Approximately 4 million former homeowners may be eligible to receive financial compensation because of inappropriate lender action; millions of mortgage documents and home foreclosure proceedings will be reviewed for mistakes.  Why?  Because homes have been inappropriately taken away from families.  If you lost your home through foreclosure, you and your family may be eligible for compensation.

What is foreclosure?

Foreclosure is a legal process through which a lender, such as a bank or mortgage company, legally regains title to and possession of a home because the mortgage hasn’t been paid.

In November 2011, federal bank regulators announced a program that will compensate possibly millions of families who, improperly, lost their homes, for mistakes made by loan servicers during the foreclosure process.

There is no fee to participate in the foreclosure review process.

Are you eligible for compensation due to improper foreclosure?

1. Check IndependentForeclosureReview.com to see if you’re eligible. 

You’re eligible to have your mortgage and foreclosure documents reviewed if your mortgage was handled by one of the listed mortgage servicers.

In addition, qualified families will receive written notice of their right to review, by the end of 2011.

1. If you are eligible, you MUST apply for review (of your mortgage and foreclosure documents) by the end of April 2012.
2. If mistakes are found, you may receive financial compensation.

Examples of Mistakes or Misrepresentations in Mortgage Documents and the Foreclosure Process

The mistakes and misrepresentations in the housing lending business have been egregious.  For example, Bank of America tried to foreclose on a family that had no mortgage; it was paid in full.  Furthermore, the family had never had a mortgage with Bank of America.

Other examples:

1. Robo-signing
2. Inappropriate fees
3. Miscalculated fees
4. Foreclosure during bankruptcy protection
5. Foreclosure during mortgage modification negotiations

Where do I get help stopping foreclosure or filing Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy (and stopping foreclosure) is a very specialized area of law; be sure your attorney focuses his or her practice on bankruptcy and helping people like you.  We focus our practice on bankruptcy law, stopping foreclosures, dischargeable debts, and help people just like you.  We’ll answer your questions and guide you to a fresh start, clean slate.  You can reach us at 513-793-6555 or Thomasjr@geygan.com.  We will gently walk you through the bankruptcy process, answer your questions, analyze your case, and aggressively fight for your legal rights.  Your next step is to contact our office so we can help you.  We look forward to your call or email.

You may be nervous about the Meeting of Creditors, also known as a “341 hearing.”  It’s a required part of the bankruptcy process and is held about a month after your bankruptcy petition is filed.  We often get the question, “What are my creditors going to say the Meeting of Creditors?”  “Are they going to yell at me or say bad things about me?”  No worries, your creditors likely won’t even show up. 

The Meeting of Creditors will likely just be you, your bankruptcy attorney, and the bankruptcy trustee.  There may be other people in the room, but they’re just waiting for their turn and aren’t at the table.  The trustee will likely ask you questions such as “Have you paid more to one creditor than another creditor?”  “Did you redo your kitchen or bathroom in the last three years?”  “Is your bankruptcy petition accurate?”  In most cases, the Meeting of Creditors is a formality and Bank of America, Citibank, and Discover Card don’t bother showing up.  They’ve already written off the debt and are busy raising interest rates and fees on other customers.

On the other hand, if you’ve personally insulted an ex-spouse, friend, father-in-law, or business partner, that personal creditor may show up to voice his or her anger and frustration.  If you haven’t paid back a loan to someone you have a personal relationship with, they will feel angry, hurt, frustrated, and insulted.  When individuals aren’t paid back, they take it personally.  Bank of American is not personally insulted.

Your personal creditors, in addition, can file an objection to discharge of a debt under Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code.  However, neither filing this exception nor venting at the Meeting of creditors will likely be successful.

However, if your personal creditor (or someone else that you’ve made angry) has information that could jeopardize your bankruptcy filing, beware.  Trustees take letters, from insiders about your inaccurate bankruptcy petition, very seriously. 

If you are interested we have a video the bankruptcy court made in regards to the 341 meeting.  To see this video please click here.  If you would like to know more about the types of questions the Trustee will ask please click here.

Where do I get help filing Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a very specialized area of law; be sure your attorney focuses his or her practice on bankruptcy and helping people like you.  We do focus our practice on bankruptcy law and help people just like you every day.  You can reach us at 513-793-6555 or Thomasjr@geygan.com. 

We will gently walk you through the bankruptcy process, answer your questions, analyze your case, and aggressively fight for your legal rights.  We will stand by your through the Meeting of Creditors and throughout the entire bankruptcy process.  Your next step is to contact our Ohio bankruptcy office; we look forward to your call or email.

Looking to order a Christmas present for a long distance friend or relative?  Need to fly to a job interview in New York City?  Want to work online?  These three things and many others all require the use of a credit card; therefore, our Ohio bankruptcy attorneys often get the question, “Can I keep a credit card through bankruptcy?”

A credit card is often preferred because the use of debit cards is not recommended online.  If someone misuses your credit card information, your liability is limited to $50; if someone misuses your debit card, your liability is everything you have in your account.

Likely, most, if not all, credit card companies will cancel your credit card and close your account the moment they receive notice of your bankruptcy, even those with whom you don’t have a balance.  Credit card companies that you list as having a balance (and you MUST list them all), will receive the automatic stay informing them they no longer may attempt to collect the balance due.  However, even zero balance cards will review your credit report on a regular basis and will, likely, cancel your card and account.  At the creditor’s total discretion, you may be able to keep a card through a chapter 7 bankruptcy, but this is highly unlikely.  Remember that in a chapter 13 bankruptcy you cannot incur new debt (above a certain amount) without court approval.

After bankruptcy to be able to function in today’s virtual world, you’ll likely need a credit card.  Be careful to only charge what you can pay off that month and only use the card when necessary.  You may be able to qualify for a low limit credit card after your bankruptcy is completed.

An additional alternative is to use a secured credit card as you rebuild your credit rating.  This isn’t really a credit card at all.  It’s a card which is used as a credit card and subtracts from your deposit as you make purchases.  For example, you deposit $500 on the secured card and purchase $30 domain names for your website or pay $25 to register with a freelance website to work online. 

With both unsecured and secured credit cards, understand the associated fees and interest rates.  Credit card companies are predatory and, likely, played a role in forcing you into bankruptcy, in the first place.

Where to Get Help with Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a very specialized area of law; be sure your attorney focuses his or her practice on bankruptcy and helping people in financial trouble.  We focus our practice on bankruptcy law and helping people just like you.  You can reach us at 513-793-6555 or Thomasjr@geygan.com. 

We will gently walk you through the bankruptcy process, answer your questions, analyze your case, and aggressively fight for your legal rights.  Your next step is to contact our Ohio bankruptcy office and we’ll stop the harassing phone calls.