Tips For Defending Yourself Against Foreclosure
As a homeowner, a notice of foreclosure is one of the last things you want to see delivered to your home. However, even though you were served with a foreclosure notice, that doesn't mean that there's nothing you can do about it. In fact, the first thing you should do after being served with a foreclosure notice is to contact a foreclosure defense lawyer. Here's a look at some of the things that he or she can do.
Determine If You Were Properly Notified
There are certain guidelines that must be followed by your lender if they intend to foreclose on your mortgage. This includes ensuring that the default meets certain standards and that you have been notified according to the requirements in the law.
Your foreclosure defense attorney will review your mortgage contract, your mortgage history, and the information about how you were served the foreclosure notice to see if the lender violated any of these terms. If they did, you may be able to have the foreclosure halted.
Identify Violations Of The Predatory Lending Act
The predatory lending act is designed to prevent mortgage lenders from offering loans to borrowers who will not be able to afford to repay them. There are a series of guidelines that must be followed to ensure compliance with this law. Your foreclosure defense attorney can review the terms of your mortgage and your financial situation to determine if you were a victim of predatory lending. If you were and your attorney can show proof of that, you may be able to have the foreclosure halted.
Help You Build A Solid Case
Sometimes, there is no clear smoking gun that will allow you to have your foreclosure dismissed. However, if you fell into default due to no fault of your own or because your lender was mismanaging your payments, you can contest the foreclosure on those grounds.
Your attorney will assist you in presenting a case to the court that explains why and how you ended up in default on your mortgage and then will also identify any situation where your lender was mismanaging your payments. If that has happened, the judge can force a revised accounting of your mortgage payments as well.
The more you understand about the options for dismissing your foreclosure, the easier it is to see why you should reach out to a foreclosure defense attorney. Don't just allow it to happen if you may have grounds to fight it.