When should you hire a foreclosure lawyer

In any matter that involves formal legal language, it may be prudent to hire an attorney, but a foreclosure lawyer is almost always necessary in the foreclosure process and as early in the process as possible because options to thwart the process diminish significantly with time.

When the home or property owner receives the initial foreclosure notice, it is time to get help. The foreclosure notice is the beginning of a legal process initiated by the home lender when the home or property owner falls beyond a certain point in paying the mortgage payments. The culmination of the process allows the lender to repossess the home and sell it to repay the loan. However, if the owner qualifies, filing a certain form of bankruptcy can save the home from this process. Contrary to the position that any citizen can initiate the bankruptcy process, it almost always requires an attorney to successfully ford this process from beginning to a successful end. It is also important to retain legal representation early because a foreclosure is almost irreversible once complete even if there were significant legal disparities within the proceedings.

Even with an attorney’s help, the foreclosure process is daunting. Additionally, court procedures differ greatly depending on the court and the state, so understanding document filings and procedures within the court itself among the many other components of the foreclosure and bankruptcy process is imperative.

When a foreclosure lawyer is given the proper amount of time, a deal with the bank can be brokered that can prevent foreclosure altogether. Additionally, these attorneys can structure the deal with the bank to not only avoid foreclosure, but many times this can be accomplished without the owner going to an actual court proceeding themselves. The lawyer when given the appropriate time can arrest the process in several ways depending on which may be best for the particular client and their personal financial necessities. These methods can include but are not limited to modification and mitigation.

Modifications are agreements that the lender and the borrower enter into by which changes to the terms of the loan can be made. These agreements can be used to adjust the interest rate or amortization terms. The attorney determines if modification is in the best interest of their clients. When it is not, there are often loss mitigation options that are inherent in certain types of loans which allow homeowners to once again obtain good standing with their balances.

However, attorneys also ensure that lenders adhere to the rules of the process. Lenders are not above employing tactics and techniques that are less than honorable. Additionally, many of these tactics are really intricate and only discoverable by attorneys skilled in this area of law. Lenders know that if they can bring a homeowner to the culmination of the process without being discovered, the chances of overturning the foreclosure become miniscule. The entire process does not have to be this hard for already burdened homeowners. All that is necessary to avoid the financial and personal damage foreclosures cause is to hire an attorney even before the first notice is received.

Ray Radow is a founding partner of the Radow Law Group, P.C. His practice concentrates on Real Estate and Commercial Litigation with a focus on Foreclosure Defense Litigation and Real Estate Transactions, as well as Personal Injury and Criminal Law. Since the onset of the housing crisis, Mr. Radow has represented countless borrowers faced with the looming prospect of foreclosure and has regularly obtained loan modifications for eligible clients, resulting in significant reductions in monthly mortgage payments and, most importantly, keeping families in their homes.