop Foreclosures?
While they are limited, knowing your options is essential. A bankruptcy can help, at least temporarily stop foreclosure in Baltimore. More specifically, a chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you catch up on your mortgage. If you can manage that payment plus your regular mortgage payment as well you can save your house long term. Keep in mind that most of your other monthly payments on credit cards, car notes, and more can be consolidated, lowered, or eliminated at the same time.
Chapter 13 offers the opportunity to remove some second mortgages. This is available in only limited situations. Your first mortgage balance must be higher than the value of your house.
Modifications are technically possible. Unfortunately the system was designed to encourage mortgage lenders and services only to TRY to modify. This does little to increase the encouragement for successful modifications. It has led to a system of trial modifications that are never approved as final. This has also led to frustrations as mortgage servicers constantly lose paperwork, slow-walk files, and otherwise muck up an already cloudy process.
At the Grafton Firm, we’re willing to help you navigate your modification options. Speaking bluntly, this won’t be a great option until the process improves. Proper incentives need to be put in place for servicers and lenders to approve final modifications. For now, this is not an option that we encourage. (Still, if it’s all we’ve got, it’s all we’ve got). For most people, however, bankruptcy is a much better option where feasible.
Don’t let your house go without a fight. Stop foreclosure! Call 410-870-9315 for a free consultation.
Grafton Firm, LLC
920 Providence Road
Suite 400A
Towson, MD 21286
United States
Copyright © 2021 Grafton Firm. All Rights Reserved. | Powered by Advantage Attorney Marketing & Cloud Solutions