The foreclosure survival guide: keep your house or walk away with money in your pocket

Table of Contents......Page 10
Your Foreclosure Companion......Page 16
1. Foreclosure: The Big Picture......Page 18
Your Options: An Overview......Page 21
How You Can Stay in Your House Payment Free......Page 32
Don’t Get Scammed by a Foreclosure  “Rescue” Company......Page 33
2. Foreclosure Nuts and Bolts......Page 38
How Much Time You’ll Have to Respond......Page 41
Deficiency Judgments: Will You Still Owe Money After the Foreclosure?......Page 51
Taxes......Page 53
3. Can You Keep Your House? Should You?......Page 54
The Emotional Part of Foreclosure......Page 55
The Economics of Foreclosure: What You Need to Know......Page 60
When It Makes Sense to Keep Your House......Page 67
When It Makes Sense to Give up Your House......Page 69
4. Negotiating a Workout......Page 72
Do You Have Enough Time to Negotiate?......Page 74
Working With a Nonprofit Housing Counselor......Page 76
Basic Workout Options......Page 84
Workouts for Government-Backed Mortgages......Page 89
Special Protections for Service Members on Active Duty......Page 91
5. How Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Can Delay or Stop Foreclosure......Page 94
Using Chapter 13 to Keep Your House......Page 96
Using Chapter 13 to Delay Foreclosure......Page 105
Coming Up With a Repayment Plan......Page 106
An Overview of the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Process......Page 108
Will You Need a Lawyer?......Page 111
6. How Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Can Delay or Stop Foreclosure......Page 114
How Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Helps You......Page 116
Using Chapter 7 Bankruptcy to Keep Your House......Page 118
Using Chapter 7 Bankruptcy to Delay a Foreclosure Sale......Page 124
The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process: An Overview......Page 130
Do You Qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?......Page 131
Will You Need a Lawyer?......Page 134
7. Fighting Foreclosure in Court......Page 136
How Long Can You Delay the Sale of Your House?......Page 138
When It May Be Worth Fighting......Page 140
How to Fight a Foreclosure......Page 154
8. If You Decide to Leave Your House......Page 162
Let the Foreclosure Proceed......Page 164
Sell the House in a Short Sale......Page 167
Offer the Lender a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure......Page 175
Avoiding Deficiency Judgments......Page 176
Income Tax Liability for Deficiencies......Page 177
9. How Long Can You Stay in Your House for Free?......Page 180
When You Miss Your First Payment......Page 182
After You Receive a Formal Notice of Intent to Foreclose......Page 183
After the Sale......Page 187
After You Get a Notice to Leave......Page 189
10. Resources Beyond the Book......Page 192
Nonprofit Housing Counselors......Page 193
Real Estate Brokers......Page 194
Lawyers......Page 195
Bankruptcy Petition Preparers......Page 202
Books......Page 204
Looking Up Foreclosure Statutes......Page 206
Glossary......Page 210
Appendix: State Information......Page 232
Alabama......Page 234
Alaska......Page 235
Arizona......Page 236
Arkansas......Page 238
California......Page 239
Colorado......Page 240
Connecticut......Page 241
Delaware......Page 242
District of Columbia......Page 243
Florida......Page 244
Georgia......Page 245
Hawaii......Page 246
Idaho......Page 247
Illinois......Page 248
Indiana......Page 249
Iowa......Page 250
Kansas......Page 251
Kentucky......Page 252
Louisiana......Page 253
Maine......Page 254
Maryland......Page 255
Massachusetts......Page 256
Michigan......Page 257
Minnesota......Page 258
Mississippi......Page 259
Missouri......Page 260
Montana......Page 261
Nebraska......Page 262
Nevada......Page 263
New Hampshire......Page 264
New Jersey......Page 265
New Mexico......Page 266
New York......Page 267
North Carolina......Page 268
North Dakota......Page 269
Ohio......Page 270
Oklahoma......Page 271
Oregon......Page 272
Pennsylvania......Page 273
Rhode Island......Page 274
South Carolina......Page 275
South Dakota......Page 276
Tennessee......Page 277
Texas......Page 278
Utah......Page 279
Vermont......Page 280
Virginia......Page 281
Washington......Page 282
West Virginia......Page 283
Wisconsin......Page 284
Wyoming......Page 285
Index......Page 286
Related Products......Page 312