While the economy is showing signs of recovery, there are still many borrowers struggling to make ends meet and who are in danger of losing their homes to a potential foreclosure. Recent changes in Massachusetts law require that lenders explore other avenues before foreclosing. More and more decisions affecting the timing of filing a bankruptcy, the type of bankruptcy, and confirmation of the Chapter 13 Plan, depend upon the outcome of an application for modification. It is important that practitioners become familiar with the details of the modification process and the likelihood of success, particularly when reporting statuses to the Bankruptcy Court.
Attendees learn when to file bankruptcy during the modification process, what to argue regarding objections to a Chapter 13 Plan due to the Plan being based on a modification, how to use a Qualified Written Request (QWR) to improve your position, and hear about the loan modification process from the non-profit agency's and lender's point of view.
The panelists also address alternatives to modification, class actions based on alleged violations of Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), alleged HAMP violations from the servicer's point of view, and how to deal with judicial and statutory liens when applying for the modification of a first mortgage.
Specific topics include:
I. Loan modifications as a means to foreclosure prevention.
II. The use of QWRs, including the statutory requirements, remedies and push-back from certain banks, including the importance and practical use of this as a tool for obtaining pertinent information about the mortgage loan.
III. Issues surrounding statutory and judicial liens and how the new statute addresses said hurdles. Liens used to either prevent loan modifications or required lien subordinations.
IV. A focus on class action suits based on alleged violations of HAMP and how to work with mortgage loan servicers and their counsel in creating mutually agreeable resolutions of alleged servicing claims.
V. The interplay between loan modifications and bankruptcy, including the timing of a bankruptcy filing, the Chapter 13 Plan confirmation process, should §1322(b)(5) allow the court to confirm a Chapter 13 loan mod plan, especially in the absence of an objection to confirmation by the lender despite the position of the Chapter 13 trustee.
VI. Using bankruptcy when the debtor is attempting to resolve a pending (and often imminent) foreclosure and is on the deed but not on the note or mortgage.
VII. Can a Chapter 13 plan be amended to include post-petition mortgage arrears over the objection of the lender?
VIII. The impact of recent statutory and case law on the scope of post-foreclosure mortgage litigation.
Speakers:
Adelina Janiak
Neighborhood Legal Services
Todd S. Kaplan
Greater Boston Legal Services
Matthew Kane
Bulkley and Richardson LLP
James W. McGarry
Goodwin Procter LLP
Kate Nicholson
Parker & Associates
Claire Masinton
Attorney General HomeCorp Hotline
Virginia Pratt
Ecumenical Social Action Committee
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