While the economy is improving, the simple fact is foreclosure rates were “scary” high in 2009. The number of foreclosures in Georgia, especially Atlanta, were some of the highest in the nation, accounting for a good number of the total for every state.

Atlanta particularly has been hit hard, perhaps one of the hardest of any city in the U.S. Metro Atlanta in particular had many subprime mortgages–and now these mortgages are nine times more likely to go into foreclosure.

The problem is in how these mortgages were laid out. Obviously, it was a big mistake to allow such a high number of subprime mortgages, but it happened across the country. Even scarier, most of these Atlanta mortgages are going the way the rest of the country is.

Worry not, because the economy is clearly improving. While the last quarter of 2009 was very high in terms of foreclosures, especially in Atlanta, the economy is slowly rebuilding and unemployment lowering.

That doesn’t help you unless you can avoid losing your Atlanta home. This post will walk you through the process of choosing between forms of personal bankruptcy, hiring a lawyer, and avoiding foreclosure.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – The Good and Bad
The good news with Chapter 7 is that you can at a minimum buy extra time to live in your home before foreclosure, and the mortgage can be discharged as part of filing. The bad news is, you will most often lose your home through foreclosure. This is supposed to help avoid foreclosure, right? It’s still good to consider Chapter 7. An experienced Atlanta attorney can tell you 1) if you’re eligible and 2) what you can save. If you are a single resident of Atlanta, for example, you cannot make more than $40,546 and file.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – The Answer to Foreclosure
Federal law allows most all cases to be taken under Chapter 13 unless you have hundreds of thousands in debt. This is the same across every state in the country.

Chapter 13 is truly the answer to saving your home. First,  this givesyou protection. Immediately after filing at the Northern Georgia Bankruptcy Court (for Atlanta residents), an “automatic stay” will be given by the court. This effectively delays and potentially stops the foreclosure so the bankruptcy proceeding can occur.

Next, you can restructure your payment plan to your Atlanta lender. You must stay current on your mortgage in order to keep your home, and you also should file Chapter 13 before you fall too far behind in payments or it won’t work (if the foreclosure process is started, you cannot stop it in most cases).

Hiring an Atlanta Lawyer
The State Bar of Georgia and your computer are all you really need in order to get help avoiding foreclosure. You want a lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy, has experience in helping avoid foreclosures, and can educate you on the advantages and disadvantages. Price may be an issue, so be sure to ask the fees before hand. Filing bankruptcy itself is very cheap, but lawyers can sometimes be expensive.