You Kept Your Home.
Now Protect It.

Whether you paid off a lien, completed a loan modification, or had a foreclosure case dismissed — get it in writing. A payoff letter, a satisfaction of lien, or a notice of dismissal. Keep these permanently.

Lien releases, reconveyance deeds, and satisfaction documents must be recorded at the BOC to be legally effective against your title. Don't assume the lender or HOA did it — verify it yourself.

Judicial foreclosures and some lien disputes involve court filings. Resolving the underlying debt does not automatically close the court case. Make sure a Notice of Dismissal was filed with the First Circuit Court in Honolulu — and ask for a copy.

Pull your free credit report 60–90 days after resolution. Confirm the account shows as resolved, paid, or current — not as an open delinquency or active foreclosure. If it's wrong, dispute it in writing with your payoff documentation as evidence.

Some resolutions have additional steps depending on what you went through:

If your loan modification included a principal reduction — meaning the lender reduced the amount you owe — the IRS may treat that forgiven amount as taxable income, and your servicer will issue a Form 1099-C (Cancellation of Debt). This is rare but does happen with certain modifications, especially principal forbearance agreements.

After a loan modification, your servicer will re-analyze your escrow account — usually within 60 to 90 days. This analysis recalculates your property tax and insurance escrow based on current balances. The result is often a higher monthly payment than what your modification agreement shows.

If HOA or condo association fees accumulated while you were in forbearance or modification review, those dues are not covered by your mortgage modification. Your HOA is not a party to your loan modification and did not agree to it. Any unpaid assessments remain your obligation and can result in a lien — or HOA foreclosure proceedings — independent of your mortgage status.

After a loan modification, your mortgage should report as "current" on your credit report. But servicers sometimes continue reporting delinquency, show the modification incorrectly, or fail to update the account status. These errors directly affect your credit score and your ability to refinance or borrow in the future.

The Prevention page covers six universal habits every Hawai'i homeowner should maintain, plus specific prevention steps for your situation. You've just lived through one of these situations — you'll read that page completely differently now.

Set up autopay for your mortgage, HOA dues, and property taxes. Put your lender's hardship number in your phone. Get a free annual CMA from Barbara so you always know your equity position. None of these cost anything — and any one of them could stop the next crisis before it starts.

Many homeowners end up in crisis because of something that happened to someone else — a death, a divorce, a deployment. A current will, power of attorney, and beneficiary designations protect your home from the next unexpected event, not just the one you just survived.