Coachella Valley Bankruptcy Attorney

As a Coachella Valley Bankruptcy Attorney serving the Riverside County area I have helped many homeowners and renters with debt problems and leveled the playing field to allow them to get a fresh start and keep their dreams of remaining in a home they purchased.

One of the most powerful tools in the bankruptcy code in our current housing dynamic is the ability to strip a lien on a home. This was not so common during most of recent history when the housing markets were going up and the subprime and creative loan refinancing and 100% financing were not commonplace. However the market both in Riverside county and nationwide seem to be cooling down. Many homeowners are trying to sell their homes and with current interest rates very high as of 2023, they are struggling to find buyers. We have even heard stories of owners being forced to refinance their homes which they bought several years ago with very low interest rates having to accept higher interest rates because they no longer qualify for the home loans they were already given. This would force their payments to skyrocket and for many homeowners it just isn’t possible to make these kinds of higher payments. People in Palm Springs, La Quinta and Rancho Mirage probably won’t have as many of these kinds of issues as residents of Indio, Palm Desert or Cathedral city but the debt crisis could affect us all and it is wise to get ahead of the problem especially when it comes to your home.

If you own a home and you owe more to your first then your home is worth then your second or third lien can be treated like unsecured debt in Chapter 13 and when you are done making payments after 3-5 years they will be extinguished and you will only owe money to your first mortgage company. Hopefully by then homes have gone up in value and you might actually be able to turn a profit on a home instead of being in the current dilemma of looking at a short sale or walking away from a home due to foreclosure.

This is a great situation as you won’t need good credit to buy a new home at a great rate since you’ll be staying in your current home and will likely have equity once your chapter 13 plan is done. I highly suggest people who are facing foreclosure, short-sales and other housing issues talk to a bankruptcy attorney and know your options on your biggest investment.

Another issue we are seeing is that during Covid many people started working from home and if you have a dual income household you may have decided to buy a new car. There was so much competition to buy new cars that the dealerships took advantage of this and sold cars far above their MSRP (manufacturer’s recommended price). If you live in the Coachella Valley, which is a vast and very spread out area, it is difficult to survive without a vehicle. Used car prices were skyrocketing and many people made the assumption that they would be able to sell the new car or truck they just bought for break even or better if they had to. However, with inflation raging and the economy cooling, the car lots are starting to fill up with both new cars and repossessed cars forcing the dealers to start lowering prices. Now if you are underwater on your vehicle and you can’t afford to keep paying the monthly payments what can you do? One way is to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you qualify for the means test. By filing for Chapter 7, your creditor for your auto loan then can take back the vehicle and the debt that you incurred will be discharged. However even if you want to keep the vehicle maybe because you still have a great interest rate on the loan or you are afraid your insurance premium may change, we can help you to file a Reaffirmation Agreement basically allowing you to keep making your payments outside of the bankruptcy. If you have questions about what an attorney can do for you about any of these matters please contact me.

Every week I drive all the way from my office in San Clemente to my office in Palm Desert. I pass through Whitewater, North Palm Springs, Thousand Palms and many other locations on the way. If you are unable to visit me at one of my locations, please let me know and we can arrange to meet at your home or a coffee shop along my route. I prefer to meet face to face whenever possible so we can get to know each other and make you feel comfortable that you are dealing with an attorney who has filed thousands of cases in the Riverside Federal court. If you want to be really prepared before the meeting, here is a list of documents you may want to bring so that I can move quickly if you have any urgent situation that needs to be addressed. The most common reason for urgency is if you are facing a foreclosure on your property. Once you file for bankruptcy, you will be immediately granted an automatic stay stopping any foreclosure, lawsuit or repossession of any of your belongings including your vehicle. When you call our offices I am almost always the one you will talk to and I will be able to quickly give you answers to your burning questions.

Regardless of where you live in the Coachella Valley and what your situation is, we can help anyone facing financial difficulties during these volatile times. I am easy to talk to and between myself and my team we can file your bankruptcy fast, talk you through the entire process and help you get your situation back on track. I have had financial problems myself during covid and I understand it is not easy to find a lawyer that relates to your problems and helps you find a situation that is right for you but I am dedicated to helping my clients.