If your home is underwater or otherwise in distress, your first impulse might be to swim to shore and walkaway.  You mail your keys to the bank and your problems are all over, right?

Unfortunately, "jungle mail" is not an acceptable way to end a contract in the eyes of your lender.  The bank will seize the home and formally foreclose on it, which will have a long term impact on your credit.  This is not the same thing as a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, where the bank agrees to take the home back - a process that is less costly for the banks as they can bypass foreclosure proceedings and that may less stressful for homeowners, thought their credit takes as big a hit.

Walking away is tempting for many homeowners who see no end in sight for payments on homes that have lost value.  Perhaps they put little or nothing down on the homes back in the days when mortgages were offered with few requirements that they have any financial stake in the home. Other homeowners might feel they were deceptively locked into loans they could not afford on homes 10 times their annual salaries.

The process is made easily these days by companies such as You Walk Away, which will guide people through the walk away process for $995.  The company does not promise anyone that they will save their home, but offers them a game plan for abandoning the home.  They first offer a "protection kit."  They counsel the homeowner to see if there are other options. They will contact the lender to request that they stop harassing the homeowner.  They put clients in touch with a lawyer and an accountant to make them aware of their options.  They tell people how long they will be able to stay in their homes rent free before the lender evicts them.

You Walk Away started in California, where it has sold its services to over 1,000 people.  Now, the company also operates in high foreclosure states Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New York,, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington.

The company claims it is not encouraging irresponsible behavior or portraying walking away as an ideal solution. The owners offer a service to fix a problem that is already there.  Ironically, the services offered might actually often peace of mind and a sense of closure to troubled homeowners who seek an end to their nightmare.

Walking away is a drastic step that will affect credit scores - and the ability to get new credit at reasonable rates for years to come.  There is a whole range of options available to people in trouble if you act early enough.  Before you give up and allow your home to fall in to foreclosure or determine that jingle mail is the way out of your dilemma, seek help from a reputable housing counselor and become familiar with all your options.  The State of Nevada foreclosure website offers a game plan at no charge.

At Prudential Americana, the N & Y team is ready to help you as well.  Need a frank discussion about your options if you are in trouble?  Be assured that we will do our best to help you avoid foreclosure.  For the best in Las Vegas housing and the news on short sale and bank owned home opportunities, contact:

N & Y Team

Nebi Adhanom Direct: (702) 277-9922

Yonas Woldu Direct: (702) 236-8997

Fax: 702-898-9738

www.VegasRealProperty.com

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