When the foreclosure process is initiated and your court records indicate that, many investors will try to contact you and offer their services. All of them want to “help” you. Here are the most common scams you should be aware of.

First scenario: You are in a position where you cannot make your mortgage payments. You decide to sell the house on your own. You are approached by an investor who promises to give you the full asking price. On top of it he will help you solve all of your financial problems. He suggests that you move out right away and deed the house over to him. In the meantime he offers to take over your mortgage payments.

First outcome: You move out and you are sure that you mortgage payments are taken care of. The phantom buyer rents the house out and collects rent for many months. He does not bother to pay your mortgage. The lender has to foreclose on the house and you even do not know what is going on. Why? Because you moved out.

Second scenario: Online companies with a “magic touch” promise you to communicate with your lender for a fee. They know all of the secrets of this “special” communication and use undercover techniques. You sign a contract with this company and enthusiastically begin to work with them.

Second outcome: The company charged you “generous” fees to prepare your paperwork. They can even charge for the phone calls. The paperwork could have been prepared by the most qualified person, which is you. You end up owing this company money. You wasted your time, which prevented you from educating yourself and taking actions on your behalf.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

Most homeowners are not aware of the foreclosure laws of their state and even if they know anything about it, they assume that the foreclosure laws are designed to protect the big banks and not the homeowner. The fact is these laws were written in favor of the homeowner and not the lender. The foreclosure process actually makes the lenders follow a step by step approach, which allows the homeowner certain time frames to somehow cure the foreclosure, whether it’s paying it off or catching up on the payments.

The Foreclosure process actually buys the homeowner time to get their finances in order and to research the their necessary options that are available to them, whether they want to keep the home or get rid of it and move on. One of the most common myths about foreclosure is that your lender wants you home. While this may seem true if you ever dealt with you lender and all they do is give you the run around, its not, as lenders are in the lending money and collecting interest business and not the owning real estate business. There are certain expenses that are associated with foreclosure, such as attorney fees, court cost, insurance, taxes, and rehabilitation expenses to get the property ready to be put back on the market. They will not be able to collect the on your late payments and then they have to pay a real estate agent to sell the property for them.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

Nationwide, homeowners have found themselves in a home that they owe more on the mortgage than the current market value of the property, and are not sure how long it’s going to take to actually see equity in their property again, at least not in the near future. Because of this, many economists are now concerned about something called “Strategic Defaults,” which is basically homeowners that feel that it doesn’t make financial sense to keep their home anymore and are now considering a short sale or just letting it go into foreclosure. Lenders are now seeing a lot of cases where the homeowners are choosing to be late on their mortgage, even though they can afford the mortgage. Strategic defaults are fueled by the declining value of homes, as homeowners feel like they are throwing good money after bad, so lenders need to come up with programs to combat this, which should include some principle reductions or incentives for on time payments or we will see a very slow recovery in the housing market. Florida is one of the states that are experiencing a high level of strategic defaults as its one of the states that has seen the largest decline in home values.

The Obama Administration understands that as the economy gets worst more and more homeowners will decide to walk away and that will hinder the recovery of the real estate market, so they have invested over $75 billion to encourage lenders to work more diligently with homeowners nationwide to encourage them to stay in their homes by means of a loan modifications and short sales instead of walking away. Homeowners have to also realize that if they choose to walk away from their home, they are going to see some negative impacts to their credit report, as they will have late payments and now a foreclosure in the public record section of their credit report. Which can result in 100 – 200 point drop in your credit score, as this will disqualify you for a new mortgage for a few years, as well as you can see your credit card interest rates go up and insurance premiums will also increase just to name a few, being late on your mortgage and having a foreclosure on your credit causes a ripple effect in your finances.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

While loan modification and bankruptcy are the most popular strategies for getting help with foreclosure, there are many more tactics that can be considered. These techniques may either result into the borrower keeping the home or losing the home but the primary benefit is to minimize the damage on credit score.

The first thing to remember when looking for help with foreclosure is that the lender also considers this as a last alternative and could be convinced to set it aside. A workout solution can be negotiated with the bank where the borrower can retain the home if the financial hardship is temporary or lose the home if it is deemed that he can no longer afford the mortgage payments. In the second alternative, the debtor losses the property but avoids foreclosure and the damage to his credit score is minimized so that it will be easier for him to get another mortgage in the future.

One strategy for obtaining help with foreclosure is the forbearance agreement in which the monthly installments are lowered temporarily while the financial hardship is on-going. However, the borrower will need to document the financial situation and prove that he is capable of continuing with the payments after the present condition has passed.

Another strategy is the loan modification where the delinquent amount, which includes the penalty charges and attorney fees, is added to the outstanding balance and the duration or term is lengthened to minimize the increase in the monthly payments. Somewhat similar to the loan modification is refinancing. In this technique, a new loan is created with lower interest rates and the cash obtained is used to pay off the current loan. Federal government help with foreclosure is focused on these two methods.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

People freeze up or blank out all the time, especially when they get that ‘Notice of Default’ from the mortgage company, informing them invariably that foreclosure actions are about to begin. Whereas that is totally understandable, it is not necessarily acceptable; especially not when you are about to lose your home. This is the time you need to pucker up and begin to explore your various alternatives for stopping the foreclosure proceedings before they get far enough to hurt you.

There are a lot of things you may do, or at least try to do, in your effort to save your home and livelihood. You could seek out some forms of debt consolidation, you could refinance your loan, or you could try doing a short sale; and a number of other options like that. And they tend to have their success rates too, except that there are three critical steps you must include which may eventually determine if you will be keeping that home or not.

First of all, you must never, ever turn a blind eye or a deaf ear on the notices from the lender. At the very least, read the letter and get your lawyer to read it also. It may not take a lot time or effort from you, but it will certainly do a lot to keep you informed on exactly what your lender has in mind, and also what other legal opportunities are open to you this way. Without that critical information, you are bound to make a lot of mistakes that you don’t need to.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

Bankruptcy often gets a bad rap in our culture, but the truth of the matter is that, for many people, it is the absolutely best option to escape the stress of insurmountable debt and to gain a fresh financial start. Here is a list of some potential benefits to filing for bankruptcy protection:

1. Puts an end to harassing phone calls and letters from debt collectors during the bankruptcy process and, for those debts that are discharged, for good! Creditors and debt collectors must stop contacting you for the duration of your bankruptcy case.

2. Stops repossession of your property and may force creditors to return property that was already repossessed.

3. Halts wage garnishment during the bankruptcy process.

4. Puts an end to the foreclosure process and gives you a well-needed breathing space to catch up on payments. Just knowing that you won’t immediately lose your home can benefit you in so many ways.

5. Provides you the chance to dispute any claims from creditors that you believe or false or inflated in an effort to gain more from you than what they are owed.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

Foreclosure is definitely a curse for the homeowner. The biggest curse for the homeowner is the foreclosure. They all want to stop foreclosure if it does happen. This is definitely a very big question mark. But the question arises that how can we stop foreclosure. Let me tell you one thing that there is not much option left with you. You have only one or two options left with you. You will either have to pay the installment or you will have to go for the some other purpose. If you were able to pay the money then there is no problem at all. But the problem is that this is never the case. Hence you have only some option left.

The question arises that what the short sale really is. Let me tell you that you can easily understand that what the short sale is. Actually let me tell you one thing that it is definitely something which can solve your problem.
You should realize that the lenders are too human being. If you will explain to them about your financial situation then they will definitely understand your problem. Let me tell you one more thing that your story should be emotional. Generally the lenders get carried away by the emotional stories.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

Increasing numbers of Americans are plagued by debt, either by poor discipline in their own spending or by situations beyond their control, such as a medical emergency which left them with unmanageable fees. But so many people, despite having little else by way of an options, are reluctant when it comes to declaring yourself bankrupt as a result of the negatives of doing so. Declaring yourself bankrupt through chapter 7 bankruptcy is both legitimate and beneficial to rebuilding your financial future.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy will involve liquidating all non exempt assets and in doing so can help to relieve the burden before wiping the rest out. Of course, by the stage of declaring yourself bankrupt, you probably do not have assets to liquidate. Though some people have a second home or something that can be liquidated in this way. This really can be beneficial. Let’s say, for example, that you have a home worth $100000 for which you took out a mortgage of that value. Then let’s say in the time you have been paying the mortgage off you have built up $20000 in equity. You can keep that $20000 to pay of credit cards etc.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

All across America people are waking up and facing foreclosure, and asking now what? There are of course several options with varying consequences. First, and unfortunately a very popular answer is doing nothing. Doing nothing of course will eventually lead to foreclosure. The average foreclosure takes about six months and many homeowners are using this time to get back on their feet by not paying a mortgage and basically living in their homes for six months or more for free. This is of course the worst option for your credit, a foreclosure can take up to 10 years to be removed from your credit report.

In many areas of the country such as Northwest Arkansas, where I am located an option of ever increasing popularity is the short sale. A short sale is still damaging to your credit, but not as bad as a foreclosure. Most people will be able to purchase another home in as little as 3 years after a short sale. The catch to the short sale is the “qualifying event”. Lenders want a reason to forgive your debt. Some examples of a qualifying event are divorce, job loss, or a medical crisis. To qualify you will have to prove that you are no longer able to make your current payment. Short sales are a complicated process and most lenders prefer to work with a real estate agent who is experienced with these transactions. The great news is there is no fee for using an agent in this transaction, the lender will pay all of the real estate fees. So if you are facing a short sale, get help, an experienced agent can be invaluable in handling issues such as postponing foreclosure sales and dealing with difficult lenders.

Another option is a loan modification. This is a process by which the lender agrees to change the terms of the mortgage. This may include a reduction to the principal, a reduction to the interest rate, or changing a variable rate note into a fixed rate note. All of the changes can be done through your lender directly. There are companies that will help you with a loan modification for a fee, but make sure you research them extensively before you sign up for their programs.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com

In real estate, a short sale is a sale in which the proceeds of the sale fall short of the balance owed on a property’s loan. This usually happens when the homeowner or the borrower can no longer pay the mortgage. In this sale, the borrower will have to present the sale proposal to his lender rather than risk foreclosure. The lender then will decide that selling the property at a moderate loss is better off than pressuring the current debtor. There should be consent by both parties before a short sale is done.

A homeowner facing foreclosure lets say, for example has an existing mortgage of $400,000. He or she could write an offer to the lender for a sale of $320,000, which is accepted as full loan payment. Why do banks accept this sale proposal? Simply because banks dislike excessive bad loans and excess inventory on their books and will look for a chance to sell the property without a big loss. Lenders too will favor a short sale than an auction because of the many fees involved in an auction, and it would be much convenient taking the discount and be done with the unnecessary headache of an unpaid loan. It does not really matter what kind of house or the condition it is in, all mortgages can be discounted. The best homes to perform short selling are those that need plenty of repairs and work because a lender could give you a bigger discount. Typically, there are additional considerations that could convince a lender to agree to this type of sale, including if the home is located in a bad area where sales are low. Short sales could affect a person’s credit report, although its impact is normally less than a foreclosure. This could remain on his or her credit report for seven years, depending upon the other credit information. It is possible to be able to get another mortgage one to three years after a short sale.

Full Article

For More Information Visit: http://www.floridalawattorney.com