Is your home underwater with a Home Equity Loan?

Today I want to discuss the growing monster of underwater houses (when you owe more on your house than it is actually worth) in Southeast Michigan. Specifically, I am talking about situations where two mortgages are owed on a home, a first mortgage and a second mortgage (home equity loan).

Many people in Southeast Michigan are in this exact situation because ten years ago their house was worth tens of thousands of dollars more than it is now. When the market was good, everyone had equity in their house so it was easy to take out a home equity loan to have some extra cash, make improvements to the house, or to buy a car. As everyone knows, the housing and job market have significantly dropped in this area in the past decade and it is now getting harder and harder for everyone to keep up on both the first and second mortgages of their home. In some instances second mortgages are even foreclosing on houses because of how far behind the homeowners are on their payments.

Many people do not know that there is a way to keep your home, keep your first mortgage, and only pay pennies on the dollar for you second mortgage or home equity loan. This can be done through a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. You must meet certain qualifications in order to proceed with this type of case, however, it can significantly help relieve the debt on your home by getting rid of your second mortgage while keeping up with the payments on your first mortgage.

This process is highly complicated and I would not recommend that someone try this that does not know the law, however, here at Haskell Law Offices we can help you through this process and relieve the stress of having a second mortgage payment. Call our friendly staff and attorneys today for a free consultation to see if you qualify.

Kory K. Shimek, Esq.