If you have just received a Notice of Sheriff Sale in Indiana all is not lost. This is a very important document that officially sets your house for a sale date and time. If you do nothing it is very likely that your sheriff sale will be completed and you will end up losing your home on that date. However, it is important to keep in mind that you still have options. In my experience homeowners typically receive notice of a sherif sale about 30 days prior to the sale or more.
Most people are not altogether shocked when they receive a notice of sheriff sale. After all, by this point you probably haven't paid your mortgage in several months if not a year or more. In addition, you have probably received several various pleadings from the court including a complaint and judgment. However, receiving an actual time and date your house is going to be sold by the sheriff is certainly a significant emotional event.
First, if you haven't talked to an attorney by now you should. An attorney can review the documents you have received along with the docket to make sure that there is no problem with the complaint that would allow you to set aside the judgment and get a stay of the sheriff sale. Contrary to what the news would often like people to believe; it is fairly rare to find a mistake that would allow you to set aside the judgement and stop the sheriff sale.
An attorney can also communicate with the attorney representing your mortgage company to see if any sort of loan modification can be worked out or considered. Since it takes mortgage companies several months to decide whether a mortgage loan modification will be accepted this typically means the sheriff sale will be delayed.
On the other hand, it is possible that the mortgage company is not interested in delaying the sale and is also not interested in any type of mortgage loan modification. The good news is that homeowners often have a remedy through which they do not need any permission or approval from the mortgage company. The last option is to file a bankruptcy petition. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be a useful tool to buy yourself some time to find a new place to live in the event you do not want to keep the home. The filing of a Chapter 7 will delay the sale of the home; although the house will be reset for sherif sale at some later date unless you are able to bring your payments current or work out other arrangements with your mortgage company (unlikely). A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is an excellent tool through which you are able to pay the mortgage arrearage on your home over a period of 3 to 5 years with no additional late fees, likely along with a portion of some other unsecured debts, so that after the end of the 3 to 5 years you are again current on your home. So long as you stay current on your trustee payments and mortgage payment after the filing of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your home will not be reset for sheriff sale. Of course, you must have enough disposable monthly income to make your regular house payment plus an additional payment to the trustee for a Chapter 13 to be a feasible way to save your home.
If you live in the Indianapolis, Kokomo, Tipton, Zionsville, Fishers, Noblesville or surrounding areas and have received notice of a sheriff sale you should be concerned. But don't panic! As this blog discusses you still have options that may stop the sheriff sale, but you must take action. If you find yourself in this situation in the Indianapolis area and are considering bankruptcy to stop your sheriff sale call me at 317-575-8222 ext 12 or click here. I will sit down with you to review your situation and give you my opinion as to whether or not it makes sense to file for bankruptcy. And there is no charge for this consultation, so you have nothing to waste but time!
Halcomb Singler, LLP, is a debt relief agency. It helps people file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. No attorney-client relationship with the firm of Halcomb Singler, LLP, is created through this blog. Also, please note that Erika Singler is an attorney licensed in Indiana and does not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and should not be relied upon for the circumstances of any individual(s) or businesses.
Anyone looking for foreclosure relief may qualify for a mortgage loan modification if they are at risk for defaulting on his or her mortgage payment, due to financial hardship.
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