How far in advance of the foreclosure sale do I need to file my chapter 13 in order to stop foreclosure, or if I know bankruptcy will end up my best solution should I just do it right now?
A. I generally advice against rushing a bankruptcy filing. You may find things change or another option emerges. Bankruptcy filing stops the foreclosure auction as long as it takes place before the auction and the creditor and auctioneer get notification, even a few minutes before the sale. Now that does not mean its a good idea to wait that that close to the auction in case you get an unforeseen problem, but a week before gains you the same advantage as a few months before. For planning and cash flow purposes you may find it makes sense to wait too. For example if you possess very little extra cash and you file right away you must start resuming full mortgage payments soon. Waiting a few months may allow you to save some cash you may use if you have a rough month while in bankruptcy and those additional missed months prior to filing will get spread out over 3-5 years. One exception might be cases where you know you want a chapter 13 bankruptcy prior to the bank charging their legal fe
