Mortgage and Ch 13

Are you using an attorney? If so, you should discuss this with him or her. Sorry for the non-answer.

A bankruptcy does not act as a loan modification. Filing a Chapter 13 will allow you to take any past-due arrearage on that mortgage, and pay that through the bankruptcy. But if you are intending on keeping the house, you will have to continue making your current/future payments on the mortgage as called for in the original agreement. The bankruptcy will not reduce your interest % or lower your monthly mortgage payments.*

*Mortgages are entitled by bankruptcy laws to the agreed upon rate of interest, so long as the value of the property is greater than the amount of the secured claim. If you have mortgage(s) that are in excess of home value, you may be able to treat the "excess" as unsecured and strip their lien to the extent unsecured. In that case, you may be able to cram down the payment and/or interest %.

You should check consult with a BK attorney regarding the matter, because lien stripping and cram-downs are usually very technical and not something you would likely be able to accomplish on your own.

Quote:

[QUOTE="guest"]I thought it was recently ruled on the court can adjust the term and rate? [/QUOTE]

Guest, you may be right..... I don't profess to be an attorney, and I don't particularly follow BK case law...... That being said, my above statement is derived directly from the BK statutes 11 USC 506 (b) :

[QUOTE]
?? 506. Determination of secured status
(b) To the extent that an allowed secured claim is secured by property the value of which, after any recovery under subsection (c) of this section, is greater than the amount of such claim, there shall be allowed to the holder of such claim, interest on such claim, and any reasonable fees, costs, or charges provided for under the agreement or State statute under which such claim arose.
[/QUOTE]

Usually judges make case law in instances where the statutes are either vague or non-existent. Since the above statute seems relatively clear-cut, I'm not sure how a judge could rule against it. But anything's possible, I guess.

The judge can adjust the interest rate on the amount in arrears. The payments on the amount still owed would be based on the interest rate on the note of your original mortgage.
You can always try for a Loan Modification but I do not know how a BK13 would affect the negotiations.

[QUOTE=mjohns]The judge can adjust the interest rate on the amount in arrears. The payments on the amount still owed would be based on the interest rate on the note of your original mortgage.[/QUOTE]
Most 13 plans I've seen don't charge any interest on the past-due mortgage arrearage, as it is paid through the plan. That is because the amount of past-due payments usually includes the contractually-agreed interest that already accrued up to the point of filing. Generally ... After the BK filing date and confirmation of the plan, interest continues to accrue and payments must be made as spelled out in the contract.