Chapter 13 Bankruptcy - Stop Mortgage Foreclosure


Stop Foreclosure

Yes, you can save your home!

Using the chapter 13 can strategically help you cure your mortgage default, protect your equity and eliminate your other debts to help you right the ship.

Several years ago, we saw a boom in mortgage lenders offering low adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS) 100% to 110% mortgage loans, and no money down mortgages.

Today, we have seen these ARMS increase from 5% to 8%, 9% or more depending on the lender. Homeowners are being bombarded with a mortgage payment that is almost double than it had been previously before the interest rates have started to rise.

What is a homeowner to do? With the soft real estate market, homes have not appreciated in value, or not enough to allow homeowners to refinance and use some of their equity to help with the higher rates.

Chapter 13 is an option. In a nutshell, consumers can file chapter 13 which will let them catch up on their mortgage payment, interest free. It can also consolidate their other financed items and often save money on the interest rates. Currently, debtors can pay cars, furniture and jewelry back at prime rate of interest or prime +2, or +3. Bankrate.com shows a current prime rate of interest at 8.25%.

Consumers can also consolidate their credit card debt, medical bills and other consumer debts and pay them back, with little or now interest, and often can pay them as low as 10 cents on each dollar owed!By doing this, consumers can cure any mortgage arrears, pay off their secured debt for vehicles and for big ticket financed items, while eliminating their consumer debt. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can run from 3 to 5 years. This depends on your monthly household disposable income. There are several recent changes to the Bankruptcy Code that can affect this repayment plan. These changes were part of the BAPCPA reform. Therefore, it is crucial to discuss with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer about the various law requirements and qualifications based on your unique situation.

For instance, let’s say Johnny Consumer owns a home worth $100,000 in Chicago, Illinois. Let’s say he has a $70,000 mortgage with the bank, but has fallen $6,000 behind and the mortgage company has started a foreclosure. Johnny was recently out of work do to an injury on the job. He has just went back to work, and sees no way to catch up $6000 any time soon. He has $10,000 in medical bills. He owes $3000 on his car. For our example, let’s say that Johnny makes $3000 per month and takes home about $2100. His mortgage is $700 a month, his car note is $300 and he has $67 left at the end of the month to use to try to catch up with the medical bills and the mortgage arrears.

At first glance, there is no way he can manage this on his own. Under a chapter 13, Johnny can make a monthly payment of $367 to the court. This will allow him to catch up on the mortgage, pay off his car note, and eliminate the medical bills he has. This will only take 3 years. It will protect all of the equity he has in his home and stop the foreclosure!

Therefore, if you are looking to stop foreclosure, and have steady income, Chapter 13 could be a great tool to use. You can always refinance or sell your home while under Chapter 13 if you wish to pay off the bankruptcy and move on with your life. The Chapter 13 stops the foreclosure immediately. Often, your only other option would be to refinance, or enter into a repayment agreement with your mortgage company. All too often, they want a double payment each month until you can catch up. If you had that kind of disposable income, you probably wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.

Business Bankruptcy - Saving Your Company


Business bankruptcy is a situation in which a business organization has more liabilities than assets and is no longer capable of meeting its financial obligations. Any type of business can file for business bankruptcy.

Business bankruptcy can provide relief to the business owners who are overwhelmed with credit problems and cannot find any other way out of debt. However, business owners must also face the fact of losing one’s business and damaging one’s credit standing and endure embarrassment is a possibility. There is not much stigma attached to Business Bankruptcy because it is, in fact, used by many businesses to restructure their companies.

Though Business Bankruptcy may seem different from personal bankruptcy, they both target the same goal: a way out when all possible solutions fail to alleviate the current situation. When a business or a company is on the verge of forfeiting payments on a debt, it is the sign for an owner or manager to know that the time has come to file for business bankruptcy.

Are there any differences between the different business bankruptcy types?

There are 2 main types of business bankruptcy: chapter 7 and chapter 13, but the latter has more advantages than the former because it is federal bankruptcy, and the law does not require the liquidation of the business itself. As an alternative, the company will have to fulfill paying the debt according to the agreement with the creditors. The company has the chance to recover from the debts and can make profits again. But any decision-making has to be pre- approved by the federal court as the business bankruptcy law stipulates.

Brandon O'Brien is the current manager of a company that filed for bankruptcy after following our professional advice and is currently following making his compulsory payments. Business bankruptcy has helped him regain the company’s financial control and has given him a new way of dealing with the debt problems the company has carried for many years and has not yet solved them.

Brandon O'Brien:
What should I do after filing for Chapter 11 Business Bankruptcy?

James Banks:
Chapter 11 Business Bankruptcy allows the company to keep its assets. Nevertheless it is recommended some bonds be liquidated in order to pay off part of the debt. The amount can be reduced, and the payment will not be too high; allowing the company to generate profit after all. Regardless of what method you use to reduce the debt, the manager of the company has to regularly report to the federal court any decision made in the company.

Brandon O'Brien:
So, after filing for Business Bankruptcy, do the lawyers take care of everything?

James Banks:
Do not believe that by filing for Business Bankruptcy your financial situation will be resolved. You, as the manager will have to make sure that the company has enough cash to endure the whole filing process, and we recommend that you follow a plan in order to avoid any type of delay during the case.

One way to take care of creditors once and for all is to put them all together and set up a plan to start the repayment process. The debt will be reduced, and the creditors will see you are in the process of paying them. This creates trust and understanding as to why you file for bankruptcy.

Remember, filing for Business Bankruptcy is a serious decision, and one that should only be considered when all other options have been tried. It would be wise to seek advice from a financial and legal professional before making any sudden decisions.

We have different articles of interesting topics and current and former clients’ experiences with our programs. Take a look at topics related to Business Bankruptcy, situations in which people can fall into and how to keep yourself a debt free person.