Feldman Law Center

Feldman Law Center – News by Feldman Law Center – Feldman Law Center: If you are considering bankruptcy because of the debt you owe on your house, you probably know something about filing for bankruptcy, but are still checking out the options that you have.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, sometimes referred to as a “straight bankruptcy,” is where your non-exempt property is sold and the cash proceeds are given to your creditors. This method of filing for bankruptcy has become more difficult recently, due to new legislation on the issue.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy allows you to reorganize your debts – consolidating your debts and paying them off, free of interest, over a time period of three to five years. This plan prevents creditors from collecting from you during the terms of the contract, as required by Federal Courts. However, you must have a consistent source of income for this type of bankruptcy to be approved, and you must continue to pay for your monthly living expenses as well as the debts you consolidate.

Although both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you to get rid of some of your debts, filing for bankruptcy does cost money, and the legal battle can take time. A bankruptcy also stays on your credit report for ten years, marring your credit score, which can affect your ability to rent property or get a job, among other things. It also affects your short-term ability to get credit. In the past, bankruptcy was a popular way of dealing with mounting debts, such as too-high mortgage payments.

Bankruptcy has become an increasingly difficult legal process to complete, it may not actually get you out of your mortgage agreement, and it is a major blemish on your credit history. The attorneys of The Feldman Law Center believe that you have other options, and that you should avoid foreclosure at all costs.

If you have been making late payments on your loan, have a climbing adjustable interest rate, or have not paid interest and fees on your mortgage, one option that you should consider is a loan modification. One of our California loan modification attorneys can help you negotiate your loan agreement with your mortgage company. The attorneys at the Feldman Law Center not only know the latest regulations regarding home loan modifications, but they are able to negotiate a more favorable contract with your lender than you would be able to do on your own. Some positive changes that can result from a loan modification include a lower interest rate on your mortgage, forgiveness of some of the amount you owe, stabilization of an adjustable rate mortgage, negotiation of lower monthly payments, and more.

Not only can the above things result from enlisting the help of a home loan modification attorney, but you can also avoid the expense and time that a bankruptcy would entail. A loan modification will not adversely affect your credit report like a bankruptcy will, and you can stay in your house and retain the money that you’ve already paid towards your mortgage. An attorney at the Feldman Law Center can help you get these results more quickly than you could do on your own, and can save you the hassle of filing for bankruptcy. Contact us today for your free consultation.

About Feldman Law Center
The Feldman Law Center was founded for the purpose of negotiating mortgage loan modifications on behalf of their clients. These negotiations have two major goals; to reduce monthly mortgage payments to a level of affordability for the homeowner and to either stop  foreclosure proceedings. The mission at The Feldman Law Center is to provide the highest level of professional service while delivering the best possible result on each mortgage loan modification we negotiate on the behalf of the families we represent.

Having negotiated over 500 attorney driven loan modifications, we realize that each homeowner’s situation is unique and that each modification may require a different approach than the one before it. To that end, we can always call on our 25 years of negotiating, knowledge, and real estate experience to provide the most optimal solutions for each family’s situation. While we are negotiating your mortgage loan modification with your lenders our friendly and compassionate team will keep you updated all the way on how the process is advancing.

The people at The Feldman Law Center completely understand the stress of being behind in your monthly payments and the sleepless nights that can be brought on by an impending foreclosure. Rest assured that we will stand with you all the way through the loan modification process and that we are driven to get the best outcome possible for you and your family. If you are struggling with your monthly payments and worried about the threat of foreclosure, we can help. Call The Feldman Law Center today at 800-588-0425 or visit www.feldmanlawcenter.com.

Resources:

Feldman Law Center: Profile – Business Exchange

Press Release – The Feldman Law Center’s Code of Ethics and Practices

Loan Modification – Feldman Law Center

Feldman Law Center, Mission Viejo CA 92691

Feldman Law Center – The Cream Rises in Loan Modifications

Feldman Law Center – Ten Tips for a Successful Home Loan Modification

Feldman Law Center – Saving Thousands with a Loan Modification – Debt Settlement Combination

Feldman Law Center – Mission Viejo, CA, 92891 – Citysearch

Feldman Law Center – The New York Times gets it About Half Right

Feldmanlawcenter.com – Feldman Law Center Company News

Feldman Law Center

Feldman Law Center Trulia Profile

At the Feldman Law Center, we have seen many homeowners wrestle with the difficult financial challenges facing everyone today.  However, it is not just homeowners who are wrestling with difficult financial circumstances.  Fortune 500 companies are declaring bankruptcy, banks are failing and even politicians are having a hard time selling their homes.  One amazing occurrence that the entire financial industry is paying attention to is how many commercial foreclosures and bankruptcies there are.

For example, in the first half of 2009, the bankruptcy and debt restructuring activity among major corporations increased 329 percent!  For major corporations, loan modifications are not an option, and they must handle their debts much differently.  The industries facing the highest number of bankruptcies include financial services, manufacturing and industrials, real estate and consumer retail.

Other signs of financial trauma include United States Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner having a hard time selling his home.  It was also reported that 1,200 businesses in Rhode Island were threatened with foreclosure for not paying their taxes.  That is not 100 businesses, but over 1,000 businesses could face foreclosure for allegedly not paying taxes.  It seems like there is just a smaller amount of money than ever before, and everyone is trying to get what they can.  State governments are fighting city governments, large corporations are fighting small businesses and the average homeowner is trying to keep their home out of the foreclosure process.

As mentioned earlier, General Motors can’t just call a loan modification attorney and try to get a loan modification for all of their manufacturing plants.  However, a homeowner can do just that, and save himself or herself the pain and embarrassment of a foreclosure.  A mortgage loan modification is an agreement between the borrower and the lender to renegotiate the terms of a home mortgage loan.  A home loan modification could change the interest rate, eliminate late fees and penalties, adjust the length of the loan and much more.

Another major asset in the loan modification process is a loan modification attorney.  A loan modification attorney can offer a specialized skill which is incredibly valuable to anyone looking for a great loan modification.  A loan modification can provide excellent advice and counsel, as well as a particular skill in negotiating a home loan modification.  Negotiating with lenders can be trick, and even in a difficult financial time like we are in now, banks and mortgages companies do not want to give up too much.  Banks will take advantage of every situation they can, but with a California loan modification attorney on your side, you can have a highly trained professional representing you.

If you are in a difficult financial circumstance, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that you do not have the debt problems that a large corporation has and you have many more options as well.  A loan modification attorney can help you get the best mortgage loan modification possible and help you stay in your home for the long term.

Visit Feldman Law Center at http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

About Feldman Law Center
The Feldman Law Center was founded for the purpose of negotiating loan modifications on behalf of their clients. These negotiations have two major goals; to reduce monthly mortgage payments to a level of affordability for the homeowner and to either stop or avoid foreclosure proceedings. The mission at The Feldman Law Center is to provide the highest level of professional service while delivering the best possible result on each loan modification we negotiate on the behalf of the families we represent.

Having negotiated over 500 attorney driven loan modifications, we realize that each homeowner’s situation is unique and that each modification may require a different approach than the one before it. To that end, we can always call on our 25 years of negotiating, knowledge, and real estate experience to provide the most optimal solutions for each family’s situation. While we are negotiating your loan modification with your lenders our friendly and compassionate team will keep you updated all the way on how the process is advancing.

The people at The Feldman Law Center completely understand the stress of being behind in your monthly payments and the sleepless nights that can be brought on by an impending foreclosure. Rest assured that we will stand with you all the way through the loan modification process and that we are driven to get the best outcome possible for you and your family. If you are struggling with your monthly payments and worried about the threat of foreclosure, we can help. Call The Feldman Law Center today at 800-588-0425.

Resources:
Feldman Law Center: Profile – Business Exchange

Press Release – The Feldman Law Center’s Code of Ethics and Practices

Loan Modification – Feldman Law Center

Feldman Law Center, Mission Viejo CA 92691

Feldman Law Center – The Cream Rises in Loan Modifications

Feldman Law Center – Ten Tips for a Successful Home Loan Modification

Feldman Law Center – Saving Thousands with a Loan Modification – Debt Settlement Combination

Feldman Law Center – Mission Viejo, CA, 92891 – Citysearch

Feldman Law Center – The New York Times gets it About Half Right

Feldmanlawcenter.com – Feldman Law Center Company News

Feldman Law Center

Feldman Law Center Trulia Profile

Feldman Law Center – Press Release by Feldman Law Center:   Much has been made of the 2% base rate included in the guidelines for the Obama Administration’s “Making Home Affordable” plan. It’s been well documented that the plan is off to a very slow start with current estimates of approximately 50,000 loan modifications in process. Less talked about, at least so far, is that the 2% headline interest rate of the plan may be unavailable to most homeowners seeking loan modifications that follow the plan’s guidelines.


As the saying goes, “The devil is always in the details” and Making Home Affordable has a detail which goes by the name of the “Net Present Value” test. Many of the mortgages which were originated during the boom in real estate, including those considered to be toxic, were sold to investors on Wall Street, from pension funds, and insurance companies (like AIG). These investors didn’t have the infrastructure or experience to collect payments, prepare statements, etc. so they left the handling of those matters to loan servicers like Saxon Mortgage (now a part of JP Morgan Chase). These servicers interface with the homeowner on all matters, including home loan modifications. For that work, they receive a small percentage off of each of the homeowner’s monthly mortgage checks as their fee.


An unintended consequence of the meltdown in real estate prices and skyrocketing default rates is there is now a conflict of interest between servicers and the investors that employ them. The foundation of that conflict is this; with monthly mortgage payments functioning as the lifeline of the servicers, their priority is to keep those payments going. To that end, granting loan modifications, even with drastic cuts in interest rates, is a much better outcome for the servicer than not receiving payments at all and/or having the home go into foreclosure. Aggressive loan modifications which benefit the servicers often hurt the investors by forcing markdowns on value of loans in their portfolio, hence, the conflict of interest.


Having experienced this conflict prior to the unveiling of Making Home Affordable, investor groups insisted that the net present value test be added to the plan to protect their interests. A net present value (NPV) calculation works this way:


1) Determine the proposed monthly mortgage payment for the life of the modified loan
2) Calculate the total return in dollars over the life of the loan – monthly payment x 12 months x 30 years = total return
3) Estimate the value of what the foreclosed home would sell for at auction
4) The highest number between the total return and the estimated selling price at foreclosure determines what action will be taken.


Motivated to keep properties generating monthly payments and out of foreclosure, servicers will negotiate the highest interest rate possible, within the constraints of the plan and what the homeowner can afford, to generate higher fees and to make sure that the net present value test comes out on the side of loan modification. With higher fees and the net present value test driving the negotiations in a loan modification, granting 2% interest rates becomes a very low priority and in some cases a deal killer for the servicers.


Congress, hearing the cries from their constituencies, has backed the efforts of the mortgage servicers by passing the “Safe Harbor Law” in May. The law protects servicers from lawsuits filed by investors claiming that the servicers are acting in their own best interests in mortgage loan modifications, at the expense of the aggrieved investors. It also gives servicers more autonomy in their structuring their home loan modifications.


The net present value test can present formidable challenges to the loan modification process due to many factors that are constantly changing. In New York City, for example, overall property values have remained relatively high but income levels have dropped. Limited by Making Home Affordable guidelines, mortgage payments cannot exceed 31% of the homeowner’s monthly income. The cap on payments can result in a net present value outcome that favors foreclosure on a property. Industry watchers have expressed concerns that the relative resilience in real estate values in the city could actually work against homeowners.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are cities such as Las Vegas and Detroit where property values have dropped as a much as 80%. These are areas where the net present value tests favor mortgage loan modifications but homeowners are walking away, forcing the properties back to the investors.


The next issue for investors wishing to foreclose is whether they can actually sell properties at auction. In California, approximately 17,000 out of 111,000 foreclosed properties went up for sale at the most recent auctions. Of the 17,000 properties, banks took back 85% of the properties when bids averaged only 59% of the outstanding loan balances. The lack of foreclosure sales across the country has led to a massive backlog of foreclosed properties that are either being kept off the market, put up repeatedly at auction, or for sale to private parties.
With unfavorable outcomes on either side of the net present value test, it’s apparent that investors are deciding not to decide on either action. The advantage of leaving properties in limbo is that they don’t have to be marked to market until action is taken, a necessary concession from Congress granted to investor groups in March. That way they can carry the properties in their portfolios at values that don’t trigger capital requirements. If it all sounds like a house of cards, well, at least it’s house.

About Feldman Law Center

The Feldman Law Center was founded for the purpose of negotiating loan modifications on behalf of their clients. These negotiations have two major goals; to reduce monthly mortgage payments to a level of affordability for the homeowner and to either stop or avoid foreclosure proceedings. The mission at The Feldman Law Center is to provide the highest level of professional service while delivering the best possible result on each loan modification we negotiate on the behalf of the families we represent.

Having negotiated over 500 attorney driven loan modifications, we realize that each homeowner’s situation is unique and that each modification may require a different approach than the one before it. To that end, we can always call on our 25 years of negotiating, knowledge, and real estate experience to provide the most optimal solutions for each family’s situation. While we are negotiating your mortgage loan modification with your lenders our friendly and compassionate team will keep you updated all the way on how the process is advancing.

The people at The Feldman Law Center completely understand the stress of being behind in your monthly payments and the sleepless nights that can be brought on by an impending foreclosure. Rest assured that we will stand with you all the way through the loan modification process and that we are driven to get the best outcome possible for you and your family. If you are struggling with your monthly payments and worried about the threat of foreclosure, we can help. Call The Feldman Law Center today at 800-588-0425 or visit www.feldmanlawcenter.com

Resources:

TheFeldman Law Centercan negotiate with your current lender if you are behind on your mortgage & need help.Feldman Law Centeris a experienced California…

Feldman Law Center Blog on Trulia

Feldman Law Center - Weebly

Feldman Law Center  - Merchant Circle Listing