Please help. Chapter 13 and Mortgage Mod. Not typical question

[Lostboy]

Please bare with me...I could not find anything online or in the forums.

My wife and I are currently in a chapter 13..we were confirmed and have been making our monthly payments. We are about 9 months in.

When we initially filed, the arrears on our mortgage was listed on our claims. During the filing, however, the mortgage company filed for a relief of stay, which the court granted (in order to proceed with a foreclosure).

The mortgage company worked with my wife and I and we did a modification (they took what we were past due, put it on the back end, and we are back on track).

Through this whole process my lawyer was involved every step of the way. Every call, paper work, etc. Everything. He said we did not have to file a motion with the bankruptcy court and the mortgage mod is finalized...again, without ever doing a motion...

Now the lawyer is saying that they were contacted by another attorney asking for the motion documents. They are saying that they don't know why or what they are talking about...I asked (again) were we required to file any type of motion with the court and they keep saying no. I'm reading different things online.

If we were supposed to file a motion, and didn't, now what? Our mortgage modification is (allegedly) finalized. Will this mean that our chapter 13 will be dismissed? Or that we will now lose our home?

[despritfreya]

You have a Confirmed Plan. Property of the estate vests back to you when Confirmed. Technically you do not need a Court Order to modify the loan (you are not incurring new debt. . . you are modify old debt) HOWEVER, the mortgage lender typically wants the Court to rubberstamp what it is doing. I place in my typcial Order Confirming the following specific language:

"The effective date of the Plan shall be the date of this Order. Property of the estate vests in the Debtors upon confirmation. The debtors may use the property in any manner and may transfer or sell the property without further order of this Court. If the Debtors have a homestead residence, upon Confirmation of the Plan they may seek to modify the existing mortgages and/or may refinance, sell or transfer said homestead residence without further Order of this Court."

Using such language takes care of the problem you now face.

If the lender wants you to go back into Court and get an Order see the below link for a sample:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?64601-Sample-motion-asking-the-bk-court-to-approve-a-loan-modification

Des.

[Lostboy]

You have a Confirmed Plan. Property of the estate vests back to you when Confirmed. Technically you do not need a Court Order to modify the loan (you are not incurring new debt. . . you are modify old debt) HOWEVER, the mortgage lender typically wants the Court to rubberstamp what it is doing. I place in my typcial Order Confirming the following specific language:

"The effective date of the Plan shall be the date of this Order. Property of the estate vests in the Debtors upon confirmation. The debtors may use the property in any manner and may transfer or sell the property without further order of this Court. If the Debtors have a homestead residence, upon Confirmation of the Plan they may seek to modify the existing mortgages and/or may refinance, sell or transfer said homestead residence without further Order of this Court."

Using such language takes care of the problem you now face.

If the lender wants you to go back into Court and get an Order see the below link for a sample:

Des.

Thank you for responding...

As far as I know (the mortgage company has been very wonderful to deal with -Pentagon Federal) they have told us that everything is done. We did the trial payments, then they finalized everything, title, etc. came back clear and we were done. They sent us new payment coupons even.

That's why I'm confused about this.

[despritfreya]

As far as I know (the mortgage company has been very wonderful to deal with -Pentagon Federal) they have told us that everything is done. We did the trial payments, then they finalized everything, title, etc. came back clear and we were done. They sent us new payment coupons even. That's why I'm confused about this.

Then, who is the attorney that called and said he wanted the Motion?

Des.

[Lostboy]

I do not know..this is the copy of the email I received from the attorney (names omitted)
________
Dear,

I am now in receipt of an e-mail from D***, M**** and G*****, LLP
inquiring as to when my office would be filing a motion to approve the
mortgage modification. I was not aware that you had negotiated an agreement
that required court action. There was nothing in the document e-mail
from DM&G indicating a motion was to be filed and you never mentioned that
you had agreed to that term. This is outside the realm of the bankruptcy
proceedings and should you want this office to file the motion I will have
to charge accordingly for my time and filing fees.
__________________

Now I don't know who D,M, and G are..when I called the lawyer they basically said that they don't know what they are talking about and I never even spoke to these people, the only interaction I've had was with my lawyer and 2 contacts at the mortgage co when doing the mod.

I haven't heard back from the lawyer yet (said they'd call me back once they know more).

Mind you, this is all occurring after we've completed finalizing the modification with the lender. But for all I know, nothing is done until it's done...so I want to make sure that whatever this is isn't some type of oversight by the lawyer or will cause us to have our case dismissed or my modification taken away!

And thank you again for responding and to everyone for any help..I'm very anxious!

[Lostboy]

bump

[lrprn]

You and your Ch 13 lawyer need to confirm if the email is legitimate. That should be easy enough - your mortgage company should know if this D, M & G firm is working for them or not. Ask your lawyer to go find out.