If you are confronted with a mortgage foreclosure in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton or Stroudsburg, or in Luzerne, Lackawanna or Monroe Counties or anywhere else in Pennsylvania, a filing under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code may provide you with relief by allowing you to formulate a plan to “cure” the past due amounts owed on your mortgage over a 3-5 year period, while at the same time allowing you to make your regular monthly mortgage payments directly to your bank or mortgage lender.
The filing of a Chapter 13 petition will immediately cause the foreclosure proceeding to stop and the successful implementation of a plan will enable you to catch up on your mortgage obligation and may even enable you to discharge credit card and other debts, including some types of tax debts.
If you are interested in learning more about whether Chapter 13 will afford you benefits, please feel free to call me to discuss your options or to schedule a free consultation. At your request, I will also provide you with my biography, with a listing of my credentials as well as some free informational materials about Chapter 13 and the bankruptcy process.
Please note that the Chapter 13 option will be effective to stop a sheriff’s sale only if a bankruptcy petition is filed prior to the date of the foreclosure sale. As the law requires the gathering of a significant amount of paperwork, it is best not to address the Chapter 13 option at the last minute. Time is also of the essence as the bank’s costs in pursuing the foreclosure increase as each day passes.
If you and your spouse are on the mortgage that is being foreclosed, you may also have the option of having only one spouse file a petition under Chapter 13 to stop the sheriff’s sale and cure the mortgage arrearages.