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bankruptcy

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Can I Apply For A Loan Modification After A Bankruptcy?

Apply for loan modification after bankruptcy Have You Filed Bankruptcy, And Are You Wondering, “Can I Apply For A Loan Modification After A Bankruptcy?”

The answer is yes. You can still apply for a loan modification after a bankruptcy. Sometimes using a bankruptcy and loan modification in combination with one another can achieve the most desirable outcome in helping you save your home from foreclosure. This is especially true if you could not get approved for a loan modification before filing for bankruptcy. It is likely that trying to get a loan modification was your first course of action, but for whatever reason, your application was denied. Then you filed for bankruptcy. The wonderful thing about bankruptcy is that once you file, you can then (re)apply for a loan modification with better chances of being approved for one.

Why Should I Apply For A Loan Modification If I Already Filed For Bankruptcy?

A bankruptcy opens up the possibility of getting a loan modification if you couldn’t obtain one the first time around. More importantly, a loan modification can adjust the terms and payments of your bankruptcy and make it more reasonable.

If you want to learn about how to get a loan modification, read our post: How To Get A Loan Modification.

Or, if you are interested in finding out how a bankruptcy works to save your home, read our post: How Does Bankruptcy Help Save My Home In Foreclosure In New Jersey?

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Do I Have To Pay Tax After A Short Sale?

do i have to pay tax after a short saleGreat! You did a short sale and now your mortgage lender sent you a 1099C to pay income tax on the amount of the loan that was not paid at the sale.  What? Do you have to pay tax after a short sale?

Answer: maybe.

The IRS treats forgiven or cancelled debts as income.  Under IRS rules, the lender is required to notify the IRS and to send you a form 1099C which may obligate you the pay income tax on the forgiven amount when you prepare your taxes for the year of the short sale.  Let’s say you had a home mortgage loan where  you owed $350,000 and the lender approved a short sale for $250,000.  In approving the sale, the lender is also agreeing to take $250,000 (less expenses) as full payment on the loan.  That means $100,000 of the loan is forgiven.  The IRS looks at this forgiveness as income and wants you to pay tax on it.

There Are Exceptions That May Apply To You.

Waiver By Congress. Up until December 2014, Congress provided a waiver of the tax given the high number of home owners that were losing their homes after the financial crisis of 2008 but that law hasn’t been renewed at this point.  You may want to check to see if Congress has renewed the waiver but at this point, it does not appear likely.

IRS Rules.  You may need the help of your tax preparer or accountant but here’s what the IRS has to say about forgiven or cancelled debts.  In IRS Publication 4681, Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonments, the IRS explains the federal tax treatment of canceled debts in certain situations. In short, if you are Insolvent in the eyes of the IRS, you do not have to pay the tax.

Insolvency. If you are insolvent according to the IRS just before the debt was cancelled, this exception may apply to you.

In Publication 4681, the IRS provides: Do not include a canceled debt in income to the extent that you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. You were insolvent immediately before the cancellation to the extent that the total of all of your liabilities was more than the fair market value (FMV) of all of your assets immediately before the cancellation. For purposes of determining insolvency, assets include the value of everything you own (including assets that serve as collateral for debt and exempt assets which are beyond the reach of your creditors under the law, such as your interest in a pension plan and the value of your retirement account). Liabilities include: The entire amount of recourse debts, the amount of nonrecourse debt that is not in excess of the FMV of the property that is security for the debt, and, the amount of nonrecourse debt in excess of the FMV of the property subject to the nonrecourse debt to the extent nonrecourse debt in excess of the FMV of the property subject to the debt is forgiven.

A special note if you have retirement savings: 401(k)s and IRAs count toward your assets.  Please note that in the above guideline, the IRS does not exclude retirement savings from your assets.  This may prevent some people from qualifying for this exception. If you do have retirement savings, it is important to know that that retirement savings is exempt from assets in bankruptcy so in this case, bankruptcy may be a better option for you in that it saves you the tax and preserves your retirement savings.

Bankruptcy.  If you file for bankruptcy, whether chapter 7 or chapter 13, the bankruptcy exception may apply to you.

In Publication 4681, the IRS provides: Debt canceled in a title 11 bankruptcy case is not included in your income. A title 11 bank- ruptcy case is a case under title 11 of the United States Code (including all chapters in title 11 such as chapters 7, 11, and 13), but only if the debtor is under the jurisdiction of the court and the cancellation of the debt is granted by the court or occurs as a result of a plan approved by the court.

There may be other exceptions that apply to you but these are the two that apply to most people.

This IRS rule also applies in the rare event the amount you owe is reduced as part of a loan modification or if the lender simply cancels your loan as sometimes happens with second mortgage loans when the lender realizes the value of the homes has dropped significantly.  You can read more about that here.

 

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5 Tips to Choosing the Best Bankruptcy Lawyer in NJ

New Jersey Has Many Good Bankruptcy Lawyers.  How do you choose the Best Bankruptcy Lawyer?  Here are 5 tips.

Best Bankruptcy Lawyer NJ

  • Be sure your bankruptcy lawyer practices bankruptcy law primary if not exclusively. Bankruptcy law can be complex with many nuances. A good bankruptcy lawyer might handle 10 or 20 cases each month. Over five years, that can be about 1000 cases. A lawyer who dedicates most or all of his or her practice to bankruptcy cases will naturally know how to get your case prepared and filed correctly and get you the result you want.
  • Make sure your lawyer spends time with you interviewing you and asking specific and detailed questions about your financial situation and explains the law and process in detail before he or she recommends bankruptcy and specifically the type of bankruptcy that is right for your situation.
  • Beware of low-priced bankruptcy lawyers. Bankruptcy, when done correctly, requires a very careful analysis of a vast amount of detailed financial information. Therefore, it is very time consuming. A low-priced lawyer may be a sign your lawyer is going to cut corners on your case.
  • Ask for a written fee agreement and be sure there are no hidden charges. Also, be sure your lawyer is handling your entire case for the quoted fee not just preparing the petition then charging you extra for parts of the case that other lawyers include in their fee.
  • Your lawyer’s experience can make all of the difference. Be sure your lawyer has at least 5 years of experience primarily practicing bankruptcy law.

Todd Murphy is a foreclosure, collection defense, and bankruptcy lawyer with offices in Bedminster (near Somerville) NJ.

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How can I save my home from foreclosure?

It’s possible in many cases to save your home despite periods of financial difficulty.

The steps that can be taken are:

Home Loan Modification. It might be possible to reduce the payments by extending the term of the loan, adjusting the interest payments, and in some cases reduce the principal balance on the mortgage, or some combination of these three. There is a threshold of qualification for modification.  The bank needs proof of ability to pay, with the principal and interest no greater than thirty percent of income after the refinancing. Loan modification requires full documentation and takes place at a closing, similar to a purchase or sale.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy. There are thresholds for qualification. The court requires a means test, establishing that you’ll have the ability to pay on a payment plan, making partial restitution to your creditors (often at a fraction of the balance due) with the debts discharged completely at the end of the payment plan. Your home can be protected. Second and third mortgages can become severed from the home and added to the pool of consumer debt covered by the payment plan.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy If you have limited equity in the home and enough income to pay the mortgage, it might be possible to keep your home under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

  • If you have a very high amount of consumer debt, like credit cards debts or payday loans, it can be nearly impossible to qualify for a loan modification or a chapter 13 bankruptcy. However, a chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate these consumer debts and as a result allow you to qualify for a loan modification or chapter 13 bankruptcy. This little trick of using a chapter 7 to qualify for a chapter 13 is referred to as a “chapter 20 bankruptcy.”
  • To learn more about how chapter 7 bankruptcy could be a good strategy for you, read our post: When Is A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Useful? (P.S. It even goes over what to do if you can’t save your home, or don’t want to)