what happens when you fall behind on your mortgage during ch.13

[hopeful316]

I'm going to file ch 13 this week. I got all my paperwork ready. I'm current right now on my mortgage. I know this is thinking far ahead but things could happen and I'm going to start saving for the rainy days, but if I was to fall behind on my mortgage, would that change my payment plan altogether?

[michaela]

They dismiss your bankruptcy who is your mortgage with??

[hopeful316]

bofa 1st and second mortgage

[LadyInTheRed]

Paying your mortgage is part of your plan even if you pay it directly to the lender. So, not paying your mortgage is a breach of your plan and, as michaela said, subjects your case dismissal. If during your plan you know you won't be able to pay your mortgage, you should contact your attorney right away to explore your options.

If you think there is a good possibilty you will not be able to make mortgage payments at any point in the future, you should consider surrendering your home. In a 13, if you do not surrender the home, your mortgage is not discharged (except for a stripped second). So, if you have problems later, you still have personal responsibility to pay the mortgage unless it is a non-recourse loan. You need to decide now whether you can afford to keep your home.

[michele71]

hopeful..I fell behind on my mortgage payment on 2 occasions during my chapter 13. We paid our mortgage outside the plan. They filed a motion to lift the stay. What ultimately happened was that they agreed to take the extra payment in one lump sum but they also charged us additional attorney fees of 600.00 and also noted that if we defaulted a total of 3 times within the plan that they would not be required to file with the courts any paperwork they would simply be able to lift the stay and begin foreclosure proceedings. Unless you are able to pay more than one months of mortgage payments and additional attorney fees I would suggest you try your best to avoid not paying. My attorney was of absolutely no help at all I was pretty much left to fend for myself. FYI we were 4 days late on pur payment and they filed the motion. Be sure to pay what you owe. If you are having problems not being able to make your payments you should really talk to your attorney about adjusting your bk payment. Don't let yourself get so behind that you can't save your bk.

[8forme]

They dismiss your bankruptcy who is your mortgage with??

This is not necessarily true. We are probably moving across country in a couple months and are in a CH13. We asked our attorney about modifying our plan to surrender the home when we do. We were told, by our attorney, we did not need to modify it. When the time came to just stop paying the mortgage and that our mtg. company would "eventually" file to lift the stay. At that point we would not contest it. We asked point blank if that would cause our case to be dismissed as opposed to officially modifying, and were told NO, it would not cause us to be dismissed.

I do strongly suggest you talk with your attorney though. We seem to be in a very relaxed district. Our attorney also said no need to file updated paperwork after we move unless our income drops and we need to try to have our payments lowered. We don't have to submit copies of tax returns yearly, our confirmation only states we have a step payment after our 401 K loans are paid off, no other mention of submitting anything for the duration of our plan. We have spoken with a few other people in our district and it was the same with them.

[hopeful316]

Right now I'm current. I used to pay my mtg by going to the bank because I would get my statement each month and it came with a coupon and I would pay it to the teller. In January, I was late paying the mtg but I still paid it at the end of Jan and of course I was expecting to pay a late fee. When I called to make the payment, I was surprised that I wasn't being charged a late fee and the representative said because I filed for ch 13 and there is no late fee. Usually when you pay the mtg you get that 15 day grace period, but now I have a 30 day grace period. I paid the mtg on jan 30th and the lady said I'm current again. I don't think I fell behind, I was just late that one time and I was willing to pay the late fee or does being late the same as falling behind in this situation? The only thing now is that I can't go to the bank at pay the mtg, I have to call or mail the payment.

[hopeful316]

Also, when I filed, I was current on my mortgage so I didn't have any arrears.

[Flamingo]

Anytime one in a Chapter 13 cannot make a payment of any kind, whether it be mortgage, a plan payment, etc. contact one's attorney immediately. Don't play guessing games as your financial house is not under your control during a Chapter 13, it's under the control of the trustee. If you make your own choices without permission, you are asking for problems - always check with one's attorney.