Foreclosed Homeowners Stay as Renters in New Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure Programs

Foreclosed Homeowners Stay as Renters in New Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure Programs

Copyright (c) 2010 Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team, RE/MAX Olympic Realty

   Payment-challenged homeowners who lose their home to a foreclosure via the Virginia trustee sale process may be allowed to remain in the property as tenants for a period of time under new programs announced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other loan servicers may also offer these options in the near future. 

   According to an article by attorney Benny L. Kass, published November 14, 2009 in The Washington Post, if you have attempted and failed a loan modification, and have attempted and failed to sell your home then you may ask your loan servicer, "Why not just take my house and save the expense involved in a foreclosure proceeding?"  

If the lender agrees the new Fannie Mae Deed For Lease (D4L) program, or its similar Freddie Mac counterpart, the new program can eliminate some of the uncertainty of foreclosure, keep families in their homes during transitional periods, and help stabilitze neighborhoods and communities by minimizing the number of bank-owned homes sitting vacant.

The key concept of this program is that the former owner does turn the house over to the bank via the process known as "friendly foreclosure" which is technically called Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure.  The bank however agrees to let the former owner stay in the property for some period of time as long as they agree to pay market rate rent and maintain the property.  The former owner does eventually need to move out, of course.

        Unfortunately there are unscrupulous operators who may contact payment-challenged homeowners and propose a variety of schemes involving transferring the property to them to "avoid foreclosure" via option contract or quitclaim deed.  Consulting with a third party real estate attorney or a Realtor expert in distressed properties is prudent before signing anything with a party other than your loan servicer who proposes to help you avoid foreclosure.

        The best way to find out about Deed In Lieu opportunities is to contact your first mortgage servicer directly.

         Note that Fannie's D4L program is not available to those who have a second loan, home equity line of credit, or a loan guaranteed, insured or issued by a federal agency (FHA, VA, USDA, HUD, BLM).

       (To discuss foreclosure alternatives you may contact Deanna & Jim's GOLD Team in confidence. We work with 15+ banks, have handled over 150 bank-owned transactions, and many successful short sales, and have completed over 350 real estate transactions in the last 9 years.)