TAMPA REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Tampa Real Estate Lawyers: at the Galewski Law Group we provide complete
coverage of all of your real estate needs. On the Corporate side we have worked with
full and part-time real estate investors, developers and contractors to assure that our
clients have confidence in their business dealings. We have helped solve problems
and moved to advance development with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and with neighborhood
enhancement programs. We have helped motivate otherwise neglectful and
non-responsive contractors, and we have helped contractors to defend their work and
get the money due them.
We also represent individuals and families to bring peace of mind into what may be
their most prized investment -- their homes. We understand the problems and worries
in purchasing and selling a home or investment property. Our goal is to make your
home buying experience a pleasure. We work closely with the Galewski Title Company
to make certain that your closing day is a moment of pride.
Question of the week:
I am surrendering a home to a mortgage lender to help consolidate my debt,
may I still collect rent on the home, and does this change after filing a chapter
7?
If you have rental income from property but are planning on surrendering the property
to the mortgage lender, either in bankruptcy or foreclosure, the rental income may
belong to the mortgage lender. Please refer to your mortgage and note for details, but
often rental income is assigned as part of the mortgage. If you were to file a chapter 7
or 13 bankruptcy, you may still not be able to keep the rental income. In a chapter 7
bankruptcy, the bankruptcy estate would own the rental property and they would be
the proper party to collect the rent. Even if the rent is paid to you, you may be
required to turn over the rent to the bankruptcy trustee. If you file a chapter 13 or
reorganization, the rental income may be used in calculating your income for purpose
of determining your discretionary income and ultimately your chapter 13 plan
payments.
I am up-side-down or have negative equity in my home, can bankruptcy help
me?
If you owe more than your house is worth, you typically have three options: pay for the
house the home value increases, return the home to the bank or sell the home. If you
sell the home, a Tampa bankruptcy attorney may help you to negotiate a short sale
with the bank, so you do not need to bring money to sell. If you decide to give the
house to the bank, this may be done, with or with out a bankruptcy. If you do not file a
bankruptcy the Court may grant the bank a deficiency judgment against you for the
difference between the sale price and the amount owed. The bank may attempt to
collect the difference from your personally or may file a 1098/1099 with the IRS, and
treat the deficiency amount as earned income. You would then be personally liable for
the difference as if it were earned income from that tax year. A bankruptcy or
reorganization may save you from the deficiency judgment and the 1099 taxable gain.
Call your Tampa bankruptcy lawyer for more information.
Tampa Attorney
GALEWSKI LAW GROUP, P.A.
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Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney’s Update to the Bankruptcy Mortgage Reduction or Bankruptcy Mortgage Modification
Amendments:
Senate Rejects Mortgage Cramdown Provision
The Senate defeated by 51 to 45 votes an amendment to the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act that would have granted bankruptcy judges broad
authority to modify the mortgage terms for at-risk homeowners.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chief sponsor of the ‘cramdown’ provision, said he was disappointed with the vote but would continue to
bring the issue to the floor “until the Senate decides to put the interests of homeowners above the interests of bankers.” Durbin noted that the number of
homeowners at risk of losing their homes now stands at over eight million, compared to nearly two million only two years ago.
“We’ve given the bankers who got us into this crisis every opportunity to responsibly address this crisis and they have failed,” Durbin said.
The White House said that notwithstanding the Senate vote on the Durbin amendment it looks forward to working with Congress to craft “appropriately tailored
legislation to provide a mechanism for homeowners who are out of other options to file for bankruptcy and implement a responsible plan to pay the debts that
they are able to pay.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the provision would have lead to higher interest rates and even greater uncertainty in the
housing and credit markets. “It’s clear that we cannot fix the housing problem by implementing bad policies,” he said.
The American Bankers Association agreed, noting that Congress and the administration have taken several strong steps to help troubled borrowers and get
the economy back on track. “Giving bankruptcy judges broad cramdown authority would work against those efforts and effectively undermine the goal of
stabilizing the housing market,” the association said.
Analysis: Your Tampa Bankruptcy Lawyer notes that this means that for the time a Bankruptcy cannot be used to
reduce the principal amount due on a first mortgage, but since the House has passed the Bankruptcy Reform Bill,
it is possible that a Bankruptcy Judge may have the authority to cramdown or modify a mortgage in the near
future.