Any suggestions for people that want to get back on their feet after they go through these terrible times?

Immediately after your bankruptcy or during your chapter 13 bankruptcy, you should take steps to repair your credit because bad credit means you are going to pay higher interest rate on cars, on future mortgages, etc. etc. And that will cost you a lot of money throughout your lifetime. Immediately they should take steps to do something about their credit and I can give you many ideas on some things that you can do yourselves and some things I can do for you through our credit restoration services. Of course you have to always try to see if you can get a better job, make more money,  save more money. Those are important things that you need to start doing. Be a little bit more responsible. Don’t use your credit card for frivolous stuff and all those things that you want but don’t really need. Nobody needs a 2012 Mercedes E450, but yes, we all need a decent car to go to work.  There are other things that I can suggest that you need to do to get back on track. One thing for sure is just because you filed for bankruptcy it is not the end of your life. It is actually a beginning of a new fresh start for you. So, anybody that tells you, hey, if you file your bankruptcy that’s the end. Don’t believe them because they just don’t know better. Many times the people who are closest to us will tell you don’t ever file bankruptcy. It’s our mother or father or brother or sister or family members and our close friends. If you really want to know what bankruptcy can do to you and what it cannot to you, come and see me. I’ll explain to you in plain language how it affects you, what you can do and what you cannot do. My goal is not just to put people in bankruptcy but also to keep them out of bankruptcy if they are not qualified for one.

What happens when there is an increase of income while you are still in chapter 13? Is that going to jeopardize their chapter 13 payment plan?

In this district in Broward and Palm Beach, it has not mattered so far how much money you make after you file the chapter 13 bankruptcy. But I must say that with a caution and the reason is in the bankruptcy law itself says very clearly that if your income increases in the future, you have to modify your Plan to increase payments to your creditors. I know the chapter 13 trustee in Miami has filed motions to modify a debtor’s plan to increase plan payments. I have not seen the Broward and Palm Beach trustee doing so at this time. If something like that is about to happen to you, you need to come and talk to me. Maybe there are other alternatives that we can work on, maybe even convert your case to a chapter 7 right away and give up some of your assets to the Chapter 7 Trustee or buy them back from the Trustee with your new money. So, as long as you keep in touch with me about your financial situation, I can guide you every step of the way. 

How does it work for people that have a second mortgage?

If you have a second mortgage on your home and you don’t have equity in your property and your home is underwater, we can get rid of it in a chapter 13 bankruptcy and as long as you successfully go through a chapter 13 and get a discharge that second mortgage will go away forever.

Some people might have maybe a second home or an investment property. What happens in that case?

For investment properties, you have an option. You can always file a bankruptcy and give it up if you don’t want it. But if you want to keep it and let’s say it’s providing a decent amount of rent to cover the principal interest, the homeowners fees and all those things, you can actually reduce the principal on your investment home in a chapter 13 bankruptcy as long as you’re willing to pay the balance in five years with about 5% to 6% interest. So let’s say for example you owe $200,000 on a condo but the condo’s only worth $60,000. As long as you can pay $60,000 over a 5 year period with about 5% or 6% interest, you can actually keep your condo and keep on renting it out, collect rent, and own it free and clear in 5 years. That is the magic of Chapter 13.

If someone falls behind on mortgage payments and is facing foreclosure, what do you advice people to do when a foreclosure notification arrives in the mail or a foreclosure lawsuit is served upon them?

Well, as soon as you get served by a foreclosure complaint, you need to go and see an attorney because you have 20 days to file or response to the complaint. If you do not file a response, they will get a default judgement against you. Basically, when they serve you with the lawsuit, they have started a war and you have the option of doing something and fighting back or not doing anything at all. I suggest to people that they fight back because even if nothing happens in their foreclosure case and even if they never win their case, you can get anywhere from a year or two years in that house without having to make a mortgage payment. We have defenses that we can legally file in your case that will keep you in your house for a long, long time. The one thing I always suggest to people is “Don’t sleep on your rights, fight for them and don’t ever leave your home. Stay in the home until the last day, until the sheriff  actually comes and says..man, you have to leave your house now.”  

What happens after you file bankruptcy? How long will it take someone to get back on their feet?

Usually, chapter 7 takes about 3 to 4 months to complete. The way you’ll know it is completed is you get an order from the court.  It is called Discharge of Debtor. A discharge means a complete forgiveness of all your debts. Certain debts like recent taxes, student loans, restitution, and many other never get discharged. Immediately after that, you can contact me and I can start  credit restoration for you. I can give you more than 100 different ways on things that yo9u can do to restore your credit and improve your credit score while I do my thing trying to remove the bad things from your credit report. Within 12 to 18 months it is not uncommon for you to have a score of 650 or above. Sometimes within a few months of you getting a discharge, you get offers from credit card companies offering you credit cards. Some people are very shy. They don’t want to take credit cards. I say take every credit card that they offer you. Just use them wisely. Don’t do it like the last time. That’s all because you will need these credit cards to build credit. In a chapter 13, you can actually start fixing your credit the moment you file your bankruptcy. You don’t have to wait for 5 years until the bankruptcy is over. I have plenty of clients that I’m working on right now who are in an active bankruptcy and they already have scores of 650 and above.