Side Hustle Saves Drea de Matteo from Foreclosure

By Alexander Hernandez, J.D., Professor, and Author of Consumer Bankruptcy Law (Routledge).

Updated on October 2, 2025.

A side hustle can be an easy way to earn some needed extra cash, but it could be a great way to catch up with your payments and avoid a mortgage foreclosure. In this blog, I’ll discuss how a foreclosure defense attorney could help avoid or delay foreclosure, including other issues such as a deed in lieu of foreclosure and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Key Points

• If facing a mortgage foreclosure, there are several options to consider before filing for bankruptcy.
• A side hustle can help you catch up with your mortgage.
• A deed in lieu of foreclosure could result in the lender paying you to leave the home.
• Contact the lender about their deferment programs.
• Research the foreclosure assistance programs offered by your city, county, or state.
• Hire a foreclosure defense attorney.
• File Chapter 13 bankruptcy to catch up with your mortgage.

Drea de Matteo, the star of HBO’s The Sopranos, was recently facing foreclosure. Short on work and cash, de Matteo joined the OnlyFans website and stated she was able to not only catch up on her mortgage but also pay it off.

A side hustle can be an effective way to earn extra income, maybe even hold off foreclosure, but what other options do you have if facing foreclosure?

What to do When Facing Mortgage Foreclosure

Before getting too behind on your mortgage, try negotiating with the lender, as they sometimes offer different options for struggling homeowners. One typical example is a deferment.

With a deferment, the mortgage lender would temporarily pause your mortgage and add those payments to the end of your mortgage.

For example, if the bank agrees to delay payments for three months and you have five years left on your mortgage; there would now be five years and three months left.

This could buy you the necessary time you need to get organized financially to begin making your mortgage payments again.

Check for Foreclosure Assistance Programs

Depending on where you live, sometimes cities or counties, if not the state, offer foreclosure assistance. Generally, that means the assistance program would provide you with X amount of money to be used to pay back or catch up with the mortgage. The assistance programs may also include low-interest and flexible loans.

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This would be similar to programs where they also offer assistance with the down payment of a home.

For example, in Miami-Dade County, the City of Hialeah, where I had a law practice for over a decade, offered first-time homebuyers down payment assistance as a low-interest loan. The catch was that they had to live in the city for at least ten years and not sell the home.

Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure

A deed in lieu of foreclosure means that the lender will take back the property, but the homeowner will surrender the house voluntarily. This means a foreclosure process has either stopped because of the deed in lieu of foreclosure or avoided altogether.

Sometimes, as was common during the mortgage foreclosure crisis of 2008, the lender may even pay the homeowner to move out of the home. This is a good option for both the lender and homeowner.

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The lender will avoid a lengthy and expensive foreclosure case, and the homeowner will receive much-needed funds to move into a new property.

However, one issue to consider with a deed in lieu of foreclosure is possible tax consequences due to the balance of the mortgage not being paid off.

For example, if you still owe $100,000 on the mortgage, the mortgage lender may issue a 1099 for the difference. While I’ve never understood the logic of how debt magically becomes income overnight, I would venture to say it’s based on lobbyists convincing Congress that it was a good idea.

Yes, as a cynical bankruptcy attorney, I can tell you what I repeat in my classes all the time: “Creditors have better lobbyists than you, and they spend millions of dollars each year to make sure the law favors them.”

The good news is if you receive a 1099, your accountant should be able to resolve that issue when your taxes are filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If bankruptcy were filed, the debt listed on the 1099 would also be eliminated in bankruptcy.

Hiring a Foreclosure Defense Attorney

Before we get into the bankruptcy issue, sometimes it’s best to have a foreclosure defense attorney. There could be many reasons why, and whether that is the best option depends on the specifics of that case.

For example, in my experience, I have seen situations where the lender forecloses on the wrong home. Once the wheels are in motion, contacting the bank and advising them of the mistake would be virtually impossible, so it would have to be done through the court system.

With my first home, a similar situation happened to me. The lender transferred the mortgage to a new company, but I was never notified. I continued sending my monthly mortgage payments to the original lender, who kept cashing the checks. Once I was served with the foreclosure documents, I filed a response to the complaint for foreclosure and notified the lender’s attorney.

I have no doubt that the issue was resolved quickly because I am an attorney, and it was my home versus that of a client. I didn’t threaten the foreclosure attorney with sanctions, but I could have, and I’m sure they realized that, so the problem was fixed quickly.

However, that is another example of payments made on the mortgage, and foreclosure could still occur.

I’ve also had clients in foreclosure because of a creditor lien. These are situations where the debt was paid, and the lien holder started the foreclosure for reasons most likely tied to being disorganized. I’ve even experienced that with clients, that after the bankruptcy has been approved, the lien holder proceeds with the foreclosure.

Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to Stop a Foreclosure

Whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is filed, the foreclosure process would stop temporarily because of the automatic stay. The automatic stay occurs when a bankruptcy is filed, stopping most lawsuits from proceeding. Notice I said most lawsuits.

The automatic stay does not apply to all cases. For example, cases regarding domestic support obligations such as child support or alimony wouldn’t be affected by the automatic stay.

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However, note that Chapter 7 bankruptcy will not save your home from foreclosure. It will only stop foreclosure temporarily. To save your home from foreclosure, Chapter 13 bankruptcy would apply.

What is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and How it Helps in Foreclosure Cases?

Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to catch up on payments for secured debt such as your auto loan or mortgage. The way it works is simple enough.

Say you are behind $10,000 on your mortgage when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy; that $10,000 is paid back over 36 to 60 months. Of course, the original mortgage payment continues during this process. So Chapter 13 adds the arrears to the original mortgage payment, serving as a payment plan, a way to catch up with your mortgage.

To summarize, when facing bankruptcy, consider the options available to you and, based on your situation, decide which option best fits your short- and long-term goals.

Colleges and universities can purchase my bankruptcy law textbook directly from Routledge Publishing. Paralegals and students who are buying single copies can do so via Amazon Books. To access my YouTube channel, click this link. You can also listen to my podcast on Spotify.

You can learn more about filing for bankruptcy and the bankruptcy petition via this link. Information on the bankruptcy court system, contact information for trustees, and your state’s exemptions can be found here. The federal bankruptcy exemptions are listed here. The latest version of the 341 Meeting of the Creditors can be found here.

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Updated initially on Updated on January 31, 2025.