Posts Tagged ‘avoiding foreclosure’
The administration of Obama said that the program is going to give help to over 4 million homeowners for them to make loan modifications. According to the Treasury Department, over 200,000 of these loan modifications are offered to date. This will just signify that millions of people are still hanging around for their turn. This could also mean that if these trouble homeowners are not reached on time, more foreclosure news will be heard.
Deborah Sherman is one of those homeowners who are waiting for their turn on the loan modification. She applied for the government program in March 4, a day after it was announced.
Since then, all she heard from Chase, her loan servicer, is: the process could take up to 90 days. Until now, she is still waiting.
The experience of Sherman was also experienced by most other people. The government program last June started uncontrollably because a large number of homeowners all around the country have been overwhelming the staff by jamming their phone lines. Frustration among housing counselors and homeowners build up due to the delays and confusion about eligibility requirements.
“I think … our mortgage program has actually helped to modify mortgages for a lot of people, but it hasn’t been keeping pace with all the foreclosures that are taking place,” said President Obama during a recent press briefing, expressing his disappointment with the program. He is asking his staff to make more aggressive actions because he is bombarded by complaints from homeowners.
Congressional Oversight Panel’s Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren echoed the remarks of the president at a current congressional hearing. The answer of the Treasury Department with regards to financial crisis has supervised by Chairwoman Warren. She also stated that the program had taken a couple of weeks to set off and they are now “moving very rapidly.”
“I think it’s important that the public realize they don’t have to have missed a payment on their mortgage to get help. If they see that they have a problem … they should get in touch with their servicer” says Warren.
Numerous homeowners who had applied for the modification of loan also get similar response like Sherman. Their respective servicers also said that the process will take longer time than expected. As the processing time of these modification requests get longer and longer, most trouble homeowners result to giving up and making foreclosure news rise.
Frustrations towards the program were expressed also by several federal officials. They said, “People who are engaged in this program must need to perform better job so that expectations of the public will be met.”
As long as these needs for loan modifications are met, we may expect to hear more foreclosure news as more and more troubled homeowners fail to salvage their properties.
More information on ms foreclosures and foreclosures in general (often miss-spelled ‘forecloser‘) can be found at http://bestforeclosurenews.com.
In 2006, the housing boom in the US began to cool down and increasing foreclosed news has dominated the media ever since. Many of today’s homeowner’s (maybe as much as 10% of them) simply cannot keep up with their payments.
In cities where subprime mortgages are prevalent, foreclosure of homes also became widespread. MS Foreclosure for example. Unfortunately this has led to a decrease in home values as well which just adds fuel to the fire. Additionally, state and most local governments were forced to cut back on their spending because the drop in the value of these properties sharply decreased their tax bases.
There were signs of this coming however, three of them in fact. The first sign was the massive bailout of home owners that came. The secondary sign involved previous borrowers with expired introductory interest rates resulting to keeping up with a higher rate and the third one, which is currently beginning to build up, are the people holding prime mortgages and who have lost their jobs due to the economic meltdown and are now unable to pay on their mortgages. Most of them even have good credit ratings. Unemployment is now forecast to impact about 60 percent of all of the mortgage defaults. Basically, more foreclosure news is expected to arrive this year.
According to an analysis made by New York Times in February 2009 (data provided by First American Core Logic), the number of prime mortgages that have delinquent payments exceeded 1.5 million with loans totaling to $224 billion. On the same month, delinquencies on subprime mortgages reached 1.65 million while the Alt-A loans rose to 836,000. In all, a total of $717 billion worth of loans were recorded in February – this is an increase of 60 percent from last year. All of these foreclosures have also dramatically impacted Wall Street and mortgage bonds. These also lead to bank loses of hundreds of billions. (Note: Search on ‘forecloser‘ as well because it is a very common miss-spelling of foreclosure and is prevalent in the foreclosure news posts.)
The new Obama administration has announced a plan to try and help as many as four million homeowners via a $75 billion dollar spending bill. The effects of this plan are expected to be felt in the next coming months. Until that time comes, you will need to brace for the storm and all of the foreclosure news that is still looming out there.
The big US housing boom really started to dwindle in 2006 and increasing foreclosure news has dominated the media ever since. Homeowners began to lose their homes or are threatened with foreclosures because they have failed to keep up with the payments on their mortgage.
In cities where subprime mortgages are prevalent, foreclosure of homes also became widespread. MS Foreclosure are just one example. Unfortunately this has led to a decrease in home values as well which just adds fuel to the fire. Additionally, state and most local governments were forced to cut back on their spending because the drop in the value of these properties sharply decreased their tax bases.
There were signs of this coming however, three of them in fact. The first sign was the massive bailout of home owners that came. The second sign was all of the sub-prime loans and adjustable rate mortgages beginning to implode. Lastly, the third sign has been the fact that even prime rate loan holders are losing their homes now due to job loss and the economic crisis. In fact, many of these people even have above average or good credit ratings (not for long though). It is expected that unemployment would contribute to almost 60 percent of mortgage defaults. Unfortunately, this means that even more foreclosure news will be heard through the rest of this year.
The New York Times stated in February of 2009 that there are more than 1.5 million prime mortgages alone with delinquent payments (data by First American Core Logic). On the same month, delinquencies on subprime mortgages reached 1.65 million while the Alt-A loans rose to 836,000. Shockingly over $717 billion in bad loans were on the books for February – up over 60 percent from the same time period a year ago. All of these foreclosures have also dramatically impacted Wall Street and mortgage bonds. Not to mention the hundreds of billions of dollars that the banking industry has lost. (Note: Search on ‘forecloser‘ as well because it is a very common miss-spelling of foreclosure and is prevalent in the foreclosure news posts.)
The new Obama administration has announced a plan to try and help as many as four million homeowners via a $75 billion dollar spending bill. The effects of this plan are expected to be felt in the next coming months. Until then, we should brace ourselves for more foreclosure news that is looming in the neighborhood.
There are several steps available to help you avoid a foreclosure. They all start with one thing: action. If you have already received an NOD (Notice of Default) or are behind on your loan payments, this article with give you some tips on avoiding foreclosure on your home. To avoid foreclosure, you may first attempt to negotiate one of the following options with your lender:
Loan restructuring
There are companies that specialize in loss mitigation that can help you negotiate with your lender to get your mortgage in good standing again. There techniques available to get a modification approved, such as a separate payment plan for your delinquencies, or adding your delinquent amount to the end of your loan. You may qualify for a loan restructuring plan, particularly if you have recently had a reduction in your income or increase in living expenses. Sometimes it is even possible to get your monthly payment lowered.
Short sale of your home
Realtors who specialize in short sales can assist you in selling your home before it gets to the foreclosure phase. In this scenario, the short sale specialist negotiates a short sale with your lender on your behalf. The loan company would accept less than the amount you owe, but they would avoid a costly foreclosure process. If the short sale is unsuccessful, an experienced real estate agent can arrange for you to simply give the property back to the lender and walk away not owing anything. This procees doesn’t do as much damage on your credit report as a foreclosure.
There are some things that can be done with the assistance of a short sale real estate agent:
- Reinstatement – Getting your loan back into good standing by paying all of your past due amounts. This option may not be feasible if your financial stress that caused the deliquency hasn’t improved.
- Mortgage Refinance – Refinance your total debt load, or extend the term of the loan to reduce your payments. However, this is not a viable option if you owe more on your home than it is currently worth. If you have received an NOD already, then you may not be able to negotiate a loan modification, workout, or refinance. Allowing the bank to foreclose or considering bankruptcy should only be considered a last resort.
- Bankruptcy – You may qualify for Chapter 7 Debt Elimination or Chapter 13 Reorganization. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years.
- Foreclosure – This is the most damaging to your credit other than bankruptcy. The mortgage company will take your home and equity. This stays on your credit for seven years.
In these hard times, many homeowners are benefiting from the help of seasoned real estate agents who specialize in avoiding foreclosures. They regularly negotiate the options above, helping their clients avoid the ramifications of a foreclosure.
Tips to avoid foreclosure
Don’t ignore the problem
The further behind you get, the harder it will be to get your loan into good standing and avoid foreclosure. Contact your loan company as soon as you realize you will have trouble making your payment. Lenders want to be in the money business, not the real estate business – so they don’t want your house. They all have available options to help borrowers through tough financial difficulties.
Open and respond to mail from your lender.
The first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later notices from your mortgage company may include important information about pending legal action – it’s important to read these. Failure to open your mail is not a viable excuse during foreclosure proceedings.
Be aware of your rights
Find your original mortgage documents and actually read them so you know exactly what your lender might do if you don't make your payments. Learn about the foreclosure laws and time frames in your state.
Watch your spending
Besides health care, holding on to your home should be your first financial priority. Review your budget and look for areas you can reduce spending so you can make your loan payment. Look for optional expenses – cable TV, memberships and entertainment that you can eliminate.
Contact a real estate company that specializes in loss mitigation
If you are unable to make you mortgage payment and are in jeopardy of losing your home, contact a reputable loss mitigation company to help you by negotiating with your lender to resolve your situation.
Documents you will need
Here is a list of documents that are usually required for loan resolution, although this list can vary considerably with each situation:
- Hardship Letter – A letter from you to your lender explaining why you are having trouble making your payments.
- Financial Statement – This shows where your money goes and how much is left over after paying your bills. An experienced short sale agent can provide the appropriate forms to itemize your finances and show hardship.
- Bank Statements – Last two months of bank statements – checking, savings, etc.
- Mortgage Statements – For all loans associated with the property, you need to collect the most recent mortgage statement & account number.
- Pay stubs – Last two months of pay stubs, or proof of unemployment.
- Tax Returns – Last two years of tax returns including W2’s.
Once all of these financial documents are organized, the negotiation with your bank can begin.
What to do next
- See if you qualify to do a short sale.
- Get referred by an expert Vacaville real estate agent to an agent near you.