There are many attorneys you can choose from here in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, what makes The Law Office of John Iaccarino stand out from the rest is their level of service and amount of care and effort our attorneys put into each of their clients cases. To learn more about The Law Office of John Iaccarino, please click here.
Zombies are supposed to only exist in the movies and on TV shows.
However, it seems that the zombie trend has transcended to the world of finance and the housing market. Many news outlets have been reporting about “zombie mortgages”.
According to CNN, “[s]ince the housing bubble burst seven years ago, almost two million properties have started but never completed the foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac…it’s estimated that tens of thousands could be zombie foreclosures.”
What is a Zombie Mortgage?
A “zombie mortgage”, according to CNN writer Les Christie, is when “borrowers move out after their bank schedules a foreclosure auction only to learn months or years later that the auction never took place or the bank never transferred the deed. That means the borrower still technically owns the house and is on the hook for property taxes, fees and homeowners’ association dues.”
From the chaos that has arisen from the housing market crash, many individuals have been left to deal with these debts that they believe have disappeared and they are no longer responsible for repaying.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. In some instances, there are people who have multiple mortgages on their home. In California when a first lien holder forecloses and there is a second mortgage or HELOC on the home, the second mortgage becomes a sold out junior lien and can still collect on the debt.
Is there a solution?
Many people who are in this unfortunate situation do not have the means to escape from these mortgages and are unable to pay for them due to their financial situation.
However, one possible solution to assist these individuals is to file for bankruptcy. Here at The Law Office of John Iaccarino, we have been assisting our clients in the San Francisco Bay Area with filing for bankruptcy (Chapter 7, 11, 13) for over 20 years. If you are currently dealing with a mortgage from a foreclosed home, we can assist you to determine what solution you have available to your situation.
Many people dream of owning their own homes. For some it symbolizes a new chapter in their lives with starting a family while for others it’s a smart long-term investment. Regardless of the reason, it is an accomplishment in itself to be able to be a proud owner of your own home.
Unfortunately for some, the dream of owning a house can come with unforeseen challenges such as an inability to keep up with mortgage payments due to unemployment or underemployment, foreclosure, loan modification nightmares and difficulties dealing with banks and loan agents to list a few.
According to a recent article on SFGATE.COM, writer Carolyn Said shares that “a recent 8.5 billion dollar settlement to resolve charges that 10 major banks mishandled foreclosures and loan modifications is leaving many individuals uneasy as to whether or not this recent decision will rectify, saying details remain murky and that the amount of money will be minimal once distributed among millions of people.” Read more…
With stories like these presented in the media everyday, it is no surprise that many individuals out there feel frustrated with no real solution to assist them in finding a solution to keeping their homes.
If you feel like you’re in a similar situation, seeking out legal assistance from an attorney in your area may allow you to resolve your financial problems related to your home. If you are in serious debt and are at risk to losing your home and would like to attempt to keep it, one solution may be to file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
If you are considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there are some immediate and long-term benefits to looking into your debt relief options for stopping foreclosure:
The Law Office of John Iaccarino has assisted their clients for over 20 years on matters related to real estate, bankruptcy and foreclosure defense. If you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and are in need of legal assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
According to a recent article by CNN writer Blake Ellis, there have been reports of extreme methods of harassment that have been employed by creditors collecting debts from debtors in the United States.
Ellis writes:
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collectors are prohibited from threatening violence, using profane language, calling incessantly, inflating a debt and implying they are attorneys. And they can’t tell consumers they will arrest them or garnish their wages or property unless they actually plan to take that action and are legally able to do so through a court order. Many states have their own rules governing debt collector practices as well.
The situations she reports about in her article are shocking and also illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They range from creditors threatening to have debtors arrested and having child protective services taking away their children to posing as false law firms. One of the more extreme cases Ellis mentions is of the debt collection agency Rumson, Bolling & Associates, where their collection agents “threatened to dig up the bodies of debtors’ deceased children and hang them from a tree or drop them outside their door if they failed to pay their funeral bills.”
It is unfortunate that there are collection agencies in existence who do not act professionally and use extreme tactics to collect debt. In situations like these, it is important for a debtor to know his or her rights and options on how to handle these types of situations. If you are in a situation similar to those mentioned above and need assistance to have the harassment cease, one of the best solutions is to contact an attorney.
The Law Office of John Iaccarino has been assisting clients with creditor harassment cases for over 20 years. Our attorneys understand the stresses each of our clients face and always provide our clients with the best solutions on how to resolve their financial problems.
Our firm offers free 30-minute in-person consultations with one of our attorneys at our office in Burlingame, CA. If you would like to make an appointment, please do not hesitate to contact us at (650) 348-3400 or email: john@iaccarinolaw.com
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