Let Our New Jersey Bankruptcy Lawyers Halt a Sheriff Sale
Foreclosure numbers in New Jersey are way up. Although new foreclosure filings have drastically decreased, the reason is not because people are doing better – the reason is that mortgage lenders have frozen their foreclosures and/or not allowed new ones to be filed in an effort to comply with court ordered foreclosure procedures. Our New Jersey bankruptcy lawyers can explain to you how bankruptcy can stop foreclosure, stop a sheriff sale and save your home.
How Foreclosure Works in NJ
When you take out a mortgage to buy a house or refinance a house, you give the lender a security interest in the house. This means that in exchange for lending you the money, you give the lender the right to take the house and sell it if you do not repay the loan. Foreclosure is the process by which a lender exercises that right, and it culminates in a sheriff sale, where the mortgage lender sells the house at auction to satisfy the debt.
During the foreclosure process in NJ, you as the homeowner can try to catch up on the back payments you owe; however, once the sheriff sale occurs, you can no longer cure your default. At that point, you have 10 days to come up with the entire balance of the mortgage loan, and if you cannot, the house is gone.
Note that you may have some time to make up those back payments; the foreclosure process in New Jersey can take a long time. At a minimum, the process takes 4-6 months. That’s if everything runs according to schedule and there’s no backlog. New Jersey has had a substantial backlog since the 2008 crisis, pushing the average foreclosure to over 1,000 days. That’s a lot of time to work on making up the back payments.
Stop Foreclosure and Stop Sheriff Sales with Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Thousands of New Jersey homeowners are in a holding pattern, either waiting for the hammer to fall on an existing foreclosure or waiting for the mortgage company to begin foreclosure proceedings. Meanwhile, arrearage, interest and fees continue to pile up and make the situation worse.
If you are facing foreclosure or an imminent sheriff sale, Chapter 13 bankruptcy could be the solution. Filing bankruptcy initiates the automatic stay, which prevents any and all collection activity, including foreclosures and sheriff sales. Once the bankruptcy stops the sale, you can use the Chapter 13 plan to catch up on your property taxes and mortgage payments. In some cases, you might even be able to get rid of second and third mortgages such as equity loans and home improvement loans. However, if you want to save your home, you have to act quickly.
Contact Our New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorneys Right Now
For Chapter 13 bankruptcy to save your house, you must file your case before the property goes to sheriff sale. If the sheriff sale takes place, your chance is gone. Contact our New Jersey bankruptcy lawyers immediately to discuss your options. Our consultations are free, and we serve clients all over New Jersey from our five convenient office locations. Let our family help your family – if a foreclosure is pending on your house or a sheriff sale has already been scheduled, call now at 877-401-9001 for a free consultation to protect your home.