Wisconsin Bankruptcy Law

Last Sunday’s 60 Minutes broadcast created a lot of buzz with its segment about homeowners voluntarily allowing their overvalued mortgages to go into foreclosures. The CBS website explains:

Currently, about seven million homeowners are behind on their mortgages and that number is only getting worse. Banks, with the help of the government, are offering some relief to homeowners who’ve lost jobs and just can’t meet their payments. But there’s a growing number who can pay but are simply walking away from houses that are now worth as little as half of what they paid for them. It’s called "strategic default." People have done the math and decided making those monthly payments is just throwing money away, leaving the mortgage holders – the banks – as zookeepers of an ever-growing parade of white elephants.

But there is another option rather than a "strategic" or other forms of default: it is also possible to avoid Wisconsin bank foreclosures altogether by filing a personal bankruptcy in Milwaukee or in the surrounding area  under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. For one thing, a bankruptcy filing puts the bank’s foreclosure case on hold. Another factor to consider is the Wisconsin homestead exception, which is $150,000 for a married couple which could make your home safe from foreclosure. And even if you are thousands of dollars behind on your payments, a Chapter 13 petition may allow you to spread out the amount that you are behind over five years. This means that you only end up paying a very small percentage of that total every month and as far as your lender is concerned, the loan becomes current once again.

If you fallen behind on your loan payments through no fault of your own, contact a Wisconsin bankruptcy lawyer right away. Depending upon the circumstances, and what exceptions may or may not apply to your particular situation,  you may be able to save your house and thereby keep your family under one roof through an individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin.

Desperation is an immediate response to being served with foreclosure paperwork.  Immediately, you start to wonder how much time you have and if you are going to be kicked out of your house.  Wisconsin bank foreclosures have not stopped, and there are many people out there that are faced with the dilemma of trying to keep their homes.  The process of foreclosure can be overwhelming and it may be useful to know your rights and what options you might have.

First, it is important to know how you ended up facing foreclosure in the first place.  Were you at one time capable of paying your monthly mortgage statements and have since experienced a financial burden such as a job loss that has made it impossible to continue to make those payments?  Would you be able to pay your mortgage if everything were to be brought current?  It is important to answer these questions to determine whether or not filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy in Milwaukee would actually help you.   It is true that a debt consolidation lawyer can bring your loan current so that the threat of foreclosure goes away, but it is important to understand that you will still need to be able to make your normal mortgage payment every month.

If you cannot currently afford the payments, you will want to look into your options of modification to lower the monthly amount and make it more affordable.   Bankruptcy attorneys handle these types of situations all of the time, so it may be in your best interest to meet with one to discuss what options you have.  Do not wait to talk to someone!   The foreclosure will not go away and ignoring it will eat up precious time to address the situation.  Learn more about Wisconsin bankruptcy information before it’s too late, and you may be able to save your house!

More sobering statistics as one year comes to a close and a new one begins. Under 2010 projections, some three million homes will be seized by banks and other lenders after foreclosure proceedings run their course, according to Business Week. Overall foreclosure court filings (that, in the end, don’t always result in homeowners actually losing their property) could go as high as 4.5 million as compared to four million in 2009. December 2009 foreclosure cases filed in the America’s courts increased by about 15 percent (some 350,000) from December 2008, the 10th consecutive month the total surpassed 300,000. National foreclosures in the fourth quarter of 2009 increased 18 percent over 2008’s fourth quarter. And the government’s loan modification program apparently has had little effect because of what’s called “negative” equity: “Homeowners with negative equity, where a property is worth less than the loan, have little incentive to keep paying the mortgage and will ’strategically default,’” claims one real estate expert.

As discussed previously in this blog, Wisconsin is hardly immune from these national recessionary trends. Many well-meaning people in our state who have not botched their money management find themselves nonetheless in a real financial jam because of long-term unemployment and falling property values. While it is unlikely that good, hardworking Wisconsin homeowners will choose to default on their loans for any “strategic” reasons, the fact remains that many state residents unfortunately face the prospect of Wisconsin bank foreclosures. An individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin could, however, be one method for avoiding foreclosure. Before making any final decisions, carefully and candidly going over your assets and liabilities with a Wisconsin bankruptcy lawyer might be an appropriate way to start. As one byproduct, a consumer bankruptcy in Milwaukee or elsewhere in the state means that all foreclosure activity stops while you and your debt consolidation lawyer sort things out.

This is not exactly the way we wanted to ring in the New Year: Under preliminary year-end figures, Wisconsin unfortunately posted a record number of foreclosure court filings in 2009. As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there were almost 31,000 foreclosure filings across the state, up about 20 percent from the 2008 benchmark (about 26,000). Foreclosure filings increased 17 percent in southeastern Wisconsin, with Milwaukee County responsible for about half of them. Kenosha County home foreclosure filings increased by nearly 30 percent in 2009, the biggest jump in the area.

Some financial observers maintain that the foreclosure rate will only go down with a corresponding increase in employer hiring. The jobs picture in 2010 appears uncertain, however. In the meantime, many homeowners seem to be fighting an uphill battle to stay current on their mortgage payments amidst job losses, other mounting debts, and disappearing equity in their property. Recognizing the ongoing economic struggles, Marshall & Ilsley Corp., Wisconsin’s largest bank, announced a grace period on foreclosures through March 21, 2010, to allow their borrowers to reach a mutually acceptable repayment agreement.

For those consumers facing Wisconsin bank foreclosures, bankruptcy may be a viable option. The bankruptcy laws in Wisconsin are designed to help consumers get their lives back in order rather than punishing them for falling into a difficult situation. Depending upon the specifics of your balance sheet and other factors, a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Milwaukee might allow you to clear away your debt or set up a manageable payment plan to deal with it. In many instances, an individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin allows you to keep your home, and in the short term, foreclosure attempts by the bank come to a screeching halt.

Do you need bankruptcy help in Milwaukee or elsewhere in Wisconsin? Declaring bankruptcy is a major decision point, but it isn’t the end of the world. With the assistance of a qualified debt consolidation lawyer, many consumers bounce back relatively quickly. An experienced Wisconsin bankruptcy attorney in Milwaukee can provide the legal advice that could provide a way forward.

Across-the-board problems persist in the housing market according to federal government number crunchers. A report released earlier this week by the U.S. Treasury Department says the number of home foreclosures made history by going over the one million mark for the first quarter ever in the third quarter of 2009. These findings come from a review of “first-lien” or prime mortgages serviced by U.S. national banks and savings and loans. The statistics presented in the report cover approximately 65 percent of all mortgages nationwide or 34 million loans issued by these large banks, to the tune of $6 trillion in principal balance through the end of September 2009. While about 87 percent of these mortgages were current, which sounds good perhaps, it represents about a five percent drop from last year at this time. Even homeowners who got the benefit of a mortgage modification plan that lowered their monthly payments are re-defaulting at high rates–more than half within six months of when their principal and interest payments were reduced.

“Overall, mortgage performance continued to decline as a result of continuing adverse economic conditions, including rising unemployment and loss in home values,” the report says. The report also notes that the “most creditworthy of borrowers” (such as many hardworking, responsible Wisconsin residents) have been increasingly affected by financial difficulties leading to delinquent payments.

While this report isn’t exactly the Christmas present anyone wanted to find under the tree, options exist for those facing possible Wisconsin bank foreclosures. Filing an individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin, if it comes to that, stops all foreclosure activity while you are getting your financial “house” in order.  Contact a debt consolidation lawyer about either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Milwaukee or any other approaches under the bankruptcy laws of Wisconsin for keeping your family under one roof.