How Foreclosure Works In Texas

Nobody wants to think about their home getting foreclosed, but it happens. If you’re getting behind on yourmortgage payments or fear you might in the future, then you need to beproactive and learn how foreclosures work in Texas and how to stop foreclosure from happening to you. 

When Foreclosure in Texas Begins

Foreclosures in Texas startswhen a mortgage lender has reasonable evidence to conclude that you will notpay or your cannot pay your mortgage payment. When you get behind in payingyour bills, most likely 60 to 90 days behind, the lender will begin theforeclosure process.

Before starting foreclosuresin Texas, the lenders usually send out one or more demands for payment. Ifstill without payment, the mortgage lender then turns to an attorney whospecializes in foreclosures in Texas. Sometimes, the attorney will give you onefinal chance to catch up on your mortgage.

If the lender still receivesno money, then you still most likely receive a notice explaining that thelender has exercised its right to “accelerate” your mortgage, which means thatyour entire mortgage is due insteadof just your overdue payments. Because of how foreclosures work in Texas, thisis a necessary step before the lender can start foreclosure.

At this point, the lender generally refuses to take any money from you because it does not want toaccidentally “waive” its rights to proceed with foreclosure.

The Next Steps of Foreclosures in Texas

If a power of sale clause isincluded in your mortgage, a lender cannot sell your home without propernotice. So the next step involves the mortgage lender posting and publishing aNotice of Foreclosure Sale or Notice of Substitute Trustee’s Sale, providingyou with 20 days notice of the pending foreclosure sale.

At the end of the 20-dayperiod, the lender sells the North Dallas or Ft. Worth home to the highestbidder in a public auction if you have not paid the necessary amount to keepyour house.

The money received from thehighest bidder is first applied to any outstanding property taxes and thenapplied toward you debt with the lender. If there is enough money, then it goestoward the costs involved in preserving the property and processing theforeclosure. In almost all of the foreclosure sales, the bid is not enough topay for all of these expenses.

Preventing Foreclosures in Texas

Filing for bankruptcy can stop foreclosures in Dallas, stop foreclosures in Plano, stop foreclosures inFrisco and stop foreclosures in Ft. Worth. Basically, filing for bankruptcy can save your home from foreclosure anywhere in Texas.

If your payments were up todate with your mortgage now, could you stay up to date? If you answered yes,then filing for bankruptcy could save your home. But you must file bankruptcybefore the final foreclosure deadline in order for it to work, which means youneed to contact a bankruptcy attorney immediately to see if this is thesolution for you.

Questions about how foreclosures work in Texas? Call the Dallas, Fort Worth and Frisco bankruptcy lawyers atRubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Click here to email us.

Busting the Myth That Bankruptcy Will Hurt Your Credit for 10 Years

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, you might want to know if what you hear is true: “I understand that filing for bankruptcy will hurt my credit for 10 years. Is it true?” For those with bad credit, the short answer is no.

“How can that be?” you might ask.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy or have sought out the advice of a bankruptcy attorney, your credit is most likely already down the drain. You’re in debt up to your ears and have several black marks on your credit report. If this is the case, then there’s no credit for a bankruptcy filing to hurt for the immediate future.

Plus, what really hurts your credit? Not paying your debts.

“But a bankruptcy filing stays on a credit report for up to 10 years.”

Yes, that’s true. A note about your filing can be on your report for 10 years, but that doesn’t mean that it will negatively impact your credit standing for that period. There’s a difference.

After filing, if you’ve practiced responsible money management – paid your bills on time and spent less than you’ve earned – you’ll slowly build up your credit to the point where the filing will matter less and less.

In fact, filing for bankruptcy can help your credit standing, which is why most people do it. Bankruptcy wipes away your current balances, giving you the opportunity to rebuild good credit. Think of filing as the first step to restoring credit.

Also, keep in mind that filing for bankruptcy is a frequent occurrence in today’s market. It’s so commonplace that banks and creditors can’t ignore everyone that’s filed for bankruptcy in the past. If they did, they wouldn’t have any customers.

The terms of loans or credit cards immediately following your filing might not be the most favorable – think high interest rates and higher down payments – but over time with good money habits, you can bring down those interest rates and restore lenders’ faith in your ability to pay them back.

Questions? Call the Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth bankruptcy lawyers at Rubin & Associates for a free debt consultation at 1-800-LAWYERS. Prefer email? Contact us here.

Texas Bankruptcy Statistics 2001 – 2010

Texas Bankruptcy Statistics for 2001 – 2010 represented graphically.