Archive for Avoid Foreclosure
5 Ways To Stop Foreclosure Fast – These Can Work If You Take Action Right Away
Posted by: | CommentsWhen you have received notice that your home is about to go into foreclosure, there is no time to waste. Even at this stage there are ways to stop foreclosure fast. Here are five of them.
When you get this notice, you may feel fear or panic that you are on the brink of losing your home to foreclosure. You have to put these feelings aside and take immediate action because you won’t have a lot of time to try to stop the foreclosure.
Time is limited so this is what you should do.
1. Contact your mortgage holder and arrange a face to face meeting with someone who has authority to make decisions. Don’t discuss anything on the phone. When you have your meeting, be prepared to supply facts and figures to the loan officer. They will want to know if you are employed or not, how much you make, assets, and current expenses.
The lender should at least be willing to discuss options with you. If you are able to show that you have at least some resources at your disposal, you could qualify for a modified loan. Options could include an interest only loan for a set period of time, an extension on the term of your mortgage, or a reduction in the interest rate. The goal of these or other alternatives is to lower your payments so they are affordable for you.
2. If there is any equity in your home, you could possibly exchange this equity to clear up enough cash to bring your mortgage out of arrears. At the same time, it will be important to setup a new mortgage with terms that will make your payments within your means.
3. You might qualify for a one-time payment from the FHA Insurance fund in order to pay off any arrears. In order to qualify, you must be between 4 and 12 months delinquent on payments. But you must be able to show that your current financial situation will allow you to resume making regular payments on time.
This fund is for those who may have fallen behind due to a temporary situation, are now able to make current payments but can’t afford to pay off arrears.
4. Get help from government agencies. There are many people who are dealing with foreclosure. The government recognizes the problem and has setup several programs to help.
A couple of the more recent programs are the Obama Mortgage Modification Program and a program called Project Lifeline. Some government programs deal with the short term while others offer a longer term fix. You can also contact HUD for assistance.
5. A last resort kind of strategy may be to file suit against your creditors in court. There is such a huge backlog of cases waiting to be heard that this will give you some extra time to at least get your finances in order. An extreme measure like this should not be taken lightly. You should in fact, meet with an attorney who deals with foreclosure and other real estate transactions, before you actually file.
If you want to stop foreclosure fast, you need to take action right away. Don’t put it off and hope foreclosure won’t happen, because it will and then it will be too late to act.
Need to find out how to stop foreclosure fast? Visit getforeclosurefacts.com/ for free foreclosure information.
Ten Keys To Getting A Short Sale Approved
Posted by: | CommentsShort sale gurus say a lot of wild things sometimes, but some of their methods they use to get their short sales approved are really nuts. I hear about secret spreadsheets, magic phrases to speed up the approvals, and inside contacts who guarantee to put your files on the fast track. Most of it is just ridiculous.
We have been through hundreds of negotiations like this, and we have learned that there are more than a few steps to take before we can finally receive that approval letter. None of those steps suddenly enable you to jump from A to Z right away. You simply have to learn what you’re dealing with so you can know how to manage the process more effectively.
If you want to be successful at negotiating short sales, it’s really all about understanding what lenders are thinking during those negotiations. They’re thinking about which course of action will cost them the least amount of money. If they see any way to collect that debt, they will do it. If they see any need to avoid a long-term bad debt, they will generally move in that direction. Lenders know how much it costs to continue to collect debts and maintain REOs. They know exactly how much money they lose when they have to take possession of a foreclosed property.
There’s no baloney about achieving real success in a short sale negotiation. Here are my ten best tips for making the most of your deal.
1) Submit a complete short sale package and make sure it gets assigned to a mitigator quickly. If it doesn’t get assigned, the offer will never be seen. Make sure to follow up and see if the lender has received your offer. Lenders lose short sale packages all the time or claim they never received them. Don’t let this happen to you.
2) Don’t give up. With all the foreclosures being processed lately, the loss mitigation departments are swamped. Pleasant persistence is the only way to get past this roadblock. If you don’t find the information you need, call them back once every two or three days until you do. You don’t have to be a pest and leave a message every time you call. Just say “thank you” and call them again another day.
3) When you find out who is handling your short sale package, ask them who owns the loan. I guarantee this will make your negotiations go more smoothly. Once you know whether the loan is a VA, FHA, Fannie, or Freddie loan, you can know exactly what their negotiation limits are.
4) Pleasantly explain your offer to the loss mitigator and push to have the lender order a new interior appraisal or BPO immediately.
5) Conduct an effective BPO.
6) Pull a title report after the BPO is done so you can resolve any outstanding issues before the closing.
7) Don’t be shy about asking the loss mitigator about the BPO number. You might get an answer, and you might not. If you do find out, count on paying 90 percent of that number.
If the lender refuses to disclose the BPO, you need to ask for a counteroffer. (When they make their counteroffer, this is usually equal to the amount of the BPO anyway.)
9) When you submit your counteroffer, include additional documentation to back up the amount you’re offering. You can use repair estimates, low comps, negative news reports about the neighborhood, and even the MLS listing itself, which shows how many days the house has been on the market.
10) Remind the loss mitigator that you can close quickly with cash.
You don’t need special tricks, and you don’t need a buddy in every loss mitigation department. You just need to realize that you can use the leverage from the fact that a short sale is generally better than a foreclosure in the eyes of a mortgage lender. Your job is to make them a sensible offer that will help them unload a problem property with the least amount of expense. Focus on what they need, and you’re on your way to getting what you need.
Want to learn more about conducting a short sale negotiation? Check out the Strategic Real Estate Coach website and treat yourself to the most current information on loss mitigation in America!
Loan Modification Do’s And Don’ts
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s a list of loan modification do’s and don’ts to help you avoid common pitfalls.
Know your rights.
More than 80% of mortgage contracts violate one or more lending laws-and most of them go unnoticed. But these violations can be your biggest weapon in the loan modification process. They can give you the leverage you need to negotiate with your lender and stop foreclosure. Your loan modification attorney can help you understand your rights and use them to get the results you want.
Waiting too long can hurt you.
The foreclosure process is designed so that you have time to get back on your feet and save your home. But that doesn’t mean it’s safe to delay. The longer you wait, the harder it gets to get you out of that fix. As soon as you decide you need mortgage help, call for a loan modification help and get help.
Do work with your lawyer.
Your Home Loan Modification doesn’t rest in the hands of your lender, your broker, or your loan modification attorney. These people can help, but you have to do your part and cooperate with your lawyer. Make sure to submit your paperwork on time, answer questions honestly, and give them a clear picture of your financial situation.
Don’t file for bankruptcy, unless you really have to.
Many people think that filing for bankruptcy can help them stop foreclosure. But data from the American Bar Association shows that it doesn’t work that way. In some cases, bankruptcy is still a viable option, but don’t make any decisions without getting professional advice.
Do have a backup plan.
Not all people will qualify for a mortgage loan modification. Maybe you’ve fallen too far behind, your lender may be simply hard to work with, or maybe you don’t need it after all. It’s always good to have a Plan B. Your mortgage modification attorney can help you find the best solution for your situation.
Talk to your lawyer about a short sales if you can’t get your mortgage modified. This involves selling your home for less than its fair market value and giving the proceeds to your lender. Although you still lose your home, it’s not as damaging to your credit as foreclosure, so it’s easier to get back on your feet.
Contact a Loan Modification Specialist now to see if you are elgible to save on your mortgage.
Phoenix Real Estate HAFA Information
Posted by: | CommentsHope has arrived for the multitude of Phoenix real estate homeowners who allow their homes to slip into foreclosure while never exploring their options on how to avoid foreclosure. I sincerely hope they will take advantage and take the time to educate themselves on the alternatives available to avoid foreclosure.
Let’s face it, as easy as it may seem to just walk away from a home, the haunt of a foreclosure goes on for years to come affecting credit and even employment, in some cases. Many people are not aware that foreclosure even can affect their security clearance levels and future employment. Foreclosure is certainly not the best option, particularly with the advent of HAFA and other alternatives.
Hiding your head in the sand (ostrich mode) is not the answer. It is well worth the time invested to investigate your options, particularly in light of HAFA, which among many other things, provides monetary relocation assistance and eliminates the hovering concern over deficiency judgments when a short payoff has been negotiated.
One of my passions is to inform the public about their options to avoid foreclosure. I setup my Phoenix real estate “Home Rescue Network” website to do just that. Distressed homeowners who have negative equity or who are behind on their mortgage need to take the time to educate themselves. There is a comprehensive list of options to avoid foreclosure available on the site and a questionnaire to help determine eligibility for the new government programs.
With our National network of top agents around the country, we’re able to refer homeowners to the experts in their area to further educate and help them rescue their homes from the black hole of foreclosure. Homeowners or Agents who would like more information can contact me directly.
Simplifying and streamlining the use of Short Sales will be the result using HAFA’s top features including:
1. Providing incentives (financial) to borrowers, servicers AND investors
2. Elimination of deficiency judgments by requiring servicers to release borrowers of future liability
3. Standardized processes, documents and timeframes will be used to streamline and standardize the short sale process
4. HAMP eligible borrowers will have workable alternatives complementing HAMP
5. Financial and hardship information collected in HAMP will require no additional analysis on eligibility in HAFA
6. The homeowner will be allowed to receive pre-approved short payoff terms prior to the listing of the property
With over 11,000,000 homeowners in negative equity positions on their mortgages (that’s roughly 24% of all properties with a mortgage), I look forward to seeing what HAFA will be able to do to help borrowers avoid foreclosure and how the goals of HAFA to standardize the process flow, minimize the performance timelines and standardize documentation of short sales will play out.
Learn more about Foreclosure Avoidance Options. Stop by Joe Martin’s site where you can find out all about HAFA and Avoiding Foreclosure and what your options are.
Dealing With Foreclosure: Should You Walk If You Can Afford The Payments?
Posted by: | CommentsHomes throughout the United States are seeing profound dips in value. Almost no place has escaped this decline. Some homeowners have been able to hang on and keep up with payments. But not everyone is so fortunate. In fact, there is no decrease to the number of homeowners dealing with foreclosure.
If you’ve been in your home for a number of years and have built quite a bit of equity, there is no question that you will want to weather the storm and keep making your payments if at all possible. Even though your home has lost a lot of its value, over time hopefully this value will return.
Then there are those people who purchased homes over the past few years, with little to no down payment, because they were promised very low interest rates for the first year or two. Once the interest rates increased so too did payments, making foreclosure almost certain.
But what about those who are still working and can afford to make their payments? There is a growing trend among some of these homeowners to just walk away, stop making payments and let their homes go into foreclosure.
The fact is that even though they can afford their mortgage payments they have come to a sobering conclusion. They realize that no matter how much cash they pour into paying down their mortgage, their homes are losing value faster than they can pay them down. They feel that it’s just not worth it to keep paying.
But everything is different when you are dealing with foreclosure that you choose to allow to happen. Before you let it happen, it’s important to seriously think about the long range consequences of your actions. That’s because the same rules won’t apply to you. So just what can you expect if you allow this kind of foreclosure to happen?
Well, for starters, government officials have stated that the “forgiveness” clause that can be applied to people who legitimately lose their home to foreclosure won’t apply to people who choose a foreclosure even though they can afford payments. They have not yet revealed what steps, if any, they are prepared to take to stop these walk away by choice foreclosures.
There is no doubt that your credit rating will be negatively affected. It’s quite possible that the penalties may last longer or be more severe. Financial institutions are especially concerned because of the fact that if you’ve chosen to walk away from financial obligations once, what’s to stop you from doing it again at some future time.
If you have a notation on your credit report to this effect, you may have more difficulty getting financing for other major purchases. If you are able to get financing, it’s quite possible that you will pay much higher interest rates. You may not be able to even get a credit card for a long while.
In the future, will banks and mortgage companies be willing to finance mortgages for those who default by choice? Or will this choice have a negative impact in future years?
There is no definitive answer as to what exactly will happen. But before making the decision to walk away, carefully consider what dealing with foreclosure under these circumstances may mean for you, not just now but in the future.
If you and your family are facing foreclosure, you need help. Get free foreclosure information and find out how to stop a foreclosure.