Chicago Foreclosure Lawyer Blog

According to the Wall Street Journal, Fannie Mae has a new plan to prevent strategic defaults. Strategic default is a bit different from strategic foreclosure. In a strategic foreclosure, homeowners in underwater mortgages can seek remedies like deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, consent foreclosure, or a short sale. A strategic default is simply walking away from the mortgage.

From a financial perspective, strategic default may expose you to a deficiency judgment once the house is sold at a sheriff's sale. Generally, homes don't sell for the value of the mortgage. Borrowers are liable for the difference between the value of the loan and the sale price of the house. Many of the strategic foreclosure options protect borrowers from deficiency judgments.

If that wasn't enough, the new plan from Fannie Mae aims to provide strong deterrents against walking away from an underwater mortgage. After the jump, I break down the new "time out" periods for borrowers who engage in a strategic foreclosure or default.

Continue reading "Fannie Mae's Plan to Prevent Strategic Defaults" »

People come to our offices at many different stages of foreclosure. Some come well before default, because they anticipate problems ahead. Some come to us in the eleventh hour before their home is to be sold. Although every case is different, I will attempt to describe what "too late" generally means after the jump.

Continue reading "Another Frequently Asked Question -- How Late Is Too Late?" »

As the person who often deletes spam comments on this blog, I have been discovering that many of them are posted by other firms that engage in bankruptcy practice. Our firm also handles bankruptcy cases, but generally separately from our foreclosure defense practice.

Here is the obligatory disclaimer: We are a debt relief agency. We assist people with filing for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

My own concerns about the ethical implications of comments that do not provide this disclaimer aside, I feel that it is important to give it before the jump. After the jump, I will talk about bankruptcy vs. loss mitigation strategies and when they are most effectively used.

Continue reading "Bankruptcy vs. Loss Mitigation" »