Home Foreclosure

If you are facing foreclosure on your Seattle home, you may have a long list of questions weighing you down, along with feelings of despair and overwhelm. You don’t have to take it on alone. A Seattle home foreclosure attorney can help you understand your rights, explore your options, and find the most suitable path forward.

Seeking legal counsel can make all the difference if you are struggling with missed payments, dealing with a lender’s legal actions, or considering bankruptcy.

Home foreclosures in Washington follow a specific legal process that lenders must adhere to before they can take any action. There are two primary types of foreclosure in the state: judicial and nonjudicial.

• Judicial Foreclosure: This process requires your lender to file a lawsuit against you in King County. If the court rules in their favor, the home can be sold to satisfy the debt. This process is governed by RCW 61.12.
• Nonjudicial Foreclosure: Most of the foreclosures in Washington State are considered nonjudicial. This means they occur outside of the King County Court system. Instead, the lender follows the procedures outlined in RCW 61.24, which includes issuing a Notice of Default and a Notice of Trustee’s Sale before they can auction off the home to satisfy the debt.

A Seattle bankruptcy attorney can help you navigate these complexities while challenging improper foreclosure actions and finding alternative solutions like loan modifications or bankruptcy.

If you fall behind on your mortgage payments, your lender will initiate the foreclosure proceedings. The timeline generally looks something like this:

• Notice of Default: This is sent to you by the lender after you missed multiple payments.
• Notice of Trustee’s Sale: This is published at least 120 days before the auction date (RCW 61.24.040).
• Property Auction: If a resolution can’t be reached, the home is then auctioned off to the highest bidder.
• Eviction Process: The buyer can begin the eviction process if you don’t vacate voluntarily.

A Seattle foreclosure attorney on your case can assist you in many different ways, including the following:

• Review the lender’s actions to ensure they complied with Washington State law
• Negotiate with your lenders to stop or delay the foreclosure process
• Assist with loan modifications or repayment plans
• Help you file for bankruptcy if necessary to put a halt to foreclosure proceedings
• Represent you in court if any legal challenges arise along the way

One of the most effective ways to stop the foreclosure of your Seattle home is filing for bankruptcy. In King County and throughout Washington, you can consider the following:

• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: This can eliminate your unsecured debts. However, you must be current on the mortgage payments if you wish to keep your home.
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: This lets you create a repayment plan to catch up on missed mortgage payments over three to five years (11 U.S.C. §1322). Filing under Chapter 13 immediately stops foreclosure due to the automatic stay provision (11 U.S.C. §362)

Consulting a bankruptcy attorney helps ensure you file correctly and maximize your chances of keeping your home in Seattle.

• Right to Reinstate Loan (RCW 61.24.090): This can cure default before the foreclosure sale happens.
• Foreclosure Fairness Act (RCW 61.24.163): This is what allows mediation between you and your lender.

Before foreclosure reaches its last stages, you have some options:

• Loan Modification: You can renegotiate the loan terms to lower monthly payments.
• Short Sale: Sell the home for less than what is owed with lender approval.
• Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure: Transfer ownership of the home to the lender voluntarily.
• Forbearance Agreement: Temporarily reduce or pause payments due to financial hardship.

With our years of experience, we can provide you with critical legal support and advice when facing a home foreclosure in Seattle. We help ensure a positive outcome and assist you in navigating all the complexities that accompany these proceedings.

Foreclosure can be a stressful process, but you don’t have to face it alone. A knowledgeable Seattle bankruptcy attorney can guide you through all your options, help you keep your home, and work toward a favorable outcome. Whether through loan modifications, foreclosure mediation, or bankruptcy, your attorney can provide you with legal protection and advice.

If you are facing a foreclosure due to job loss, a reduction in income or your income not increasing as planned, a bankruptcy can stop the process and put you back on track. You may just want some extra time in your home before you have to let it go. You may have credit card payments or even garnishments making it impossible to pay your mortgage. Whatever the problem is, bankruptcy will stop a foreclosure and give you a chance to reorganize and save your home.

The foreclosure process takes months or even years. The end result is the sale of your home at auction. A bankruptcy will stop the foreclosure up to the point of sale. In Washington, a mortgage company has to give you a chance to go through mediation, which at least gives you a chance to discuss options like cash-for-keys, a short sale, and mortgage modification.

You can continue to pursue mortgage modification during bankruptcy or after bankruptcy. By eliminating other debt in bankruptcy, you may make yourself more eligible for a modification.

A Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy will stop a foreclosure as soon as the bankruptcy is filed. This form of bankruptcy does not offer a long-term solution to your foreclosure. A mortgage company can continue the foreclosure process in as little as a month after you file the case, though it usually takes much longer for them to start the foreclosure back up again. A Chapter 7 will help you eliminate debt and make it easier to concentrate on making home payments. If you can catch up once other debt is eliminated, you will be able to stay in your home.

A Chapter 13 offers a way of consolidating your back mortgage payments with other debt. This repayment plan lasts from three to five years. At the end of the plan, you will be completely caught up with your mortgage, and you can continue to pay it as always. As long as you follow the plan and it complies with the law, the mortgage company has to accept it.

Bankruptcy is a powerful tool for dealing with creditors, and mortgage companies are no exemption.  Unfortunately, nothing in bankruptcy can change the terms of a first mortgage, but you can strip a second mortgage in a Chapter 13 if your home is worth less than balance on the first mortgage.

If you're considering bankruptcy and want to save your home, contact us today. During your free consultation, an experienced Seattle, WA bankruptcy lawyer will let you know how we can help you.