A Notice of Sheriff Sale is scary and overwhelming. It most likely will not come as a shock to you that the notice finally came. You surely know if you have not been paying your mortgage for some time so the greater likelihood is that you were actually expecting it. Nonetheless, it still may be heartbreaking when you are finally holding the document in your hands.  

This notice basically provides a date and time that your house is going up for sale, which makes the outlook of losing your home official. That is the bad news, the good news is you are not out of options. If you do not make moves and do anything in response, you are essentially giving up on your ability to keep your home and the sale will be completed. This is an inevitability. If you are proactive, there is hope. Most of these notices give the homeowner at least 30 days’ notice which provides you some time to act.

How You can Respond After a Sheriff Sale Notice

Take a deep breath. This is undoubtedly a highly emotional time, and you need to maintain your cool and subdue your anxiety. Next, set yourself up with an experienced Indiana bankruptcy lawyer to discuss your situation. An attorney is your best asset to review the documents you have been sent and determine if you are able to get halt the sale. While finding an error that would call for this is uncommon, it can happen in rare circumstances, so it is always important to check.

Your attorney then can begin communicating with the mortgage company’s agent to see if a loan modification is a possibility. The good news is that it takes time, many months, to figure out if a loan modification is feasible. Therefore, during this waiting time, the sheriff sale would be temporarily put off.

However, do not be surprised if the mortgage company is unwilling to delay the sale or work with you for a modification of your loan. It happens. How can you and your legal representation respond when this is the outcome? File a bankruptcy petition. Through the filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can at the very least, obtain some additional time for finding a new residence should you decide you will not try to keep the home in question.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy will do a couple of things. First, it will delay the sale as mentioned above which can take some of the pressure off. Delaying the sale also allows you to really think about whether or not keeping the home is something you want to continue to pursue. It will allow you time to:

• Find a new place if you decide not to move forward 
• Try to keep the home by using the extra time cushion to get the payments on your home current with the mortgage company
• Work out alternative arrangements with your mortgage company

The third option is the least likely to happen. It is important to note that while you may receive some extra time, the sheriff sale will not be terminated. It will simply be reset for a new time and date, so action on your part is essential.

The other option is Chapter 13 bankruptcy which gives you a period of three to five years to make up for delinquent payments on your home without the punitive costs of more late fees. If paid off in the time frame set, you would be current on the payment of your home and able to keep it. When you are current and successful keeping up with your required payments, the sheriff sale is terminated. To put this in perspective, though, the cost per month would be your home payments on top of trustee payments. Together, these costs may not culminate in a feasible amount of money for most individuals to spend per month in this situation.

Facing a Sheriff’s Sale? Call Christopher L. Arrington, P.C. Today

Anyone in Danville, Plainfield, Avon, Brownsburg, and the areas surrounding these communities who are facing a sheriff sale should reach out and contact Christopher L. Arrington, P.C. I am an experienced Indiana bankruptcy lawyer who works with individuals facing stressful situations just like this regularly. I understand the challenges and I know bankruptcy law in Indiana.  

Together we can discuss your situation and your options. We can make a plan that works for you. Do not hesitate to contact my Danville bankruptcy law firm at 317-745-4494 today.