T & A = Timing and Attitude is one of the essential formulas for successful loss mitigation.
Timing—Reaching your client as early as possible in their challenge to pay their mortgage and learning the reasons why they can't make their payments is paramount. Do they anticipate problems due to job loss, illness or other changes in their professional or personal circumstances or have they been underwater for several months or somewhere in between? These questions and more are required to determine which path is best.
It's easy for some people to see their problems coming before they hit critical mass. Therefore, it's easier for them to seek and receive help before the mortgage company hits them with late payment fees, etc. Working with these folks makes the process fairly smooth and a positive outcome can usually be guaranteed. However, if a person waits until they are one payment late or even longer the rate of success is radically reduced. The result of foreclosure or the loss of a short sale increases dramatically the longer a person delays in seeking a workable solution.
Attitude—Clients also need to understand that their attitude can make or break a positive outcome. They need to cooperate and be honest about their current mortgage situation. If they lie about how far behind they are with their payments, their income, credit card debt, employment issues, etc. they have not only wasted your time, but theirs as well. The clock keeps ticking while you try to figure out fact from fiction.
It's understandable that people are embarrassed about not being able to pay their bills, but it's more embarrassing to lose your home because you wasted valuable time by hiding the facts or thinking no one will notice bad credit history, job loss or other problematic information.
So it is essential to convey to your clients that the earlier you begin to seek a workable solution and the more positive their attitude the more likely they will receive positive results. The goal after all is to avoid foreclosure or to close a successful short sale.
Here's a true example of poor timing and unrealistic attitude I've personally encountered as a certified loss mitigation consultant...
Not long ago a man called in a panic, sounding just like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, saying,"what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do...?" He really didn't want to answer many questions... he kept saying he had been able to keep from losing his house for over a year by telling his mortgage company one thing or another, but they weren't buying his story any longer because he had failed to perform too many times. Yet he was convinced he could come up with another scheme. I tried to obtain info concerning his spouse... did she work outside the home? No, she was a homemaker. Is she willing to get a job? No, she doesn't know about their financial problems! Would he consider working an extra job? No, he couldn't do that because she would begin to ask questions. You get the picture. The man was in absolute denial and would not accept the reality of his situation. There wasn't anything I could do for him. I'm not sure why he even called me. I felt badly for his family.
We can't help all of the people all of the time but it is rewarding when we can help some of the people some of the time.
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