Westchester County Foreclosure Attorney
Facing Foreclosure? Find Out How You Can Save Your Home!
In today's troubling economic times when unemployment rates have affected
American families all across the nation, it's not uncommon for many
families to fall behind on mortgages. When people are at risk of losing
their homes, many of them feel helpless to stop it.
At Bronson Law Offices, P.C., our lawyers are here to tell you there is
still hope. Our firm has been helping our clients fight foreclosure proceedings
and we have helped many of them find alternatives to foreclosure
over the past 25 years. We can tie up a foreclosure proceeding for a long period. In fact, at
times we can convince a bank to accept a loan modification and stop the
foreclosure proceeding entirely.
Avoiding Foreclosure in New York
It is important to understand your mortgage rights as they relate to your
foreclosure case. In New York State, once you receive a Summons and Complaint
in foreclosure, you have just 20 days to respond if you were served personally.
On the other hand, if you were served the Summons and Complaint by some
other means than a personal delivery, then you have 30 days to respond.
In this time, you can review your loan documents to learn more about your
options. This is where you can determine what fees your lender can charge
for late payments and whether you can reinstate your loan by catching
up on your overdue charges.
You are required to file a Formal Answer where you respond to each allegation
in the complaint against you. This is the critical time for you to assert
any defenses that you might have, and the Verified Answer to the Summons
and Complaint in foreclosure must be formally acknowledged before a Notary
Public and it must be served on opposing counsel, and the court.
You have many different options in mitigating or fighting a foreclosure
in New York, including:
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Bankruptcy - Filing for bankruptcy will place an automatic stay on foreclosure proceedings,
offering you time to figure out a solution.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to keep your home and include past due payments in your
repayment schedule. Second mortgages can be stripped and loss mitigation
can be undertaken with court suspension. We have had excellent results
with loss mitigation.
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Loan Modification - If you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments, a lawyer may be
able to conduct negotiations with your lender to complete a
loan modification to modify your mortgage agreement. This is a permanent adjustment to your
mortgage which extends the time you have to pay off your loan, potentially
lowering your monthly payment and interest rate.
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Forbearance Agreement - In some cases, your lender can reduce or suspend your required payments
temporarily while you resolve your financial problems.
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Short Sale - A short sale may enable you to sell your home for less than the balance
of your mortgage, but this must be negotiated and worked out with your
lender in advance to ensure you are not held accountable for the difference
between the sale and your loan balance.
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Deed in Lieu - In some cases, you may be able to surrender the deed to your home to
the lender to avoid foreclosure. A deed in lieu of foreclosure must be
specifically worked out with your lender to make sure you are not held
liable for the difference between your home's value and your mortgage loan.
Why Hire our Foreclosure Defense Lawyers?
The ultimate purpose of foreclosure defense is to keep you in your home
for as long as possible while the bank proves its case. An aggressive
approach with the lenders also forces loan modifications in situations
where they have been denied in the past.
Our attorneys may also be able to challenge the validity of foreclosure
proceedings themselves. Your lender must comply with strict regulations
in bringing a foreclosure lawsuit against a homeowner. An experienced
foreclosure defense lawyer may be able to bring into question violations
of your rights, predatory lending practices or technical procedure violations.
Contact a foreclosure lawyer today! Our firm helps homeowners throughout White Plains and all of Westchester County.