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Federal Way, WA Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyers

Stop your home's foreclosure dead in its tracks.

Call now to learn how.

If you need to prevent or stop a Federal Way, WA home foreclosure, our bankruptcy attorneys are here to help.  The Federal and Washington state bankruptcy laws provide homeowners with several way to prevent a house foreclosure.

If your Federal Way house is facing a foreclosure action, we invite you to call our WA State bankruptcy offices for an initial consultation.  You can talk with one of our Federal Way Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorneys, who can prequalify you and explain how we can help.

If you are able to qualify and need to quickly stop a Washington home foreclosure sale, we can file an emergency petition on your behalf, usually within 24 to 48 hours.

How can a Federal Way bankruptcy save my home from foreclosure?

There are two main reasons people fall behind on a mortgage – a drop in income or a debt load that doesn’t leave enough income to pay the mortgage. If you have experienced a drop in income, you can save your house from foreclosure by making up the amount you are behind over time in a Chapter 13 repayment plan, which you can’t do if a bank has decided to foreclose.

To be successful at a Chapter 13 plan to catch up on your mortgage, usually the income drop should have been temporary because you will have to continue making your current mortgage payment in addition to catching up on your payments through the plan.

However, if part of the problem is that you have a lot of other debt – such as credit card debt, medical debt, payday loans, car loans, back child support, taxes – even garnishments – you can restructure all this debt to free up income for the mortgage.

In a Chapter 13, a trustee administers your case. The trustee takes your monthly payments and pays your creditors according to the formula in your plan. The trustee or creditors can object to your plan, but your attorney fights for your interests. The ultimate decision is made by a bankruptcy judge.

In a Chapter 7 case, the trustee can sell your property to pay creditors if it is not “exempt” or protected by law. In Washington, you can exempt up to $125,000 of any equity you have in your home. If you have more equity than this, you can still restructure your debts in a Chapter 13. You just have to pay unsecured creditors as much as they would have received if the Trustee sold your home (you can figure it would also cost 10% of the value of your home to sell it, so your unsecured creditors would not get 10%). You can spread payments on this debt over three to five years in a Chapter 13.

You can also remove a second mortgage from the title of your home in a Chapter 13, if your home is worth less than the amount of the first mortgage. Once the second mortgage is removed or “stripped”, the loan is treated as unsecured.

If you are drowning in all kinds of debt and you are worried you can’t keep up with your mortgage payments, a Chapter 7 can help “save” you home by improving your cash flow. If you are worried about making your mortgage payments, it is better to get advice early in the process before things get too out of control. Our Federal Way Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorneys are ready to help you with skill and compassion.