behind in payments: Talk Politics with Clients?
- 06/09/10 05:03 AM
Old school and nearly everything I read cautions against sharing political views online or with clients.
Admittedly issues such as abortion are avoided as this is a personal issue but when it comes to the welfare of our country, am I remiss if I do not engage other Americans in efforts to protect the freedoms and rights of this country? For what other reason do our soldiers go to battle?
My work in foreclosures and short sales puts me face-to-face with ordinary, every day people that have fallen victim to the financial crisis of this country
I'm talking about Lou & … (2 comments)
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behind in payments: 4 Steps to Relieve the Stress of a Loan Modification
- 05/17/10 08:42 AM
Millions of homeowners struggle to stay current with mortgage payments as unemployment continues to plague our country. Sadly for many homeowners, losing their home is inevitable but for many more, a loan modification or adjustment to the monthly payments will help a homeowner remain in the home. Any homeowner with desire to keep their home must contact their mortgage company; being prepared before you contact the bank is critical. The process of obtaining a loan modification is typically arduous and frustrating but these few steps will help reduce the stress.
Step 1. Gather Personal Information.
The entire process of negotiating … (0 comments)
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behind in payments: Strategic Default - a Not so New Concept
- 10/10/09 09:40 AM
Lately there have been several articles and blog posts centered on Strategic Default. While the phrase seems to be new, there is nothing new about the concept.
Strategic Default is making a conscious decision to stop making payments on a debt. The debt can be a mortgage, car loan or even a credit card balance. Bankruptcy is a form of strategic default.
Strategic default. It certainly sounds nicer than foreclosure.
Remember last year's popular Buy & Bail? That too was strategic default. For anyone who may not remember, Buy & Bail is where a homeowner, upside down in his residence, buys … (6 comments)
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behind in payments: How to Lose Your Home to Foreclosure
- 08/29/09 04:11 AM
Step 1. Don't communicate with your lender. As you miss making the monthly mortgage payments, the collections department will commence their calling campaign in an attempt to collect the payments. Their calls are typically quite aggressive, the calls are frequent and sometimes the caller is demeaning and insulting.
TIP: It is easy to identify these calls using caller-ID and simply not answer the phone when your lenders number pops up on your caller ID. Also, if the caller appears as UNKNOWN, it is often a bill collector or the lender attempting to collect the debt.
By not communicating with your lender, … (4 comments)
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behind in payments: Banks to do Buy Backs?
- 08/24/09 09:59 AM
There's a couple of great ideas floating around: (1) allow homeowners to remain in & lease their home after foreclosure, and (2) offer a buy back in which the homeowner could purchase the home after a specific term (3 years? 5 years?)
Buy backs are not a new idea, buy backs have been around for years including during the boom. Back in the boom-time, investors saved many homeowners from foreclosure by purchasing the property, renting it back to the homeowner with an option to buy it back. One notable difference is that back then, these investors were often referred to as … (6 comments)
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behind in payments: Tenants Rights.........Update
- 06/27/09 12:18 AM
A year ago, I wrote a post Tenants Rights & Foreclosure that discussed the absence of tenants rights when landlords don't pay their mortgage. Despite the fact that the tenants paid their rent, if the landlord's property was foreclosed upon, the tenant was out of luck.
Effective May 20, 2009 - the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act became law and provides protection for tenants under the aforementioned circumstances.
The main provision, Section 1 (a) provides that a tenant be given 90 days notice to vacate (assuming a bona fide lease).
Who serves the notice? Foreclosure attorneys typically include unknown/known tenants on … (0 comments)
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behind in payments: Hard to Buh-lieve!
- 01/30/09 01:51 AM
I've met some ungrateful and manipulative people in my life but this guy ranks near the top...
"Sam" contacted me via my website (www.wendysmithrealestate.com) in August '08. He had gotten himself into a real mess with his mortgage payments.
During the initial consultation, I shared my findings and showed Sam that he is upside-down in his home and that the 1100 square feet house was much too small for 2 adults and five children, I suggested to Sam he short sale the house. For the same monthly amount he could rent a house with a back yard for the children, in a … (1 comments)
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behind in payments: Foreclosure - Is Stripping Criminal?
- 07/23/08 03:44 AM
More and more frequently homeowners are stripping their homes. Literally everything is removed: toilets, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, air conditioning equipment, light fixtures, everything. I talked to a homeowner a few weeks ago who said he intends to take his pavers!
So is stripping a house a criminal offense? The short answer is "Yes".
Anything attached to the house is considered a part of the house. That includes air conditioning, water heaters, wiring, electric panels, built in cabinets like those found in a kitchen, bathroom vanities, toilets, etc. - all are considered "improvements" or "fixtures" and are encumbered by the mortgage.
… (2 comments)
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behind in payments: Mortgage Payments Still a Problem? 5 Tips That Will Help
- 07/09/08 01:39 AM
It's tough to know what to do when you can't make your mortgage payments.
Do you qualify for a Loan Modification? Are you a Short Sale Candidate? Should you consider a Deed in Lieu? Is Bankruptcy the right choice? These are legitimate questions that millions of homeowners are asking.
The answers vary - there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The answers also vary according to who you ask - e.g. are you asking an investor who has his eye on your property? Are you talking to a real estate agent just anxious to get a listing?
TIP #1: Avoid the impulse to … (2 comments)
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behind in payments: Foreclosure - Stripping the House
- 07/06/08 10:27 AM
It is in the news and it's happening in our communities - homeowners removing everything including the kitchen sink from their homes when facing foreclosure. Homeowners stripping their houses.
Sometimes it is as simple as removing all the appliances and ceiling fans. However, more and more frequently items such as air conditioner systems (compressor and handler), kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, toilets, windows, french doors - nothing is left behind.
A few months ago, when showing one of my short sale listings I found the pool deck pavers had been removed! The seller later explained that he paid nearly $10,000 for the pavers and was able to sell … (8 comments)
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behind in payments: You Can Fix Your Mortgage!
- 06/25/08 08:38 AM
Back in the day, a borrower had to be behind in payments or even in pre-foreclosure before the lender would consider a loan modification. The logic was simple "Why modify a loan that is current?"
That was then, today is different....with many lenders.
Most homeowners know they're drowning in debt before they actually miss a mortgage payment. This is the critical point - call your lender BEFORE you miss that payment.
Be prepared when you call. Use this short check list:
amount of monthly income - use take home pay being careful to note if deductions are taken out for health … (1 comments)
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behind in payments: Tenants Rights & Foreclosure
- 05/28/08 05:33 AM
Lots of un-sold homes dump into the rental pool as property owners struggle to make mortgage payments on vacant houses that didn't sell.
Many investors in our area have seen their cash flow eaten up with higher property taxes and insurance costs. These days if you can break-even on a rental, you're doing pretty good.
All too frequently I see the same name several times on the Lis Pendens list
- a sure sign that an investor is going down.
I've gotten used to that but what bothers me is that the tenants have little or no rights - all … (21 comments)
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behind in payments: Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure - Policies Change
- 05/28/08 03:51 AM
Deed-in-Lieu of foreclosure is when a homeowner transfers or gives their property to the lender in exchange for cancellation of the mortgage; also referred to as "cash for keys".
In the past the rules or policies that governed DIL s were basic and a bit rigid; the home had to be owner occupied and the first mortgage had to be the only lien. From there the requirements were somewhat standardized, typically 60 to 90 days on the market and the homeowner had to submit documentation supporting an inability to make payments.
In the wake of current tidal wave of foreclosures and … (0 comments)
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behind in payments: Unemployment by any other name...
- 04/30/08 11:10 AM
Shakespeare once wrote ..."that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Meaning of course, it matters what something IS, not what something is CALLED.
The same holds true for unemployment. Or so I thought.
My brother recently joined the ranks of the unemployed - not by choice but he is there just the same. When I commented as such, he informed me that he is not ‘unemployed'; he is "in transition". Huh?
It seems that since my brother is in between jobs - had a job, looking for another - he is not technically unemployed. Since he is … (1 comments)
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behind in payments: Foreclosure Assistance: How to Find
- 04/16/08 11:13 AM
A Yahoo search for "foreclosure assistance" results in 7,710,000 hits. The Google search was a little less than a million. Where do you start? Better yet, where do you end?
First let's get this out of the way: Yes, you CAN negotiate with your bank, you do not have to pay someone to do it for you. OK, there, I've said it. Just like you can cut your own hair or change the oil in your car; you too can negotiate with your bank to stop the foreclosure.
Of course, stopping a foreclosure is just a little bit more important than a bad … (1 comments)
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behind in payments: Kudos! My Faith is Restored!
- 03/06/08 04:39 AM
I would be the first to admit that some of my comments may have a tendency to be somewhat contemptuous when talking about lenders and their cooperation (or lack thereof) in working with borrowers trying to keep their home from foreclosure.
Instead of getting better, most lenders have gotten worse to work with. The worst yet is Saxon: Their Home Retention Department (for loan mofications and work outs) has a recording that announces "...Customer Care Center temporarily unavailable. Please call back later." Say what?!?
Enough about those lenders that still need to get on board, let me tell you about Aames -
Aames received … (1 comments)
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behind in payments: Reinstatement - When to Hire a Pro
- 01/18/08 08:38 AM
Reinstatement is defined as "the act of restoring someone to a previous position". That is usually the goal of a homeowner who wishes to stay in their home and avoid foreclosure - the homeowner needs to be restored to a current position with his or her mortgage.
The 3 typical ways to reinstate a mortgage:
•1. Full Payment
•2. Forbearance
•3. Loan Modification.
Details of each in this previous post: Reinstatement-Save My Home from Foreclosure
It is entirely possible for a homeowner
to negotiate a repayment plan with the lender.
Should you try to negotiate with your bank on your own?
There are plenty of warnings advising homeowners … (0 comments)
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behind in payments: Just One Paycheck Away From Foreclosure
- 11/21/07 02:36 AM
By far the most frequent reason for missing mortgage payments is loss of income. Whether the loss of income be the result of losing a job as a result of corporate downsizing or yet another effect of our current real estate crisis, the bottom line is the same: reduced income = missed mortgage payments.
Many jobs have been lost in businesses affected by the current real estate crisis such as title companies, mortgage companies, and of course the construction industry. These are lost jobs and displaced workers are finding it near impossible to find replacement work.
Without income, the chances of being able … (7 comments)
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behind in payments: Buy Back - Too Good to be True?
- 10/20/07 09:09 AM
Here's the scenario: for whatever reason (illness, divorce, job loss, etc.) you are behind in your mortgage payments and are facing foreclosure. The Notice of Default has been filed and suddenly there are strangers knocking on your door and calling at all hours of the day, not to mention your mailbox is crammed full with investors willing to ‘save you from foreclosure'.
You want to stay in your home but you don't have the money to catch up on all those back payments. Now what?
Enter an investor with a seemingly great plan: the investor offers to buy your house, catch up … (3 comments)
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behind in payments: Reinstatement – Save Your Home From Foreclosure
- 10/06/07 02:33 AM
For many homeowners facing foreclosure or behind in payments, selling their home is not an option. The Notice of Default and filing of foreclosure by the lender often serves as a wake up call for homeowners. In my work of Foreclosure Assistance, more often then not, homeowners want to stop the foreclosure, catch up on payments and get back on track with making the monthly mortgage payments to the bank.
The process by which payments, late fees, attorney fees, etc. are paid and the note & mortgage are brought current is referred to as Reinstatement.
There are basically 3 ways to reinstate your … (5 comments)
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Old school and nearly everything I read cautions against sharing political views online or with clients.
;)
;)
;)
