If you find a Client in financial trouble...

Tough times ahead?  Tough times now! Personal savings are at historic lows (in the negative) while borrowing is at an all time high! Jobs, once secure, are being lost to automation and offshore employers. The minimum payment requirements for credit cards has doubled while personal bankruptcy plans are harder to get and more expensive to keep. Property and other regressive taxes are climbing to record levels making homeownership more precarious for hundreds of thousands working Americans who live from paycheck to paycheck. People are pawning their possessions to fill their tank, and mortgage delinquencies are on the rise to historic levels.

Attorneys for aggressive mortgage lenders are filing more foreclosure lawsuits than ever before making workout and reinstatement more expensive. This legal and justified threat to continued homeownership is exacerbated by another threat.. a threat, although not necessarily illegal, yet, may be both insideous, and unethical: the systematic theft of equity via high cost foreclosure bailout refinances offered by subsidiary, subprime lenders, and/or deed stealing or other equity theft by speculative real estate predators.

It's important for all homeowners whose mortgage loans are delinquent, in default, or in foreclosure to educate themselves before deciding upon any course of action. While most well intending credit counseling organizations offer sound fiscal advice, many are ill-equipped to address the time sensitive complexities associated with mortgage foreclosure.

Distressed homeowners seeking advice should get more than one opinion, but not procrastinate. If you find a client in financial trouble, tell them:

Don't panic. Get detailed information about the deadlines you face. Pay special attention to the date on which you would lose legal ownership of your home.

Never sign away ownership via a quitclaim deed or other means without consulting with an attorney.

Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender. If you can't pay, never ignore warning letters from your lender.

Beware of any home-sale contract in which you are not formally released from liability for your mortgage loan. Make sure you know the rights you are giving up and that you agree to give them up.

Don't sign anything with blank lines or spaces because information could be added later without your knowledge or consent.

If you do not speak or understand English very well, never rely on the Buyer's translator.

At the first sign of trouble, contact a non profit, preforeclosure counseling organization. Many will listen, and offer to help without even asking your name. One such non profit organization is Society for the Preservation of Continued Homeownership, or SPOCH, for short. They'll give you straightforward, proactive, advice. If you need more hands-on help to resolve your dilemma, they can recommend third party service providers...suggest reading materials, &/or walk you thru the necessary steps to save your home, your equity, &/or your future creditworthiness.

You may visit www.SPOCH.org for more information, and then ask for a confidential, no obligation, preforeclosure consultation.