Take Advantage of the Bankruptcy Courts to Fight Your Foreclosure

Foreclosure can be a tough situation to face, particularly in the Akron, Canton, and Wooster areas of Ohio.  If you are in a challenging financial position such that your house is being foreclosed on, it’s unlikely you’ll have enough funds to pay the reinstatement fees, attorney’s fees, and other things required to halt a foreclosure.

Fortunately for you, you can utilize the bankruptcy stay to fight the foreclosure process and delay the proceeding while you get your financial status in order.  Then, you can reaffirm the mortgage loan, effectively ending the foreclosure process.  Here’s what you should do.

Gather Your Mortgage Loan Documents

Filing bankruptcy will provide you with some time to get things in order, but not a tremendous amount.  For this reason, you need to be prepared.  Have your documents gathered and ready to go.

Collect Your Current Debt Statements

When you file bankruptcy in Akron, you’ll need to notify your creditors.  Whether they are in Canton, Wooster, or somewhere else, you’ll need a list of all your creditors and the debts they hold.  Collect the relevant documents before you file for bankruptcy in Ohio.

Complete And File The Bankruptcy Petition

Talk to an attorney in Akron, Canton, or Wooster for help with the filing process.  If you feel you cannot afford an attorney, or if you are particularly savvy, you can attempt this yourself.  Having said that, filing bankruptcy in Ohio is often a challenging and complex process, and you’ll usually be better off if you do use an attorney.

Get A Copy Of The Bankruptcy Stay

When you file bankruptcy in Ohio, the federal law dictates that all creditors are stayed from collecting on any debt while the bankruptcy court figures things out.  You’ll need to notify all your creditors in Akron, Canton, Wooster, and other places that you have filed bankruptcy.

You’ll need to transmit to them a copy of the bankruptcy papers proving that you have filed.  Then, you should get to work right away putting your affairs in order, because the bankruptcy stay doesn’t last forever.  Certain kinds of creditors won’t be deterred from collecting on their debt—at least not for long—so you need to take advantage of the time you do have.

Talk To Your Mortgage Lender About A Reaffirmation Agreement

This is where you can save your home.  Whether you live in Akron, Canton, Wooster, or some other Ohio city, the mortgage laws typically allow you to reaffirm your mortgage loan and save your house.  A reaffirmation agreement is an agreement to continue paying the mortgage loan on your house.  Depending on the specifics of the agreement, you may need to make additional payments to compensate your lender for the attorney fees and other expenses that were incurred in your foreclosure.

Facing a foreclosure in Ohio is a tough thing to do.  However, keep in mind that you do have options.  One of them is to use the collection stay from the bankruptcy statutes to buy yourself the time to save your home.