Foreclosure and Short Sales News

Posts Tagged ‘mortgage payments’

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, throw a party and let your friends help out. You can provide music, snacks, refreshments and use your imagination for activities. The cost to you will be minimal, while the benefits can help prevent foreclosure on your home.

In the first half of the 20th century, rent parties were used to help apartment dwellers pay their rent. Now in the 21st century, that idea has blossomed into “mortgage parties”.

The rent party concept was conceived in Harlem during the early 1920s. A 1946 film called “House-Rent Party” was promoted to show how people paid the rent by having parties and charging for access.

At $12 admission, house parties cost revelers less than an evening spent in a bar. “Even during happy hour that’s what, two drinks?” said Christina Dunham, 27, a guest who was laid off from Morgan Stanley in February. “You may as well spend it with your friends who can use the help.”

Having a cause made it more appealing, not less, she said. “It’s not just scenesters looking for the next big underground party,” Ms. Dunham said, “It’s people who care that you have a place to live.”

Source: New York Times

If you are having problems with making your mortgage payments and you know that foreclosure is just around the corner, you will be glad to know there is another way out of the jam. It may not be a piece of cake, but it will keep a foreclosure off your credit report. The ideal short sale for homeowners is when you owe more on your mortgage than what your home is worth.

Foreclosures are on the rise all across America, inventory is high, sales are low, home prices are dropping, and there are fewer buyers. All of this contributes to the situation the housing market is in at this time, however, none of this is good news to the homeowner that is in trouble of losing his or her home. You may have seen the problem coming and put your home on the market, however, it is still sitting after months on the market. Your funds are dwindling and you are now behind in your mortgage payments and foreclosure is peaking around the corner. How can you avoid the inevitable?

The answer is with a short sale. A short sale occurs when the lending company that is holding the note on your mortgage agrees to take less than what is owed on your loan. Most lending companies will not accept a proposal for a short sale until a homeowner is behind 90 days in their mortgage payments and a notice of default has been filed. However, your lending company may differ. The best way to learn if you should work towards a short sale is by talking with a real estate agent in your area that understands all about short sales. Not every real estate agent is experienced in the process and may not be able to give you qualified answers or help.

Practically every lending company would rather have a short sale settlement than have to deal with a foreclosure. A foreclosure will cost them more money to process and they will lose more money than agreeing to a short sale.

The good news for you, if you decide to go with a short sale, is that you will not have a foreclosure in your credit history. You will have a settlement, but in the majority of cases, you will be able to get another mortgage loan within 1 to 3 years. A foreclosure will make obtaining a new mortgage much harder for a longer period of time, similar to a bankruptcy.

If you are heading toward foreclosure, it would be in your best interest to speak with someone who is experienced in short sales and has a proven track record of successfully negotiating short sales. Otherwise, the lender will come and take your home, possessions and strip your credit rating away from you.

Take action now! Complete the short, secure request form on ShortSaleHoldings.com and we will contact you to go over your options. There is no obligation and the consultation is free. Do it now and one of our short sale specialists will speak with you within 2 business days.

Take that first step to stop foreclosure on your home. In most cases, we can buy your home the same day so that you can start planning your move into a more affordable home.

Go to ShortSaleHoldings.com now!

When dealing with loan modifications to prevent foreclosure, a common misconception is that “What works for one, works for all”. Each case is different and must not be compared to any other situation. There are hundreds of companies out there promising the moon; the home owners will be the victim of them.

Lenders are calling home owners that are about to adjust and telling them they can POSSIBLY reduce their rate. These are telemarketers from the lenders who just make the calls, gather info and pass it along. It does not mean that the home owner has been offered any type of modification.

If the loan was obtained within one year ago, it is not usually possible to do a modification. A lender wants to see close to two years or more (depending on lender) with some good history. If a home owner had a bad paying record in this time frame, the lender will not be as willing to go towards a modification.

If a home owner has a thirty year fixed loan at 7.75% and tells you they want their rate lowered because they cannot afford it, a lender is not going to adjust an interest rate just because the homeowner over-extended themselves with other debt or signing for a loan they knew they could not afford.

The mortgage payment must be the hardship in regards to a rate reduction. If the home owner has $1,500 in monthly credit card payments, this would not be a hardship that the lender would accept towards lowering their payment. The home mortgage must be the issue.

If the home owner signed a mortgage at a very high interest rate knowing they cannot afford the payment, this is not an issue for the lender. They are not going to automatically lower the home owner’s rate. They must have good payment history with lender first. It does not matter what their mortgage broker or their Realtor told them. This is not a reason for a rate reduction.

If the home owner has a fixed rate loan with a high interest rate, but has had the loan two years or more with GOOD paying history, their lender may work on getting the interest rate and payments lowered.
Jim Hutchinson
Certified Loss Mitigation Consultant
Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services