This web page is a resource tool for persons seeking to get a loan modification on their own or with our assistance. Click here to see if you qualify for a HAMP loan modification.

Due to California law being amended to prohibit even attorneys from charging in advance for loan modification services for primary residences, loan modification services that Potter Handy will provide are limited and determined on a case by case basis.  Potter Handy will prepare a loan modification application ready for mailing and sometimes contract to seek a trial plan from a lender/servicer.  There is no charge for these services until the work is fully performed.  Potter Handy can be retained to litigate claims you may have against a lender/servicer.  Since the likely best  resolution of litigation against a lender/servicer is going to take the form of a modification of your loan terms, you should usually litigate with your lender after you have tried to modify your loan with your lender first, so long as time permits.  There are statutes of limitations for some claims or you may not have enough time before a Trustee's sale to get a loan modification without suing your lender/servicer to get an injunction stopping the sale.  It is very important that you consult an attorney before you let your house go.  Once your house is sold you lose most of your rights and you can incur tax liabilities that are not dischargeable that you may have been able to avoid before the sale.  It is hard to emphasize enough how important it is that you consult with an attorney sooner rather than later and certainly before the sale.  And this is true whether your home is going to be sold via a Trustee's Sale or short sale.

Potter Handy can advise you regarding Loan Modifications, Bankruptcy and Short Sales.
Potter Handy can advise you no matter what your situation regarding your distressed property.  Attorneys Mark Potter and Russell Handy are both licensed Real Estate Brokers and can handle a short sale for you, your loan modification or bankruptcy.  You need an attorney that can advise you regarding all of these angles so you can really know which is best for you and because often you will need more than one of these services.  For instance, if you have a 1st and a 2nd on your home, you may want to get a loan modification and then strip the lien of the 2nd loan in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Or if you are going to short sale your house or let it be sold at the Trustee's sale, you need to know the tax consequences of that and if you should file bankruptcy before the short sale or trustee's sale.  Under the IRS Code any "forgiveness of debt" is income (there are some temporary exceptions recently enacted but they are not as broad as most think).  So any loan amount that you don't pay that doesn't fit into an exception will be considered "income".  You can discharge this tax liability in bankruptcy before it becomes "income" but if you wait until after the sale it becomes "income" and income tax liability is very difficult to discharge.  Click here to find out if you can Discharge Your Income Tax Liability.  Realtors' "Short Sale Addendum" specifically exonerates them from any tax consequences you may end up with as a result of their selling your house short.  There are countless persons that thought they were doing the right thing by doing a short sale that unknowingly created a non-dischargeable tax liability on "income" of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There are so many different factors that need to be considered and pitfalls for the unwary that it is too difficult to list them all here.  The information on this website is for your information but does not take the place of the advice of an attorney that has reviewed your particular situation.  To get the advice of an attorney from Potter Handy please fill out and submit the contact form on this page and we will send you some forms to fill out and some disclosures required by law.