what does it mean when a bank holding my mortgage and it is in arrears and referred to a lawyer

by Marley Beatty 4 min read

In some cases, when an account goes into arrears, the mortgage lender will demand a lump sum payment or threaten foreclosure. For many, maintaining a monthly mortgage payment might be possible with a few financial improvements, but making a lump sum payment is far from possible. Dealing with Arrears through Bankruptcy

Full Answer

Why do I have to pay my mortgage in arrears?

Because of the way lenders calculate interest, you always pay your mortgage in arrears. This means that once you sign on the dotted line, you could go for a full month or more before you need to write that first check.

What are the legal issues when dealing with a mortgage lender?

As noted above, numerous legal issues can arise when dealing with a mortgage lender, most commonly due to a breach of the loan agreement. A loan agreement is similar to any other contract; this means all breach of contract remedies are available, should a party breach the contract.

What is capitalization of arrears on a mortgage?

Capitalization of arrears occurs when the money that was past due on your mortgage, along with any interest and penalties you have acquired, is just tacked on to the mortgage balance that you owe. For example, assume that you fell behind on your mortgage payments and you owed $10,000 in back payments, plus another $1000 in fees and penalties.

What happens to mortgage arrears during Chapter 13?

While paying the arrears down, you must also pay current monthly mortgage payments on time. If, during your Chapter 13 proceedings, you do not make your current mortgage payments on time, the mortgage company can go back to court and request permission to continue with the stalled foreclosure.

What happens if the bank holding my mortgage fails?

Key Takeaways. If your mortgage lender goes bankrupt, you do still need to pay your mortgage obligation. As a result of bankruptcy, the mortgage lender's assets, including your mortgage, are packaged together with other loans and sold to another lender or service company.

What does arrears mean in mortgage?

As noted above, arrears generally refers to any amount that is overdue after the payment due date for accounts such as loans and mortgages. Simply put, it means your payment is late. Accounts can also be in arrears for things like car payments, utilities, and child support—any time you have a payment due that you miss.

Why are mortgages paid in arrears?

Mortgages Are Paid in Arrears Because interest is accrued on a mortgage balance each month, it cannot be paid until after the fact. Simply put, your mortgage payment made on the first of the month will cover last month's interest, along with taxes and insurance, and principal (if applicable).

What happens when the bank takes your house?

What Is Foreclosure? Foreclosure is when the bank or mortgage lender takes possession of property that is in default, often against the homeowner's will. Your mortgage agreement states that if you stop making payments on your loan, the bank can reclaim the property through foreclosure.

Can I get a new mortgage with mortgage arrears?

Having missed one payment a few years ago isn't likely to affect your mortgage application in any major way. However, it may still knock your credit score slightly meaning you may not have access to every lender or at least their best deals.

Can I sell my house if I have mortgage arrears?

So, put simply, yes you can sell your home if you are behind with mortgage repayments (i.e. in arrears).

Is mortgage paid upfront or in arrears?

Mortgages are paid in arrears, which means you're paying for the previous month. The interest you owe accrues before you make a payment, and the portion of your payment that exceeds the interest owed is applied to your principal balance.

Is mortgage principal paid in arrears?

Unlike most loans, mortgage principal and interest are paid in arrears — or paid after interest is accrued. So, when buying a home, your first payment is due at the beginning of the first full month after closing.

How are mortgage arrears calculated?

Calculate your arrears for payments such as rent, insurance premiums, tuition payments and the like by multiplying the monthly amount by the number of months unpaid, plus any late fees or other penalties. Subtract from this figure any partial payments you have made since the last month for which you paid in full.

How long does it take a bank to repossess a house?

How long does the repossession process take? With the various steps that lenders need to follow to apply for a repossession order, the whole process can take up to 9 months. This can differ case to case, but in general, it's quite a slow process.

Whats it called when the bank owns your house?

The acronym REO stands for real estate owned, and it's the same as bank-owned. If no one opts to buy a foreclosure home at auction, the bank or mortgage lender or servicer takes ownership of the property, and can refer to it as either bank-owned or real estate owned (REO).

What happens when bank seizes property?

Once the property has been seized by the creditor, it can be sold, usually at auction. Writs of seizure and sale are used to take possession of a property when a borrower has failed to make payments on the debt or loan for an extended period of time.

Can You Cure Mortgage Arrears Through A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Repayment Plan?

Yes. The mortgage company files a claim for the entire amount due to become current. That amount can be repaid over a period of time; up to 5 years.

What Is Lien Stripping?

It is where you can eliminate or reduce the amount you owe. This does not apply to the usual first mortgage. It can apply to second (or junior mortgages) where the value of the property is less than the balance of the first mortgage

Will My Second Mortgage Go Away In A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

No. Chapter 7 can eliminate debt but does not eliminate the mortgage security interest.

When Is A Second Mortgage Considered Unsecured Debt?

When the value of the house is less than the full balance of the first mortgage. For example, house is worth $200,000 and the full balance of the first mortgage is, say, $225,000: then the 2nd mortgage can be stripped in Chapter 13 when Chapter 13 is discharged.

How Does Having A Second Mortgage Affect A Foreclosure Action?

Unless there is a lot of equity second mortgage companies do not bid at the sheriff’s sale. They can sue you on the note.

What Happens If You Default On A Second Mortgage?

Generally, 2nd mortgage companies do file foreclosure. But, they can sue on the note.

If I Had To Choose Between Paying My First Or Second Mortgage, Which Should I Pay?

The first mortgage should be first. Unless there is a lot of equity in the property 2nd mortgage companies do not file foreclosure.

Dealing with Arrears through Bankruptcy

The good news is that even if your mortgage is in arrears and/or you are being threatened with foreclosure, it is possible to improve your situation and maintain ownership of your home.

Chapter 13 Gives You a Fresh Start

Dealing with arrears and getting your financial situation back on track over the course of several years is one of the main reasons people choose to file for bankruptcy. It makes it possible to maintain ownership of a home and make right what went wrong with mortgage payments and other debts.

Pasco Office

At the Tampa Bay law firm, the Law Offices of Robert M. Geller, P.A., we help people with consumer bankruptcy matters in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg, Florida communities such as Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Thonotosassa, Riverview, Lutz, Plant City, Brandon, Carrollwood, Wesley Chapel, St.

What is capitalization of arrears?

Capitalization of arrears occurs when the money that was past due on your mortgage, along with any interest and penalties you have acquired, is just tacked on to the mortgage balance that you owe. For example, assume that you fell behind on your mortgage payments and you owed $10,000 in back payments, plus another $1000 in fees and penalties.

What is the mortgage payment if you have $100,000 remaining?

So, if you had $100,000 remaining on the mortgage, you will now have $111,000. Going forward, your mortgage payments will be calculated based on you owing $111,000 and interest will also be charged on that $111,000 principle as opposed to on the $100,000 that you owed before. Capitalization of arrears is generally the most common type ...

What is an adjustable rate mortgage?

Adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, allow your mortgage rate to fluctuate throughout the life of the loan. One type of ARM puts you on a limited or minimum payment schedule where your monthly payment does not apply toward principal and doesn't even cover the entire amount of accrued interest. Lenders apply the interest in arrears ...

How does amortization work?

Amortization Basics. When you take out a mortgage to purchase a piece of real estate, your lender uses amortization to calculate your monthly payments. Most mortgages require monthly payments. Before a payment becomes due, the lender looks at the original loan balance after the last payment and calculates the amount of interest owed for ...

What is prepaid interest?

Prepaid Interest. Because you pay mortgage payments in arrears, the lag in time before a first mortgage payment becomes due surprises many new homeowners. When you close on your mortgage, the lender includes the first mortgage payment in the closing costs as prepaid interest.

Do you pay your mortgage in arrears?

Because of the way lenders calculate interest, you always pay your mortgage in arrears.

Prevention

At the point of application, applicants are critically assessed by our mortgage underwriters. Chief amongst this assessment is a borrower’s ability to keep up with the monthly interest payments on their loans.

Necessary action: within two months

The first action taken when a payment is missed is to issue an immediate prompt to the borrower warning them that swift remittance is required. This happens within days of the first payment being missed.

Necessary action: after two months

After two months in arrears, the borrower enters a ‘pre-litigation’ stage. The case becomes the specific responsibility of our special servicing team, trained to deal with borrowers who fall behind on monthly interest payments and to devise strategies that help them get back on track.

What are some examples of legal issues that arise when dealing with a mortgage lender?

Common examples of legal issues that may arise when dealing with a mortgage lender include, but are not limited to the following: Foreclosure: The most common legal issue that arises between a mortgagor and mortgagee is when the mortgagor is behind on making payments on the mortgage, which leads to foreclosure .

What are the legal issues with a mortgage lender?

As noted above, numerous legal issues can arise when dealing with a mortgage lender, most commonly due to a breach of the loan agreement. A loan agreement is similar to any other contract; this means all breach of contract reme dies are available, should a party breach the contract. Common examples of legal issues that may arise when dealing ...

What does a real estate agent do?

Finally, a real estate agent will also be involved in helping the borrower find a property to purchase, as well as work with the mortgage lender and broker. As can be seen, with so many parties involved in the purchase of a home, it is not difficult to see why legal disputes often arise.

What is the role of a mortgage broker?

The broker’s role is to assist the borrower by researching multiple loan options from many lenders and helping them find the best loan for them.

What is a breach of contract claim?

Typically, the claim that you will file against the mortgage lender will be based on a breach of contract theory, where you will seek to recover any economic losses that you may have suffered. Additionally, breach of contract remedies may include remedies in equity, such as: Cancelling the mortgage contract; Rewriting the mortgage contract ...

What is foreclosure in mortgage?

In short, foreclosure is the process where the lender takes the borrower’s property and sells the property at a public auction in order to satisfy the borrower’s debts; Mortgage Fraud: Mortgage fraud occurs when false or incorrect information is provided on a loan application.

What is predatory lending?

Predatory Lending: Mortgage lenders sometimes target susceptible buyers, such as first-time borrowers or elderly borrowers, and offer them loans at abusively high interest rates or unreasonable loan terms ; or.

What happens when a mortgage servicer gets a partial payment?

When a mortgage servicer gets a partial payment from a borrower, the servicer usually puts that money into a suspense account. In the example above, if Brandon paid just $1,000 of the monthly amount due, the servicer would consider his payment a partial payment.

Why is Brandon's payment late?

Because the loan servicer misapplied the payment, the servicer then wrongfully reports Brandon’s payment as late to the credit reporting bureaus and charges a late fee to his account.

What is mortgage servicer 2021?

Updated: Jan 7th, 2021. Mortgage servicers handle loan accounts. In some cases, the original lender or a bank that buys the loan from the lender (an investor) services the loan. In other cases, the lender or investor gives a third-party the right to service the loan account. A mortgage servicer’s duties usually include:

What is a RESPA letter?

Under a federal law, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), if you send your servicer a letter letting the servicer know that it made an error on your account, the servicer must fix the mistake within a specific time period.

Can a mortgage servicer make a mistake?

Misapplying payments is just one common error that mortgage servicers sometimes make. But, of course, servicers make other types of mistakes as well. If you think your mortgage servicer made an error when managing your account and need help resolving it—or if you’re facing imminent foreclosure—consider talking to a foreclosure attorney who can explain what to do in your particular situation.

What happens if you don't make your mortgage payments in Chapter 13?

If, during your Chapter 13 proceedings, you do not make your current mortgage payments on time, the mortgage company can go back to court and request permission to continue with the stalled foreclosure. If that request is granted, you could lose your house, even though you are in bankruptcy.

What happens to unsecured debt when time is up?

When the time is up, whatever unsecured past debts remain are no longer owed, with a few exceptions. Your debt will be divided into three categories – secured debt, priority unsecured debt and unsecured debt. Your mortgage falls under secured debt.

What happens when you file Chapter 13?

When you file Chapter 13, any in-progress foreclosure proceedings must immediately halt. Then the mortgage company will typically be ordered by the court/trustee to accept payments on the amount you are behind.

What happens to your income after Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

Under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your monthly living expenses are compared to your income. After all bills are deducted, what is left is “disposable income.” The trustee will disperse those disposable funds among your unsecured creditors. Each one will receive a preset percentage of the money each month. Once your time is up, if you have completed all payments as agreed, the balances are no longer owed.

How long does a Chapter 13 bankruptcy last?

You will have either a three-year or five-year repayment plan, depending on your income and your state's median salary at the time.

Can a mortgage company reduce the principal?

Mortgage Companies Can Reduce Principal. If your home's value has dropped below the current mortgage balance, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can sometimes force the mortgage company to adjust the principal to equal the newly determined value.

Can a Chapter 13 mortgage be foreclosed on?

This is when Chapter 13 allows the second mortgage to move to unsecured debt. Once moved, these loans can no longer cause your home to be foreclosed on because they are no longer secured by the home. Get the Best Mortgage Rate for You | SmartAsset.com. Loading.