Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: loan modification

There is no form available for this. I am a lawyer and a real estate broker -- i.e., a real estate attorney and I do specialize in loan modifications and actually initiating suit against lenders for predatory loans, truth in lending, and other issues. I negotiate loan modifications and can likely assist you for a reasonable fee. Sometimes, if the violations are bad enough, we can completely negate the loan. Contact me to schedule an appointment and thank you for your consideration.

Christopher Brainard, Esq.

310.266.4115

Re: loan modification

As of today, the "Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009" has not yet passed in the Senate; therefore if you are talking about a loan modification on your primary residence, a chapter 13 filing might not help you either (yet). The bill is in the Senate, and has a lot of opponents. This legislation has been kicking around for years, and while this is the first time it has a real shot at being approved, until it is approved, a bankruptcy would delay a foreclosure, but in it (with certain very limited circumstances), you could not force a loan modification. Are you handling the modification yourself, or is someone representing you? That's an important part of the puzzle. If you are handling it yourself, or you have hired a company that is less-than-competent, you may not be getting anywhere solely because you, or the company may not be pushing the right buttons. Has someone performed an audit of your loan documents? If there are problems there, you stand a better chance of forcing a modification. The other possible answer is that even with a modification, the bank may feel that you just will not be ultimately successful in making payments on time going forward. There is a high default rate for modified mortgages, so banks do take into consideration whether they can even modify your mortgage to a point where it will work. If not, they would rather take the house back in foreclosure. Keep an eye on S.61 via something like the website govtrac.us to see if it passes. There is a good article on bankruptcylawnetwork.com today about the bill, and those who are fighting it in the Senate.

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