Grossbart on Bankruptcy Law

I am falling behind on my mortgage and don't know who to pay?

How can this be? Easy. When you obtained your mortgage supposedly before your papers were dry, your Note was transfered into a securitized trust. How would you know? More and more people are learning the answer if you received a notice of intent (Maryland) to foreclose.

That notice must tell you the owner of the Note. Here is where things get confusing. For your Note to get into the trust the Note must be properly negotited into the trust. The rules that control this transaction are contained in a documement called a pooling and servicing agreement (PSA).

If this transaction is not done properly the foreclosing party does not have standing and can't foreclose. It is possible to challenge the foreclosing party and prevent a foreclosurebecaue of lack of standing. If you find yourself in this situation, it is time to contact a bankruptcy attorney to explore your options.

Falling Behind on Mortgage

One of the great mysteries regarding a consumer’s ability to borrow money is what effect your financial difficulties have on your credit score.  Our client’s often ask what effect a short sale, a foreclosure or a bankruptcy will have on their credit scores and their ability to rent a home, buy a car, or purchase another house.  Noted financial reporter for the Baltimore Sun, Eileen Ambrose, wrote a very interesting article that was issued in the May 2, 2011 edition.  As she stated lenders use credit scores to decide whether to extend credit and under what terms.  FICO (Fair Isaac Company) is the most widely used credit scoring agency. FICO scores range from 300 to 850.  FICO looked at how long it takes for a credit score to recover for a consumer with a 680, 720 or 780 score.  For a 680 score the recovery time for a short sale is 3 years, for a foreclosure 3 years and for a bankruptcy 5 years.  FICO found that for consumers with higher scores the recovery time is even longer.  For 720 and 780 scores the recovery time for a short sale is 7 years, for a foreclosure 7 years and for a bankruptcy 7-10 years.