HELP AND ADVICE ON AVOIDING FORECLOSURE OF YOUR HOME
This is the first in a series of articles specifically aimed to assist those struggling with debt problems and the threat of foreclosure on their home or property. It is intended to give simple, practical advice on how to manage the situation as far as it is practical.
Foreclosure is the legal process whereby a lender can take forced possession of a property when a borrower cannot or will not pay the regular repayments due on a loan agreement. The majority of borrowers who become involved in the foreclosure process survive it without the loss of their property to foreclosure sale or auction. Today we will look at ways of trying to achieve this objective although it must be remembered that if, for whatever reason you simply do not have enough income make your loan payments as they become due, foreclosure may become inevitable.
There are four courses of action available to defeat foreclosure proceedings. They are:
1. bring up to date any loan arrears, after negotiating an agreed system with the lender lien holder
2. negotiate a repayment holiday (a short period when no payments are made) with the lender so as to give time to bring up to date the outstanding loan arrears
3. refinance the loan on the house, possibly including any other short term debts so that overall monthly debt repayments reduces to a manageable figure.
4. voluntarily sell the house.
People do not like to talk about foreclosure when it is their own real estate at risk. However every lender has the right to start the foreclosure proceedings on a lien property if you fail to make a payment on a due date. Sadly foreclosures are happening with increasing frequency all over the United States. In fact, it is almost a national epidemic.
The over riding recommendation is not to ignore the situation if you are under threat of foreclosure and just hope it will go away. Do not fail to open all mail and respond appropriately even if it is only to say ‘thank you, I am having problems and will contact you again within 2 weeks once I have obtained professional advice’.
Be prepared to seek and follow advice, realistically review the options available to you and try and prepare a plan for dealing with the situation. As far as possible, try and be in control of the situation as this will give some help in dealing with the worry and family stress that the threat of foreclosure brings. It is always much better to try and tackle a problem today, rather than hope it will go away tomorrow.
Further articles in this series will be published on http://golcrest.blogspot.com/
Alan Fleming regularly writes on marketing, business, finance and real estate related issues.
http://golcrest.blogspot.com/ is dedicated to providing practical and sensible advice to those unfortunately facing the possibility of foreclosure on their home.
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
FORECLOSURE STEPS AND DEFENCE
If you are unsure of what to do about your home because you have started to fall behind on your mortgage payments or you are unable to sell your home because you owe more money that what your home is worth, do not panic. There are answers out there. If either of the above situations describe something similar to what you are going through, you need to act quickly. Waiting can only make matters worse.
The first way to avoid foreclosure is to look into refinancing your mortgage. By refinancing your mortgage, before you get too far behind, you may be able to refinance to a program that can give you at least a temporary fix until your financial situation gets back in order or until the housing market begins to improve once again. Look into adjustable rate mortgages that are fixed for at least a couple of years, interest only loans, or Pay Option ARM loans so that you can improve your positive cash-flow to help out with your situation and buy you some time.
Next, to avoid foreclosure, try contacting your lender to see if they will refinance you or if they can provide you with some assistance such as a forbearance or a loan modification. A forbearance will provide you with a temporary period of time that you will be permitted to either stop making payments on your mortgage or at least have your payments reduced for a short period of time. A loan modification is where the lender may be able to give you a lower interest rate on your loan, add on back payments to the end of your loan, catch up your late payments, etc... These two options are becoming increasingly common with the high rate of foreclosures. Lenders do not want to foreclose on you and they would rather avoid the foreclosure process if they can.
If you simply can not afford to keep your home anymore, then the best option as this point would be to sell your home. This way you can avoid foreclosure, find a more affordable home, or even a rental if necessary or desired, and save your credit from having a foreclosure reporting on it. If you are not able to sell your home for what you owe, then a short sale is a definite possibility and an option that needs to be considered. A short sale is when your lender agrees to accept a payoff that is less than how much you owe on the mortgage. You must submit a request for a short sale to the lender to be approved before you are permitted to sell your home for less than what you owe. If the lender agrees to your request, then the lender is agreeing to accept that as payment in full and you will owe them nothing further. However, a short sale could still have a negative impact on your credit, but it will still be much better than having a foreclosure on your credit.
Finally, if all else fails you can consider bankruptcy protection. A bankruptcy will temporarily stop the foreclosure process and your attorney may be able to negotiate something on your behalf with the lender. A Chapter 13 repayment plan option may provide you with a payment plan to follow so that you can avoid foreclosure and still be able to keep your home. Consult a bankruptcy attorney if you have exhausted all of your other choices to see what options you have available for yourself at this point and to find out if Bankruptcy may be right for you. Consider this only as an absolute last resort.
Therefore, even if your finances seem fairly bad or you are having a hard time selling your home there are many ways to avoid foreclosure. However, you must take action quickly and contact your lender as soon as you feel you are about to fall behind on your mortgage. Do not wait until you are behind. Contact mortgage lenders before you end up 30 days behind on your mortgage and this will leave more options open to you to refinance. Selling your home may end up being your best option, even if you need to do it via a short sale. After everything has been looked into and if there do not seem to be any options left you can always consult with a bankruptcy attorney so that you can try to avoid foreclosure.
The author of this article, Dave Zwierecki, is the President of First Security Financial Service and has over 10 years of experience in the credit, mortgage lending, and home improvement fields. He is the owner of http://www.gofirstsecurity.com and http://www.TheMortgageU.com which are sites devoted to the education of consumers regarding real estate, mortgage, credit, and home improvement related material.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Zwierecki
The first way to avoid foreclosure is to look into refinancing your mortgage. By refinancing your mortgage, before you get too far behind, you may be able to refinance to a program that can give you at least a temporary fix until your financial situation gets back in order or until the housing market begins to improve once again. Look into adjustable rate mortgages that are fixed for at least a couple of years, interest only loans, or Pay Option ARM loans so that you can improve your positive cash-flow to help out with your situation and buy you some time.
Next, to avoid foreclosure, try contacting your lender to see if they will refinance you or if they can provide you with some assistance such as a forbearance or a loan modification. A forbearance will provide you with a temporary period of time that you will be permitted to either stop making payments on your mortgage or at least have your payments reduced for a short period of time. A loan modification is where the lender may be able to give you a lower interest rate on your loan, add on back payments to the end of your loan, catch up your late payments, etc... These two options are becoming increasingly common with the high rate of foreclosures. Lenders do not want to foreclose on you and they would rather avoid the foreclosure process if they can.
If you simply can not afford to keep your home anymore, then the best option as this point would be to sell your home. This way you can avoid foreclosure, find a more affordable home, or even a rental if necessary or desired, and save your credit from having a foreclosure reporting on it. If you are not able to sell your home for what you owe, then a short sale is a definite possibility and an option that needs to be considered. A short sale is when your lender agrees to accept a payoff that is less than how much you owe on the mortgage. You must submit a request for a short sale to the lender to be approved before you are permitted to sell your home for less than what you owe. If the lender agrees to your request, then the lender is agreeing to accept that as payment in full and you will owe them nothing further. However, a short sale could still have a negative impact on your credit, but it will still be much better than having a foreclosure on your credit.
Finally, if all else fails you can consider bankruptcy protection. A bankruptcy will temporarily stop the foreclosure process and your attorney may be able to negotiate something on your behalf with the lender. A Chapter 13 repayment plan option may provide you with a payment plan to follow so that you can avoid foreclosure and still be able to keep your home. Consult a bankruptcy attorney if you have exhausted all of your other choices to see what options you have available for yourself at this point and to find out if Bankruptcy may be right for you. Consider this only as an absolute last resort.
Therefore, even if your finances seem fairly bad or you are having a hard time selling your home there are many ways to avoid foreclosure. However, you must take action quickly and contact your lender as soon as you feel you are about to fall behind on your mortgage. Do not wait until you are behind. Contact mortgage lenders before you end up 30 days behind on your mortgage and this will leave more options open to you to refinance. Selling your home may end up being your best option, even if you need to do it via a short sale. After everything has been looked into and if there do not seem to be any options left you can always consult with a bankruptcy attorney so that you can try to avoid foreclosure.
The author of this article, Dave Zwierecki, is the President of First Security Financial Service and has over 10 years of experience in the credit, mortgage lending, and home improvement fields. He is the owner of http://www.gofirstsecurity.com and http://www.TheMortgageU.com which are sites devoted to the education of consumers regarding real estate, mortgage, credit, and home improvement related material.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Zwierecki
Sunday, 12 August 2007
GENERAL ADVICE ABOUT FORECLOSURE
Nobody likes to talk about foreclosures especially if it is their own. Unfortunately, foreclosures are occurring more than ever in every part of the United States.
Need some advice on avoiding foreclosure?
Here is some general information about foreclosures.
Several states have a record number of foreclosures, such as Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
CNN Money reports that adjustable-rate mortgages, especially mortgages that are considered, sub-prime adjustable rate mortgages, continue to contribute to foreclosures.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Americans borrowed $2.2 trillion dollars through attractive adjustable rate mortgages between 2004 and 2006.
These adjustable rate mortgages were hard to pass up with low monthly payments.
Unfortunately, these ARMS (adjustable mortgages) cannot last forever. Experts explain that these adjustable rate mortgages need to reset themselves in order to make up for the difference through higher rates, which means a higher mortgage payment.
You don't need to be an expert in real estate to figure out that when the banks significantly raise someone's mortgage payment, you are going to see many foreclosures.
It's also predicted that as these mortgage loans reset, 1.11 million homeowners will lose their homes. This prediction was reported following a study completed by First American CoreLogic, a firm that documents home mortgage risks.
If you fail to make a payment by the due date, the lender has every right to start the foreclosure proceedings. Many banks will allow you a "grace period," so as not to start any foreclosure process.
After a certain period of time, the lender will send you a certified letter stating that your loan is in default. Included will be any penalties and any unpaid mortgage totals. It is important that you contact the lender to try and work out a plan to pay the bank back.
Banks are not in the business of owning homes; banks are in the business of lending money. Banks do not want the house back! Contact them and try to work out an agreement to pay them back the unpaid payments.
Your loan will likely be reinstated if you bring the mortgage back to good standing if you pay back any outstanding mortgage payments and fees.
If the lender has given you the allotted time to make the loan current, and you cannot make the payments, the loan will still be considered in default and there will be a scheduled auction.
Following the auction, if there is any money still owed to the lender, the homeowner may be required to pay those debts owed. If there is money left over from the auction, that amount of money will go to the foreclosed homeowner, if all of the fees have been paid to the lender.
With any court foreclosures, the sheriff carries out the sale, which is about 45 days after the county clerk orders the sale. The auction is open to the public which means anyone who has the available funds, may bid on the foreclosed property.
Generally, the accepted bid must be paid to the sheriff no later than 5:00 P.M. on the day of or the day after the auction.
A certificate is issued following the foreclosure sale. If the property is not abandoned at the time of the sale up to the next six months, this is known as the redemption period. Some states will allow the borrower to redeem the property. Any secondary lender may redeem the property within a certain amount of time. In order to redeem the property, the total amount owed including any fees, must be paid.
If there isn't anyone who redeems the property, the sheriff will then transfer the ownership to the winning bidder at the time of the foreclosure auction.
With Out of Court Trustee Sales, notice of the sale is noted which includes the property description, date, time, place, etc. The auction notice is then recorded with the county.
The trustee mails the notice to all interested parties. This notice is sent out three months before the sale date and will be published in the local newspaper.
No less than 20 days before the sale, the foreclosure auction notice is posted on the property and the county courthouse.
The day before the sale is scheduled to take place and leading up to the sale, the trustee must provide the opening bid of the sale to anyone who inquires about the sale. If not, the sale might have to be delayed for a short period of time.
Out of Court foreclosure sales require every bidder to provide a refundable $10,000 deposit in order to bid. The trustee keeps the deposit of the individual with the winning bid.
The winning bidder has until 5:00 P.M. by the next day to pay his/her bid price.
Following the sale, the trustee then transfers ownership of the foreclosed property within seven days. The proceeds of the sale are paid directly to the primary lender, then to any secondary lenders that exist.
There is no right of redemption following Out of Court foreclosure sales.
Bank foreclosures are at an all-time high. If you are an investor, your'e likely to find foreclosures all around the U.S.
Will foreclosures decline in numbers? Only time will tell.
The information provided here within, is not considered professional legal advice. It is always recommended that you seek professional legal advice such as a local real estate attorney.
Cecilia Valenzuela is a full time entrepreneur who is an active participant in the online world of business. Cecilia Valenzuela encourages others who would also like to become a successful entrepreneur. If you would like additional information on foreclosures along with more specific tips on how you can avoid a foreclosure, it is available at: http://www.My-Arizona-Desert-Living.com/Arizona-Foreclosures.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ceci_Valenzuela
Need some advice on avoiding foreclosure?
Here is some general information about foreclosures.
Several states have a record number of foreclosures, such as Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
CNN Money reports that adjustable-rate mortgages, especially mortgages that are considered, sub-prime adjustable rate mortgages, continue to contribute to foreclosures.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Americans borrowed $2.2 trillion dollars through attractive adjustable rate mortgages between 2004 and 2006.
These adjustable rate mortgages were hard to pass up with low monthly payments.
Unfortunately, these ARMS (adjustable mortgages) cannot last forever. Experts explain that these adjustable rate mortgages need to reset themselves in order to make up for the difference through higher rates, which means a higher mortgage payment.
You don't need to be an expert in real estate to figure out that when the banks significantly raise someone's mortgage payment, you are going to see many foreclosures.
It's also predicted that as these mortgage loans reset, 1.11 million homeowners will lose their homes. This prediction was reported following a study completed by First American CoreLogic, a firm that documents home mortgage risks.
If you fail to make a payment by the due date, the lender has every right to start the foreclosure proceedings. Many banks will allow you a "grace period," so as not to start any foreclosure process.
After a certain period of time, the lender will send you a certified letter stating that your loan is in default. Included will be any penalties and any unpaid mortgage totals. It is important that you contact the lender to try and work out a plan to pay the bank back.
Banks are not in the business of owning homes; banks are in the business of lending money. Banks do not want the house back! Contact them and try to work out an agreement to pay them back the unpaid payments.
Your loan will likely be reinstated if you bring the mortgage back to good standing if you pay back any outstanding mortgage payments and fees.
If the lender has given you the allotted time to make the loan current, and you cannot make the payments, the loan will still be considered in default and there will be a scheduled auction.
Following the auction, if there is any money still owed to the lender, the homeowner may be required to pay those debts owed. If there is money left over from the auction, that amount of money will go to the foreclosed homeowner, if all of the fees have been paid to the lender.
With any court foreclosures, the sheriff carries out the sale, which is about 45 days after the county clerk orders the sale. The auction is open to the public which means anyone who has the available funds, may bid on the foreclosed property.
Generally, the accepted bid must be paid to the sheriff no later than 5:00 P.M. on the day of or the day after the auction.
A certificate is issued following the foreclosure sale. If the property is not abandoned at the time of the sale up to the next six months, this is known as the redemption period. Some states will allow the borrower to redeem the property. Any secondary lender may redeem the property within a certain amount of time. In order to redeem the property, the total amount owed including any fees, must be paid.
If there isn't anyone who redeems the property, the sheriff will then transfer the ownership to the winning bidder at the time of the foreclosure auction.
With Out of Court Trustee Sales, notice of the sale is noted which includes the property description, date, time, place, etc. The auction notice is then recorded with the county.
The trustee mails the notice to all interested parties. This notice is sent out three months before the sale date and will be published in the local newspaper.
No less than 20 days before the sale, the foreclosure auction notice is posted on the property and the county courthouse.
The day before the sale is scheduled to take place and leading up to the sale, the trustee must provide the opening bid of the sale to anyone who inquires about the sale. If not, the sale might have to be delayed for a short period of time.
Out of Court foreclosure sales require every bidder to provide a refundable $10,000 deposit in order to bid. The trustee keeps the deposit of the individual with the winning bid.
The winning bidder has until 5:00 P.M. by the next day to pay his/her bid price.
Following the sale, the trustee then transfers ownership of the foreclosed property within seven days. The proceeds of the sale are paid directly to the primary lender, then to any secondary lenders that exist.
There is no right of redemption following Out of Court foreclosure sales.
Bank foreclosures are at an all-time high. If you are an investor, your'e likely to find foreclosures all around the U.S.
Will foreclosures decline in numbers? Only time will tell.
The information provided here within, is not considered professional legal advice. It is always recommended that you seek professional legal advice such as a local real estate attorney.
Cecilia Valenzuela is a full time entrepreneur who is an active participant in the online world of business. Cecilia Valenzuela encourages others who would also like to become a successful entrepreneur. If you would like additional information on foreclosures along with more specific tips on how you can avoid a foreclosure, it is available at: http://www.My-Arizona-Desert-Living.com/Arizona-Foreclosures.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ceci_Valenzuela
Saturday, 11 August 2007
LOAN ARREAS AND FORCLOSURE
Today more than ever homeowners are having their homes foreclosed on. The reasons homeowners are facing foreclosure are due to bad loan choices and a slumping housing market. The number one reason they lose their home is because they fail to communicate with the lender. Most people in financial trouble do the same thing; stop answering the phone, stop opening the mail, thinking it will just go away. Well it won’t. You must act!
Don't be in denial. Face the problem head on. I know this sounds tremendously daunting, but it's not as hard as you might think. It is not embarrassing to face your problems, it is human. You are not alone, many people face the same problem. The difference is whether you take action or don’t
Just so you understand, the bank doesn’t want to foreclose on your home. But if they can't get a hold of you, and your not responding to their correspondences. They have no choice but to get their money back.
So how do we start to resolve the problem. The first thing that you need to do is to answer the telephone and have a conversation and ask hard question(s) like what types of forbearance agreements they might make available to you. What is forbearance?
Forbearance is an agreement that banks make with homeowners in which they agree to not foreclose on you in return for you accepting a payment arrangement or some other alternative to being foreclosed on.
The only way that you can get one of these forbearance agreements is to ask for it! Or at least be available for the bank to offer one to you.
Forbearance agreements range from: *3 to 6 month grace periods with no payments but more importantly the foreclosure process has stopped and you get to keep your home! *Loan modifications- they basically take the amount that you are behind and place it on the end of your mortgage and extend your mortgage term. *Monthly payment reduction. They'll lower your monthly payments if you can't afford the current one because you make less or your household income have been reduced..
There are other plans available to homeowners with the right hardship situation, but remember that you have to make contact in order to get any help. Another option would be to set up a repayment plan.
This is one of the easiest method for a homeowner to do and understand. It is also one in which many lenders are more likely to accept. The basis is fairly simple, The homeowner will agree to pay an additional sum on top of what they are currently paying for their mortgage payments as a way of paying of the amounts that are owing to the lender. Certainly this is the type of plan that most lenders prefer compared to the one have previously described above. However there may be some additional costs that a homeowner will face when using this method including rearrangement and legal fees. In order to workout what is best for your situation, you must contact your mortgage companies loss mitigation department; customer services will do nothing for you.
For additional information on other topics please visit: http://www.fordsuti.blogspot.com/
Don't be in denial. Face the problem head on. I know this sounds tremendously daunting, but it's not as hard as you might think. It is not embarrassing to face your problems, it is human. You are not alone, many people face the same problem. The difference is whether you take action or don’t
Just so you understand, the bank doesn’t want to foreclose on your home. But if they can't get a hold of you, and your not responding to their correspondences. They have no choice but to get their money back.
So how do we start to resolve the problem. The first thing that you need to do is to answer the telephone and have a conversation and ask hard question(s) like what types of forbearance agreements they might make available to you. What is forbearance?
Forbearance is an agreement that banks make with homeowners in which they agree to not foreclose on you in return for you accepting a payment arrangement or some other alternative to being foreclosed on.
The only way that you can get one of these forbearance agreements is to ask for it! Or at least be available for the bank to offer one to you.
Forbearance agreements range from: *3 to 6 month grace periods with no payments but more importantly the foreclosure process has stopped and you get to keep your home! *Loan modifications- they basically take the amount that you are behind and place it on the end of your mortgage and extend your mortgage term. *Monthly payment reduction. They'll lower your monthly payments if you can't afford the current one because you make less or your household income have been reduced..
There are other plans available to homeowners with the right hardship situation, but remember that you have to make contact in order to get any help. Another option would be to set up a repayment plan.
This is one of the easiest method for a homeowner to do and understand. It is also one in which many lenders are more likely to accept. The basis is fairly simple, The homeowner will agree to pay an additional sum on top of what they are currently paying for their mortgage payments as a way of paying of the amounts that are owing to the lender. Certainly this is the type of plan that most lenders prefer compared to the one have previously described above. However there may be some additional costs that a homeowner will face when using this method including rearrangement and legal fees. In order to workout what is best for your situation, you must contact your mortgage companies loss mitigation department; customer services will do nothing for you.
For additional information on other topics please visit: http://www.fordsuti.blogspot.com/
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