I speak with many clients in the Tampa Bay, Florida area who have heard of cancelled debt and 1099-C forms but they do not really understand the impact of the taxable events that occur in a short sale. An understanding of how a 1099C works in a short sale is…
Our Florida clients have recently been asking me if there is a new law allowing them to reduce their mortgage balance to the value of their home. This is not accurate and I am not sure where this is coming from. My guess it may be from somewhat misleading and…
Mortgage modifications are often determined by whether the owner (not servicer) is either a participant in HAMP or a recipient of TARP bailout funds. Here’s how to check on your lenders: First, use our Resource page on our website to look up who likely owns your loan by doing a…
Follow this link for a one page concise description of the Principal Paydown Plan we’ve written about in the past (to allow mortgage payments made during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to go directly to principal thereby reducing the underwater portion of your mortgage). The idea is to encourage homeowners to…
The Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, has recently implemented a mediation program for homeowners wishing to modify their first mortgages. The Orlando Division has had a similar program in place for a year or more and reports a success rate of 70%, unlike the state…
Our Florida clients sometimes ask me why they cannot strip off a second mortgage in a Chapter 7 like often done in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy nowadays. The limitation can be found in the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410, 417 (1992). The Court…
NACBA (National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys) responded this weekend to the government’s latest approach to the foreclosure crisis with what I call the Principal Paydown Plan. Rather than turn us into a nation of renters under the recent suggestion that Freddie and Fannie rent their foreclosed properties or sell…
I have discussed the many second mortgages that can be removed or stripped off clients’ property in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy due to the low home values in Florida. Today, I’d like to discuss other possibilities to remove a second mortgage that we are seeing. Today for instance, I received…
Bankruptcy clients who are new to Florida come to our office complaining about what I call the Exemptions Calculus Problem. Learning calculus seems simpler. Below are some useful sites and a brief explanation as to how exemptions work. First, exemptions in bankruptcy are important because they decide what you get…
In an article recently about shedding second mortgages, I am reminded that many people still do not realize that they can often strip their second mortgage forever in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Although this article addresses homeowners in California, the same is true for our Florida clients. The key is…