“If I’m 30 days late should I call a foreclosure defense lawyer to help?”

“If I’m 30 days late should I call a foreclosure defense lawyer to help?”

The short answer is “Yes.”

Particularly since January 10, 2014.

This is because there are new rules in place that for the first time give you real rights in modifying your loan and stopping a foreclosure.

We were able to stop foreclosures in the past by suing the abusive mortgage companies (your mortgage gives you the right to do this) but now we have much better tools with the new RESPA rules, which is a federal law.

In the past, many homeowners thought the only way to stop a foreclosure was by filing bankruptcy.

This can stop it at least temporarily.

However,  no one wants to file bankruptcy, especially if they are just several months behind.

We could file a lawsuit.

However, sometimes this was more extreme than necessary when a loan modification is all that was needed to prevent a foreclosure.

Now we have a new set of rules that can help you tremendously if you find yourself behind.

Even if you’re 30 days late, these rules can help you avoid a foreclosure.

We will be providing a lot of detail about this new law but here are a few hi-lights from it;

• As long as you request help in the right time period, the foreclosure process cannot begin until you are evaluated for a loan modification (or other form of loss mitigation);
• The mortgage companies used to love to play games with “losing”  or “never receiving” your paperwork (even though it was received by them through FedEx) but now if they do this there is a way to sue them under RESPA in federal court where they can have to pay damages, including emotional distress, and pay attorney’s fees;
• You can still do a QWR which means “Qualified Written Request” — this is where you can ask questions of the mortgage company although the new law limits what you can ask for;
• But, you can now do a RFI which means “Request For Information.” This is a powerful tool to find out information about your loan, the loan history, ownership of the loan, etc. Much of this we used to have to file suit in order to obtain (go to www.RESPAVideo.com for examples);
• And you can send a NOE — Notice of Error — when you believe the mortgage company has not been doing things correctly go to www.RESPAVideo.com for examples);
• The new law also greatly restricts the ability of the mortgage companies to do their typical bogus forced placed insurance where they get terrible insurance on the house for 3-4 times the cost of real insurance (Allstate, State Farm, etc); and
• The rules are now specific about how to process loan modifications and what you must be told if you are turned down for one — and we actually have a way to enforce this now.

We don’t want, in this article, to get bogged down in the details of RESPA.

However, know that there are options besides just filing bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure.

Here’s bottom line.

If you are behind and don’t think you can immediately catch up, contact a knowledgeable foreclosure defense lawyer in Alabama.

Talking with them will help you find out what your rights are.

Our firm is not for everyone — here is who we cannot and will not help.

I will caution you on this.

Sometimes there are folks who don’t want to spend any time making any effort to save their home.  If this describes you, don’t call us.  We can’t help folks who won’t help themselves.

Same is true for those who don’t want to spend any money to save their home.

Side note: I’m not saying you have to hire a lawyer.

However, you need to figure out your options either on your own or with a paid consultation.

You can go to www.ForeclosureDVD.com to get a wealth of information for free about what to do, especially on your own.

I’m confident you do not fall into either one of these descriptions.

Because those type of people wouldn’t even take the time to read this article.

They are simply looking for the giant “EASY” button where they do nothing and everything is given to them.  And they spend more time complaining about how unfair life is than they do actually making their life better.

But for the rest of us in the real world, we know anything of value requires effort. In addition, there is a price to pay for it.  Whether it is our health, family relationships, our jobs/work, etc. we always put effort into those things that are important.

If your home is important, then decide to find out your rights.

I believe it is or you wouldn’t be here

Decide to take the action you need to take to save your home.

If we can help you, call us at 205-879-2447 or fill out our contact form and let us know who your mortgage company is and how far behind you are in your loan so we can help you in the best possible way.