In my last blog I gave you the first five of ten distinct and significant ways that Chapter 13 can save your home. I’ll summarize those here briefly, and then give you the other five in more detail.
Chapter 13 enables you:
1.... to stretch out the amount of time you are given to catch up on missed mortgage payments, giving you as long as 5 years to do so.
2. ... to slash your other debt obligations so that you can afford your mortgage payments.
3.... to permanently prevent income tax liens, child and spousal support liens, and judgment liens from attaching to your home.
4.... to have the time you need to pay debts that cannot be discharged (legally written off) in bankruptcy, all the while being protected from those creditors messing with your home.
5.... to discharge debts owed to creditors which could have otherwise put liens on your home.
6.... to get out of paying all or some of your 2nd or 3rd mortgage ever again—IF the value of your home is no more than the balance of your 1st mortgage. This “stripping of junior mortgages” under Chapter 13 continues being used more and more as home property values continue to head downward in so many parts of the country.
7.... to take extra time to pay back property taxes, while protecting the home from tax and mortgage foreclosure. This is particularly important if you have a mortgage on your home. That’s because virtually all mortgages require you to keep current on the property taxes. So not only does Chapter 13 protect you from the property tax authority itself, more importantly it prevents your mortgage lender from using your property tax arrearage as a justification for foreclosing on your home.
8.... to favor many home-related debts—such as property taxes, support liens, utility and construction liens-- that you probably want to pay. You generally can’t get rid of these special kinds of liens on your home, but Chapter 13 allows—indeed requires—you to pay them in full before you pay anything to your other creditors. So in many situations your regular creditors’ loss is your home creditors’ gain, and thus your gain, too.
9.... to get rid of judgment liens in many situations, so that they no longer attach to your home. Although this can also be done in Chapter 7, it’s often all the more helpful in a Chapter 13 when used in combination with these other tools.
10.... to sell your house without the pressure of a foreclosure sale, either just a short time after filing the Chapter 13 case, or sometimes even three, four years later. You may need to or be willing to sell and downsize, but not until a kid finishes high school or you reach an anticipated retirement date. Chapter 13 may allow you to delay selling and curing part of your mortgage arrearage until then, allowing you to preserve your family home in the meantime.
