CitiMortgage rolled out a new program for delinquent homeowners and homeowners who are in foreclosure in Florida. CitiMortgage says:

"Give us the keys and we will let you stay for six months for free." 

Before you jump on this so called deal here are some facts about Florida Foreclosures followed by our Real estate agent take on this.

Is there really an advantage to you, the homeowner in this offer from CitiMortgage? According to most attorneys we have spoken with, their answer is not really. 

Once you are served a summons and complaint which would be in this instance CitiMortgage filing a law suit complaint against you as the homeowner- you have 20 days in which to respond to the complaint. If you hire an attorney or go to the legal aid society if you can not afford an attorney- they will file a defense or a counter complaint in court. 

At that point, there will have to be a hearing scheduled. Most of the time here in the state of Florida- you will be able to have your foreclosure postponed for much longer than 6 months.

We know people who have not made a mortgage payment in over 24 months and are still living in their homes. 

Take that in consideration before jumping on CitiMortgage's offer. They make it sound very good but they are not in business to protect you or to help you. They are in the business to cut their losses and what is in the best interest of their company and their shareholders, although the latter is questionable at best. 

Turning in your keys is called a "Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure".

Remember too, there are rules that must be adhered to even in Deed In Lieu and unless CitiMortgage is also going to change the rules you may not even qualify for the Turn in the Keys program. 

If you have a second loan on your property or a HELOC on your property, your second lender has to be taken care of before a Deed in Lieu can be processed. If you don't have the money to pay your mortgage payment you most likely don't have money to pay your second note off either. 

Also, if you do a Deed in Lieu- the mark on your credit report is the same as a foreclosure. 

A Deed in Lieu is nothing more than giving up your rights to a judicial foreclosure. It is a foreclosure without going to court. 

There is most often a much better way to deal with your foreclosure filing and that is to do a SHORT SALE. 

First, let me say to CitiMortgage that we as agents have had a solution to your foreclosure problem for years now and it is called a SHORT SALE!

All you have to do is relieve the homeowners of a deficiency and release the lien and give clear title to a new purchaser thereby circumventing you having to own yet another property.

Why can you not give the same deal to a SHORT SALE as you are offering to a DEED IN LIEU?

Therein lies the mystery.  

This gets us to thinking, why is it that you want to own all these properties? Is there something you are not telling us? 

There are qualified short sale Realtors® in the state of Florida who are ready to help you solve the foreclosure problem you are complaining about. 

CitiMortgage's CEO of CitiMortgage- Sanjiv Das says: "We're committed to finding every solution possible to help families facing foreclosure. Not every homeowner has the financial stability to remain in their home." No S&%# Sherlock! 

THEN CITIMORTGAGE: Embrace the SHORT SALE! It will save your shareholders money. You won't have to keep holding on to Phantom Inventory. You won't have to be a landlord. It will help home values. It will stabilize neighborhoods. It will help the economy. But then again, is there something here that we don't see? 

In Florida CitiMortgage has over 12 % of their loans in a 90 days or more delinquent status. Nationwide that number is 6%. 42% of all the loan modifications that CitiMortgage approved in Florida are now 60 days one year after their loan modification was approved. 

We will go into further detail about the follies and idiocies of the loan modification programs and how those are set up for failure from the onset. 

This post does NOT constitute legal advise. You should seek the legal advice of a qualified attorney who works in the foreclosure field. We are not attorneys and we don't play them on TV either. This post is informational only. 

Avoid Foreclosure! Call Nestor and Katerina Gasset for Short Sale Information Today- 561-753-0135 or learn more at Short-Sales-Florida.com.