Springfield Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

Protecting Your Missouri Home from Foreclosure

It can be easy to feel powerless when you fall behind on your mortgage payments and are threatened with foreclosure. No matter your circumstances, losing your home will almost certainly bring devastating consequences to you and your family.

Our Springfield foreclosure defense lawyers at Licata Bankruptcy Firm PC can help you explore legal options that can help you save your home. Filing for bankruptcy can freeze the foreclosure process and give you the breathing room and flexibility to catch up on mortgage payments and map out your next steps.

Our bankruptcy team can walk you through the implications of filing and develop a strategy that will best protect your interests. Our goal is to help you build a more sustainable financial future that will allow you to keep your home and stay out of overwhelming debt.

If you are facing foreclosure or the process has already started, do not wait to call (417) 213-5006 or contact us online. We offer free initial consultations.

Understanding the Foreclosure Process in Missouri

The foreclosure process will not be initiated immediately if you are late on a mortgage payment. In fact, you can miss multiple payments before any foreclosure proceedings can begin. Federal law requires that banks and lending institutions must wait a minimum of 120 days – or 4 months – before a foreclosure can start.

This means that you will have ample time to anticipate and prepare for a foreclosure. It also means you do not have to worry if you are delinquent on a payment or two. Keep in mind, however, that you will be subject to any penalties, interest, or late fees mandated by your servicer.

If circumstances prevent you from catching up on payments, you should expect to receive a breach letter from your bank or lending institution. This letter will formally indicate that the mortgage is in default and the steps that must be promptly taken to cure the debt and avoid foreclosure. Per federal requirements, you must also receive information about foreclosure avoidance options.

It is important to understand that banks and lending institutions do not like foreclosures, as they are expensive and resource consuming. In many circumstances, you can negotiate with your servicer to refinance or modify the loan. Most Missouri deeds have a reinstatement clause that allow you to halt any imminent or initiated foreclosure proceeding if you can catch up on ally payments and late fees.

Should you not be able to reach a compromise with your servicer, you will have until the date prescribed in your breach letter – typically 120 days after the first missed payment – to catch up or face foreclosure. If you know you will be unable to cure the debt by that date, you should consider immediately speaking to a member of our team about your foreclosure defense options.

Most foreclosures in Missouri are nonjudicial, meaning they do not involve state courts. This is bad news for homeowners, as it means the foreclosure can happen extremely quickly in many situations.

The lending institution is obligated to send you a notice of foreclosure sale at least 20 days before the sale takes place. They are also required to place advertisements of the sale in a local newspaper.

Once the foreclosure sale takes place and the home’s ownership is transferred, you can no longer stop the process through bankruptcy. If you receive a foreclosure sale notice, contact a bankruptcy professional as soon as possible.

Be aware that you can also face deficiency judgments in Missouri. Many times, the foreclosure sale price is lower than what you owed on the mortgage. For example, say you owed $100,000, but the foreclosure sale purchase only generated $60,000.

You are still on the hook for the remaining $40,000, even though you have lost your home. Your servicer can sue you for the remaining deficiency, which makes avoiding foreclosure all the more important.