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(608) 222-0002 Voice
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4710 East Broadway, Suite 180
Madison, WI 53716
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Seethuma - By Invitation Only
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Before you spend your tax refund trying to catch up your bills,
talk to us. It may make more sense to keep a little
money in the bank...
Areas of practice
- If you have received notice of foreclosure and are thinking about just walking away, DON'T. Please call us first!
The foreclosure rate (As of Dec 31, 2007) Foreclosures have exactly doubled since 2001 and are up almost 20% after increasing over 30% last year.
| Population |
County |
2006 Increase |
2006 Filings |
2006 Rate |
2007 YTD |
2007 Change |
| |
| 53,374 |
Columbia |
17.68% |
193 |
1.08% |
241 |
24.87% |
| 443,110 |
Dane |
57.11% |
751 |
0.51% |
897 |
19.44% |
| 34,081 |
Green |
36.00% |
102 |
0.90% |
121 |
18.63% |
| 23,119 |
Iowa |
18.37% |
58 |
0.75% |
92 |
58.62% |
| 75,179 |
Jefferson |
54.61% |
218 |
0.87% |
267 |
22.48% |
| 154,092 |
Rock |
22.82% |
689 |
1.34% |
801 |
16.26% |
| 55,632 |
Sauk |
-16.51% |
177 |
0.95% |
205 |
15.82% |
| |
| 838,587 |
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30.24% |
2188 |
0.26% |
2624 |
19.93% |
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage that is due to start adjusting this year, you may be in for a surprise of epic proportions. Do you know the amount your mortgage loan adds to the index to calculate your adjusted interest rate? We have seen as high as 8.5% but 3% is not uncommon. Do you know the maximum it can go up on the first change? 2.5-3% is bad enough, but we have seen 3.5% Do you know what index is used? Treasury rates and LIBOR are the two most common.
If you received a notice of foreclosure or lawsuit, opening the phone book is not enough. You need to talk to an attorney with the experience to discuss all of your options.
Option 1: Pay the piper. If you have not already received a statement from the attorney for your mortgage lender, here is a rough calculation:
Monthly payment x number of months behind, then
multiply that number by 1.05 (this is for the late fees), then
add at least $2,500 to that amount.
The $2,500 is for their attorney fees and costs of the foreclosure...yes, they want you to pay it. It could be more or less (not generally), but it is a start. This is called your arrearage. The attorney will want the whole amount, in the form of a cashier's check, by a certain date. Every day after that, the amount goes up. [Foreclosure timeline] How much? Another rough calculation:
Add the number you got above to the balance of your mortgage, then
multiply that by your interest rate (ex. 8% is .08) and then
divide that by 360.
Every day, the amount you owe is going up that much. An arrearage calculator is available here
Option 2: Refinance. We have only seen ONE example where a client was refinanced in the foreclosure, and that was with a local bank that our client had a 20 year relationship with. In our experience, no matter what your lender says, they will not refinance you. If it happens, please let us know...we will steer clients to that lender!
Option 3: Sell your home. You have some time, several months at least. If the market is generally good in your area, your home is in good shape and the price it could sell for will satisfy your mortgage(s), by all means, try. It is better to get out of a property with a little equity and no foreclosure sale against you.
Option 4: Walk away. On average, half of everyone foreclosed on will walk away from their home. We probably could have helped 60 or 70% of those people keep their home. However, if the reality is that it just will not be possible to keep the home hire us to supervise the foreclosure. We will make sure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted and we will keep you informed of the progress of the case.
Option 4a: In addition to supervising the foreclosure, we might be able to deal with other debt.
Whichever option you choose, don't just leave, see us first.
Option 5: Chapter 13. This scares the wits out of people. It shouldn't. It is a tool that allows people to get a second chance. And in our hands, we help better than 90% of the people that come see us. You owe it to yourself to at least come talk about it.
At your first meeting with me, we will sit down, together, and look at
your entire situation. I will tell you all your options: perhaps the
solution will be a Chapter 13 but maybe it will be something less. If Chapter 13 is the answer and you decide to hire me, you can count on me to work quickly
and be as accessible as possible. If I don't answer, you can feel free to leave a message that will be answered as soon as I get hold of you. If you prefer, you can send email to appoint@cazelaw.com.
Often bankruptcy can help level the field with your creditors. Bankruptcy scares the wits out of most people because it has so many negative connotations. (6 Myths about Bankruptcy) Bankruptcy can be a powerful tool to help families facing illness, loss of job or divorce get a handle on their debts. Generally you can file bankruptcy and still keep your stuff, even your home and cars.
MEANS TEST MEDIAN INCOME
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Bankruptcy is still available for everyone!More hoops and more paperwork but it is AVAILABLE! Do not continue a futile battle to pay debts you can not afford, call us!
We know the idea of bankruptcy scares a lot of people. The embarrassment alone causes people to consider SUICIDE rather than face the potential for bankruptcy. We do not mean to diminish the impact bankruptcy has on someone's life, but the law is there for a reason. For many people, their debt load is every bit as much a debtor's prison as cold, hard bars. Call us, we can help.
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Criminal: DUI and Misdemeanors
If you need help with another area of the law, contact us. If we can't help,we can recommend a professional that can.
If you have a problem that you are trying to solve and are looking for information, we have free informational pamphlets and links to other resources.
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