44ag/11 - Maryland Courts

obtaining loan modifications for any of the Butler properties.
Rather they recommended that he attempt to sell at least one of
the properties with some equity, and utilize the proceeds to
reduce his debt and then see if he qualified for modification.
The major impediment to obtaining the modifications for
Mr. Butler was his credit card debt. Mr. Butler testified he was
never advised that his credit card debt would prevent him from
obtaining a loan modification. He acknowledged that he was
advised that short sales of the properties were probably his best
option, but he noted that he did not owe much more than the fair
market value for at least some of the properties, so he did not
want to pursue that option.
Ultimately Mr. Butler believed the Firm did not assist
with his difficulties. Mr. Butler stated he would not have
engaged the firm if he was aware that he had too much credit
card debt to qualify for a loan modification. Mr. Butler
eventually filed a complaint with the Attorney Grievance
Commission.
Mr. Chapman testified that Mr. Butler’s file reflects that
his credit card debt eventually posed an insurmountable
difficulty. An initial tally faxed from Mr. Butler on November
3, 2009 listed nearly $72,000 in credit card debt.
D. Facts in Mitigation
Following receipt of the complaints concerning the
Bogarosh and Butler properties, Mr. Chapman wound down his
loan modification work. He estimated that a portion of his
practice was concluded within thirty days.
Mr. Chapman was candid in his assessment that the
communication with Ms. Bogarosh was mishandled, and the
house should not have been lost to foreclosure when Ms.
Bogarosh had funds to pay the deficiency. He testified generally
that it is the nature of loan modification work that foreclosure
dates are pulled at the last minute, and that it is difficult to get
a definitive answer from a bank. He also testified that the use of
bankruptcy proceedings at the last minute to stop a sale is a
practice that is employed, but it is done as a last resort. He did
not try to justify the Bogarosh lapse on this basis, but did try to
explain the reason activities seem to stall, and then snowball.
Mr. Chapman refunded the $1,500 fee to Ms. Bogarosh.
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