Times are tough in New York right now. Many businesses have downsized their employees. This has caused layoffs. It is harder to make a living in New York today than it was in earlier decades. Financial difficulties can cause stress. The ultimate problem consumers face is when they receive notice the bank is going to foreclose on their home and put them on the street. Receiving notice your home is going into foreclosure can be deflating. However help exists.
You can take legal action to stop foreclosures from moving forward in New York. You do not have to surrender to the financial institutions and be forced out of your home at a time when your credit is at its lowest point. Hiring an experienced, dedicated foreclosure attorney can make the difference between continuing to live in your home and being forced out of it.
There are numerous steps a foreclosure defense lawyer can take to help homeowners. Forbearance agreements can be negotiated. Mortgage modifications can be submitted. Mortgage modifications can sometimes reduce the principal, provide lower interest rates and more flexible terms. Some lenders are willing to defer significant portions of the mortgage indebtedness to later points in time. When applying for a mortgage modification, it is important the homeowner show financial difficulties. Mortgage modifications are designed to help homeowners who are in distress. Our foreclosure defense lawyers can counsel you with regard to the best route to take with regard to mortgage modifications.
Federal House Authority (FHA) Mortgages
There are special programs set up by the Federal House Administration with regard to homeowners who lose their jobs and have financial difficulties paying their mortgages. The program for unemployed homeowners can excuse the homeowner from paying their mortgage for a period of up to one year. During this period of time, the bank will be unable to foreclose. Our foreclosure attorneys can help you prepare the necessary paperwork and make the application to participate in this program. We can also intercede with regard to the bank or financial institution to help you deal with your current financial difficulties.
Foreclosure Court Proceedings
Foreclosure lawsuits are started by the service of a Summons and Complaint by the financial institution’s attorneys on the homeowner. When a homeowner receives a Summons and Complaint they have between twenty and thirty days to take action to stop the foreclosure in its tracks. Our law firm, when defending a homeowner, immediately files between eighteen and twenty five affirmative defenses. We also regularly countersue (sue the bank) as part of the lawsuit. The squeaky wheel gets more grease is an expression. We stand out from the crowd when defending our clients in foreclosure lawsuits. We pressure the financial institutions to make mortgage modifications and/or withdraw their lawsuits. Legal action can be taken to tie the cases up in court any where from three to six years in the Metropolitan New York area.
In Foreclosure? Do Not Despair
The worst thing you can do if your bank threatens to sue you in foreclosure or serves a Summons and Complaint upon you is to do nothing! If you take no action to defend yourself in the court by submitting a written answer to the bank’s lawyer and to the court, you default. By defaulting, you give the financial institution a win. It is like lying down to die. Don’t do it.
If you are facing foreclosure, call us. We will offer you a free consultation. We will provide you with a road map as to what we can do to keep you in your home and defend you in the foreclosure lawsuit. We will give you a written itemized retainer which shows what we will charge you, the basis of our charges, and what we can do for you. Help exists. God helps those who help themselves. If you have foreclosure problems, call us. We are the law firm that can help you. The phones at our law office are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can be reached at 1-800-344-6431, 718-350-2802 or 516-561-6645.
