Foreclosure & Bankruptcy in Florida

Bankruptcy & Foreclosure in Florida

If you have fallen behind on your mortgage and your lender has threatened to foreclose on your Florida home, bankruptcy may be able to stop the foreclosure and make your mortgage payments more manageable. At Florida Law Advisers, P.A., our bankruptcy attorneys have helped many homeowners prevent a foreclosure and lower their monthly payment by filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a useful tool but it may not be the right solution for everyone. To find out more about how bankruptcy can prevent home foreclosure, contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Tampa bankruptcy lawyer at our law firm. During the consultation a bankruptcy attorney will review the facts of your case and help develop a comprehensive solution to solve your financial problems.

Speak With a Florida Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Law Firm Immediately

At Florida Law Advisers, P.A., our Tampa bankruptcy attorneys have years of experience helping people just like you solve their financial problems. We understand these are very difficult times for you and we are here to help. We have many options available that can help you successfully manage your debt and regain your financial health.

The right course of action will depend on the unique circumstances of your case. Contact us to today to schedule a free, confidential consultation with a Tampa Bankruptcy lawyer to see what options may be available to you. During the consultation an experienced Tampa Bankruptcy attorney will carefully review the facts of your case and help you choose a course of action that is best for your individual needs.

Fighting the Foreclosure:

Bankruptcy is not the only way to prevent a home foreclosure in Florida. At Florida Law Advisers, P.A., our foreclosure defense attorneys can fight the foreclosure and legally challenge the lenders right to foreclose on your home. Our experienced legal team will carefully scrutinize every aspect of a mortgage to find any potential evidence we can use against a lender. We will dedicate all of our legal knowledge and skills in the courtroom to help prevent the foreclosure and keep you in your home.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy:

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a reorganization bankruptcy; it gives you the opportunity to reorganize your debt into a more manageable payment. In addition, it may provide up to five years time to catch up on missed payments without being charged any additional interest from your lender.

Chapter 13 may also allow you to remove a second mortgage from your home. If you have two mortgages on your home and your primary mortgage exceeds the current market value of the property, you may be able to remove the second mortgage in bankruptcy. Once the mortgage is removed from the property it will be treated like any other unsecured debt in the bankruptcy.

The Automatic Stay:

In Florida, filing for bankruptcy will stop a home foreclosure action by your lender under the automatic stay provision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. When you file for either Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court will automatically enact a stay on all debt collection actions against you. The stay requires all collection actions against you to stop immediately. Creditors and collection agencies will not be able to contact you, garnish your wages, or repossess your property while the automatic stay is in effect. The automatic stay may even put a stop to a scheduled foreclosure sale of your home. In most cases, the automatic stay will remain in effect until your bankruptcy case is discharged. The automatic stay can help provide a homeowner with more time to catch up on the mortgage or to fight the foreclosure in court.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, when a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case is filed an automatic stay is instantly put into effect. The automatic stay is a federal law which stops all forms of collection activity, including foreclosure auctions already scheduled to occur.

Often, after a foreclosure auction there will not be enough funds from the sale to pay the mortgage in full. When this occurs, the bank may sue the borrower for the remaining loan balance. However, Chapter 7 bankruptcy can discharge the full amount of the mortgage loan and end a borrower’s liability to the bank.

Yes, homestead (primary residence) is a protected asset in both Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Therefore, you may not have to forfeit your home as a condition of the bankruptcy.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy gives homeowners the opportunity to reorganize their mortgage debt into one manageable payment. In addition, it may provide up to five years to catch up on missed mortgage payments without being charged additional interest.