Delaying foreclosure: Brave Borrowers finding ways to  keep homes without paying.

Lenders sometimes practise what is called “Extend & Pretend. Extending the process by which homes enter foreclosure allows banks to continue carrying the loans on their books at full value, delaying loss recognition. That allows unhealthy banks to appear healthy, staving off costly bank failures.

Well Borrowers has also find  ways  to  extend the stay in their homes except at the Banks expense. Delinquent borrowers facing foreclosure are learning that they can stay in their homes for years, as long as they're willing to put up a fight.

Some of the tactics: Challenging the bank's actions, waiting to file paperwork right up until the deadline, requesting the lender dig up original paperwork or, in some extreme cases, declaring bankruptcy and requesting QWR.

While some borrowers are looking for ways to make good with lenders and get their homes back, via HAMP, HAFA HARP or any available alternative to foreclosure programs, many aren't paying a dime. Nearly 40% of homeowners in default have not made a payment in at least two years, according to LPS.

Ironically enough, the banks have given delinquent borrowers some of the ammunition they need to delay the foreclosure process. During the robo-signing scandal in 2010, it was revealed that bank employees signed paperwork attesting to facts they had no personal knowledge of. Now, borrowers are routinely challenging that paperwork.

Sometimes just asking the bank to produce the paperwork that shows it is the legal holder of the mortgage note can stall a repossession Since mortgages are often transferred electronically, the official paperwork often gets misplaced.

Initially nationwide, the average time it takes to process a foreclosure -- from the first missed payment to the final foreclosure auction -- has climbed to 674 days from 253 days just four years ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics.

It takes much longer than that in Florida, where the process averages 1,027 days, nearly 3 years.

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http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/28/real_estate/foreclosure/index.htm?source=yahoo_hosted