Loan Mods Not Worth The Excitement
We wanted to take a little time to talk with you concerning loan modifications. One of the more common questions we hear from house owners is “What should we do concerning our house?” The home owners do not want to leave their properties. However, they are either late on their payments or upsidedown with their mortgage. They frequently consider doing a loan mod.
We just want to let you know that the gov’t and the media talk concerning loan modifications regularly. However, they are not nearly as valuable as the gov’t or media would have you believe. There are some good loan modifications that occur. However, less than one in ten truly get approved. Some of you watching this may have by now found this out by applying for a loan mod yourselves.
You should know that there are two types of loan mods, principal reduction and change to rate or payment. A principal reduction is nearly non-existing. Maybe one in 500 get approved. The principal reduction is where the lender says that your mortgage is worth $200,000, but your house is worth $150,000. So the lender redoes your loan for $150,000. However, be aware that if you get a principal reduction you are responsible for the taxes on that $50,000 gift from the lender.
Payment reductions are seen occasionally. When they occur, they are decent short-term fixes. However, most people discover that there comes a certain time when they choose to default it. It still does not address the fact that your house is not worth the value of your loan. We are not saying that the loan mod decision is not for you. However, most people usually end up going to the short sale method. The short sale enables you to get a clean start and qualify to purchase a house in as little as two years.
Most people comprehend that the loan mod did not help them after the first few months. We would love to have the opportunity to speak with you. A short sale is the best option for most house owners looking for help.
If you have questions, get them answered here Pre Foreclosure – Short Sale Company
For more videos on short sales check out Kevin and Fred on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.
Foreclosure is not an option. How to stop foreclosure sale
The last option that a home owner in Mesa, Arizona wants to face when they need to give up their house is foreclosure. Many house owners that can not keep up with their payments feel that foreclosure is the only option available to them. They stop talking to the mortgage company and leave the house, or sometimes stay until they are forcibly removed from the premises. Little did they know that foreclosure is not the only option available. There are many different avenues to take in order to stop foreclosure sale.
Mortgage lenders in Mesa, AZ would prefer that you give the house back, so that they do not have to take it. Taking the house from you costs them extra money. So, while they won’t help you stop foreclosure sale, they would really prefer that the foreclosure process never gets started. The mortgage company would prefer something better than selling the house at foreclosure sale, giving them only a fraction of the houses value. So, in some respects, the mortgage company wants to stop foreclosure sale before you are ever even considering it. Occasionally, the mortgage company will choose to consider a deed in lieu, but there are better ways to stop foreclosure sale. Some of those ways are not widely known.
The short sale is a great option for people that want to stop foreclosure sale. While it is not good that you are considering a short sale or need to stop foreclosure sale of your house, it is THE BEST OPTION for someone that wants to stop foreclosure sale. Essentially, you are already in a bad situation and the short sale is the best option available to you to stop foreclosure sale. Your chances of buying a home in the future are much greater if you utilize the short sale. This is true for several reasons. First, the short sale does very little or nothing at all to damage your credit. Secondly, most mortgage companies will not want to loan money to someone that has had a house foreclosed previously within the last five to seven years. That is why it is so important to stop foreclosure sale. With a short sale, you will have the opportunity to purchase another home based on the same criteria that you purchased your first home, namely you income and your credit score. This puts you in a great position for the future if you intend to buy a home again.
Basically, a short sale works with two scenarios. The home owner, who can not pay their mortgage anymore, finds a buyer of for the home. The purchase price is not enough to cover paying off the existing mortgage. However, because the bank is going to lose money on the home, they will take the offer because they get more from the short sale than they would if they had to foreclose on the home. The lender reduces the balance of your mortgage to pay it off with the sale of the home.
Watch Kevin and Fred, Short Sale Specialists, on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.
More Rights of Homeowners in Foreclosure
Many homeowners are not quite clear on how the foreclosure process works in their state, especially due to differences between judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings. State law and federal lending law may also affect how the process moves forward, as HUD-guaranteed loans or those insured by the FHA can complicate the matter even further.
For mortgages owned by HUD (not just insured or guaranteed by the agency), a type of nonjudicial foreclosure may be pursued even if the state in which the property is located requires judicial foreclosure procedures to be used. The statute is called “Single Family Mortgage Foreclosure” and it replaces applicable state law. Even if no power of sale clause is included in the mortgage contract, HUD may use the nonjudicial foreclosure process.
This clause clearly seems to go against the right to contract, as it negates certain aspects of mortgage contracts used by borrowers and lenders. There may also be unlawful taking issues when the federal government affects foreclosure laws and redemption rights. In addition, there is no required pre-foreclosure meeting or hearing for the borrowers.
In order to sue homeowners for foreclosure and obtain a judgment against them, the lender must prove three aspects of its case:
1. There is a valid mortgage between the lender and borrowers 2. The homeowners are in default of the mortgage contract 3. Foreclosure procedures have been followed according to the law
If the bank does not follow the foreclosure procedures for notice or court requirements, even a sheriff sale may later be voided.
One positive aspect of the judicial foreclosure process is that homeowners can raise claims against the lender that would otherwise have been barred by statute of limitations regulations. For instance, even if the statute of limitations for Truth in Lending Act violations has passed, borrowers may still raise these issues in a defense of a foreclosure case. But if the foreclosure is through nonjudicial procedures, these claims may not be allowed by the court.
All states allow homeowners the right to redeem their property by paying off the loan in full (plus interest, costs, and other applicable fees) prior to the sale of the house. Nineteen states give borrowers the right to reinstate their mortgage by curing the default and paying the amount past due plus applicable costs and fees. This must be done before the sheriff sale of the property in order to be accepted by the lender.
When homeowners file bankruptcy to stop foreclosure or delay a sale, they do not give up substantive or procedural defenses to the bank’s attempts to take their home.
In many cases, the mortgage company does not strictly follow the pre-foreclosure procedures dictated by state and local laws. In these cases, courts have found that strict compliance is necessary for a foreclosure to go forward. Foreclosure is such a harsh remedy to the problem that these strict requirements are necessary for lenders to follow.
If a lender accepts late payments from a homeowner, it may be waiving its right to accelerate the mortgage later on in the case of default. Courts have found that allow late payments and not insisting on future on-time payments may be a waiver of the right to accelerate. The state of Maine goes even further than this and states that accepting a payment after foreclosure procedures have been started but before the right of redemption ends is considered a waiver of the right to foreclose on the home at all.
Nick writes daily articles specializing in how you can save your home from foreclosure while there is still time left before a trustee sale or eviction. Learn to defend the bank’s attempts to take your home, find a reputable lawyer, delay a trustee sale or eviction, qualify for a foreclosure refinance program, and put together a reasonable alternative that will let you keep your property from being auctioned out from under your feet. Visit his site to read more about your options to prevent the loss of a house and understand more about how and why the housing market has been collapsing for several years now: http://www.yousaveforeclosure.com/
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Watch Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver of Group 46:10, Short Sale Specialists, on the daily Short Sale Power Hour.
Buying SHORT SALE HOMES
In the wake of cruel economic times in Phoenix, Arizona, selling and buyer a home is very different. One of the trends in today’s market is short sale homes.
What are short sale homes?
Short sale homes are homes that are sold with a short sale. A short sale is when the seller wants to sell their home before it is foreclosed on. Short sale homes are good for sellers because their credit will not be affected as much as if they go into foreclosure. Short sale homes start with the sellers getting approval from the bank to sell their homes as short sale homes and then they wait for offers.
First You Make an Offer
With short sale homes, your offer will be documented so that you understand you are buying the home as is. You will also be notified by the lender that the seller will not be getting any money from short sale homes and they will not pay any fees usually. Many times, there is not a disclosure statement. For the buyer, this used to mean that you could be buying a real money pit. However, with all of the people that have nice homes and ARM or sub prime mortgages, many short sale homes are in very nice condition.
Then you Get To Wait
When you make offers on short sale homes in Phoenix, AZ, the offers get sent to the lender with other documents like proof of financing. Because short sale homes are flooding the market, this waiting period can take several weeks to several months. The lender, because they are getting all of the money, may wait to receive several offers. You can not specify that you want a response in a couple of days like a normal sale. There is usually no way to know if the lender wants more than your offer or is willing to take less. Patience in the process of buying short sale homes is probably the toughest part, but remember the great deal you will get if your offer is accepted.
When You Get Accepted
If the lender accepts one of your offers on the short sale homes, they will notify you of the time that you have to close. This timeframe is a MUST or the offer will be voided. After the offer is accepted you can have short sale homes inspected. Do not forget this step! You need to know the condition of the property before you close.
The Key To Buying SHORT SALE HOMES
It is absolutely paramount that you find a real estate agent that is experienced in dealing with short sale homes. The agent should represent you only as the seller. Finding someone with the experience in dealing with short sale homes can make the process much less stressful during every step.
Short Sales 101 – What is a Short Sale?
Given the current financial crisis, it would seem that most everyone has heard the term ’short sale’, yet in my day to day work, I find that very few sellers really have a true understanding of what a short sale is or what it entails.
What You Owe Versus What Your Home is Worth
Sellers will find themselves in a short sale situation if they owe more on their mortgage or mortgages than what their home is worth in their current market. In other words, there will not be enough money from the sale of the property to pay off the underlying loan(s). In the case of a shortage such as this, the seller would need to come to the closing with enough cash of their own to satisfy the lien or liens in order for the sale to close. This can be a really frightening and downright impossible situation for someone who must sell their property or face foreclosure.
Can Anyone Sell Short?
Being allowed to sell a home for less than the outstanding lien(s) is up to the lender. In order to be considered for short-sale eligibility, however, a seller will have to prove a hardship such as divorce, medical expenses, job loss, death of family member or some similar situation. In addition, the sellers must be behind in payments and the sellers’ expenses must exceed the assets or income in the family.
Simply owing more than the home is worth–yet wanting to sell–is not a reason to apply for a short sale.
Is it Really that Hard?
Short sales are very time consuming, require a great deal of paperwork, and are not always guaranteed. And in today’s market, a short sale in my area of San Diego is taking an average of four to six months.
Navigating the lenders’ maze can be tricky and fraught with frustrations as well. Getting through to the key people in the appropriate departments is pivotal in possibly preventing foreclosure. In addition, each lender will have its own paperwork requirements. Getting that package from the bank and completing the required documents is essential to even being heard. By hiring an experienced negotiator who works with most, if not all, major national banks, he/she will know what is required by that bank in advance and has forms on file for the sellers use. By knowing how to complete the necessary forms and doing so in a timely manner, the short sale approval process could be shortened by perhaps months.
While it may be easier said than done, it is important for sellers facing a short sale or potential foreclose to consult with an expert. There are resources available to the public such as the Housing and Urban Development website, free credit counseling services, and qualified attorneys and brokers who have had extensive experience in the short sale process. Likewise, there are brokerages who have not only handled hundreds of these transactions but also work with approved end-buyers who understand and will not further complicate the process.
The important thing is not to delay. If you find yourself in financial distress, seek help.
Laura Garrison is a broker and a Certified Residential Specialist who has successfully handled hundreds of short sale transactions for both sellers and buyers. Please visit http://www.odyssey-properties.com for a free consultation and further information.
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STOP FORECLOSURE SALE BEFORE IT STARTS
There are numerous rumors and ideas in Phoenix, Arizona as to how you can effectively stop foreclosure sale. Some people will tell you to declare bankruptcy in order to stop foreclosure sale, but this is only effect in some states. Also, the states that allow you to stop foreclosure sale with bankruptcy filing don’t give you the full truth as this will often times only delay the time that you may lose you home. Other experts out there cling to the belief that clever legal tactics can stop foreclosure sale, but once again, this is just a delay to the inevitable sale of your home. The truth is, as soon as the bank has foreclosed on your home, it is not your home anymore. There are certainly ways to regain possession, but foreclosure means that a judge has already ruled the property now belongs to the lender.
If you were to elect the bankruptcy route to keep your home, there is a possibility that you can have your loan considered for repayment in Phoenix, AZ. Then you and the lender would agree to a new payment schedule. Obviously, bankruptcy has some seriously negative consequences though. Your credit and ability to buy or do many things in life will be tarnished for at least seven years. Generally, bankruptcy should be a last resort. And we assure you, it is not the best option, nor is it even a good option to consider.
If your home has been foreclosed on, there are still options available to you to stop foreclosure sale. However, to stop foreclosure sale is a very difficult thing to do. Essentially, the power to stop foreclosure sale is in the hands of the lender or in some rare cases, a judge.
Basically, what we are trying to impress on you is that you do not want to be in a position to have to stop foreclosure sale. The key is to find a solution before you every have to figure out how to stop foreclosure sale. Foreclosure, or impending foreclosure, is often the result of your inability to pay the lender. So, chances are, without your aunt passing away leaving you a large sum of money or winning the lottery, you will not be able to make the loan current to stop foreclosure and in turn, stop foreclosure sale.
So, quite simply, there is one quality option available to you to stop foreclosure sale. Do not allow the lender to foreclose. How can you do that when you can’t pay the lender? Find someone who is knowledgeable in short sales. The short sale is the SINGLE BEST OPTION available to you.
In a nutshell, a short sale is when you, as the home owner, put your house up for sale at a price for less than the value of the loan. Next, find a buyer at the lesser price. Then, the real estate expert works with you and the lender to convince the lender to take the lesser amount and forgive the remainder of the loan.
Why would the lender take a lesser amount and forgive the remainder of the loan? Because, lenders understand the economics of the situation. They realize that if they foreclose on the home, they will incur more cost and also get a lower price when they sell the home at foreclosure. So, it is in their best interest to take the offer that you are extending to them.
BANK SHORT SALE A GOOD OPTION FOR LENDERS AND HOME OWNERS
The bank short sale is one option that lenders in Tempe, AZ are willing to offer to certain home owners that need help keeping their home from succumbing to foreclosure. Even thought the process is a bit difficult to maneuver through, the bank short sale can offer people struggling to pay the mortgage a much needed break from the financial burden of owning their own home and the responsibility that goes with it.
Bank short sale homes and properties come in a variety of different price ranges and sizes. People who utilize the bank short sale come from different backgrounds and situations that lead them to need a bank short sale. Mortgage lenders have the ability to give the bank short sale option to single family residences, condo dwellers, and even those struggling with their commercial real estate or bare and vacant land. When borrowers can not keep up with their mortgage payments and can not find the financial windfall or means to get back to current on their mortgages , the bank short sale becomes a valuable tool that lenders might offer to property owners.
The bank short sale requires the bank or mortgage lenders approval. The bank short sale is usually handle by a banks loss mitigation department in Tempe, Arizona, as they have the most experience with a bank short sale. The bank short sale means that the home owner sells the property for less than the current mortgage loan is worth.
In most cases, a lender requires that a bank short sale is taken care of by a licensed retailer. In some rare occasions the bank will allow the home owner to hand the bank short sale by themselves. Usually, the bank short sale has to sell within a certain period of time that is set aside by the bank.
Not all banks prefer to use the bank short sale as a means to cope with this financial situation. Those that do allow the use of a bank short sale usually have very stringent rules that must be followed through each step of the process. If the home owner doesn’t follow these rules, foreclosure can be imminent.
Real estate experts agree that foreclosures cost banks an abundance of unneeded fees. By using the bank short sale, the bank can avoid these fees and recoup some of their losses. They also manage to avoid the legal fees and process that goes along with foreclosures.
For home owners facing foreclosure, a bank short sale can be the best option to a bad situation. While the borrower doesn’t get to keep their home, the bank short sale does help the home owner out of the financial burden. The bank short sale does have a small negative effect on a credit score, but doesn’t do nearly as much damage as a foreclosure does.
As soon as a lender allows a bank short sale, the borrower must give the lender information about tax returns, and a bank short sale hardship letter. This letter, for bank short sale hardship, is very important because it tells the lender why the home owner can not make payments.
LOSS MITIGATION Part 2 The Best Way To Avoid Foreclosure
With the abundance of horror stories surrounding Loss Mitigation Departments in Phoenix, Arizona and their inability to keep up with an insane number of requests from defaulting customers, there has to be another way of loss mitigation that can avoid the lender completely.
We truly have an option for loss mitigation that can lead you aware from those horror stories and to a place that will, in the end, result in a better outcome to your current financial situation.
*** Editor’s note: It is important that your banks loss mitigation Department knows about your financial troubles. We are not suggesting through the process described below that you stop speaking to your bank or lender. We are merely suggesting that you find a way to avoid foreclosure by means of another process. The bank and its loss mitigation department will still be involved. However, through the process below, you can remove much of the work from their already full plates.
One of the most successful means of loss mitigation in Phoenix, AZ in recent months has been the short sale of your home. With the help of a real estate agent familiar with the short sale process, the loss mitigation department can play a smaller, but still important role in getting you out of your current mortgage problems.
With the short sale as a means of loss mitigation, a real estate expert will help you avoid foreclosure and he or she will help the bank trim their losses, which is exactly what the loss mitigation department does.
Short sales as a means of loss mitigation are prevalent with home owners that find themselves in the following situations…
-unable to pay their mortgage for a variety of reasons, most commonly loss of job or higher payments because of Adjustable Rate Mortgages
-home owners in upside down mortgages
How does a short sale work?
-you, as the home owner in search of loss mitigation, find a real estate expert to help you with the short sale of your home
-the real estate expert lists your home on the market and finds a buyer that will probably make an offer that is not enough to pay off the mortgage (Bear in mind that you are not searching for a low offer, but with falling home values, it is almost a certainty that the offer will be less than the payoff amount of the mortgage)
-the real estate expert and the home owner contact the loss mitigation department and notify them that they would like to execute the short sale of the home.
-the loss mitigation department, in an effort to cut their losses (which is what they are designed to do) will accept the lower offer as payment in full and forgive the remainder of the balance due on the mortgage.
The benefits of this process are too numerous to mention. It is strongly recommended that you look into this process with a qualified real estate expert that deals with short sales.
Loss mitigation help is in high demand during these trying times. Lenders have departments to handle loss mitigation, but they are overwhelmed. We strongly suggest that you contact a real estate expert regarding the short sale of your home today.
Find foreclosure help Before It’s Too Late
In case you have been living in a cave (which would mean this article is irrelevant to you because you don’t need foreclosure help), we thought you should know that the country is in a bit of financial turmoil. Millions of home owners are facing mortgage problems and thinking about how to get foreclosure help. Never before in history has the foreclosure rate in Phoenix, Arizona been so high. The current administration and congress have been rolling out programs everywhere you turn to help the economy recover. Indeed one of their focuses is on the housing market. They understand that many are searching for foreclosure help.
With banks receiving billions of dollars in bailout money, you would think that they could lend a hand to home owners looking for foreclosure help. However, to date, that has not happened.
If you are one of those unlucky home owners looking for foreclosure help, there are some options available to you. However, given the fact that you may be facing foreclosure, most of the options are not truly a way to find foreclosure help, but rather a way to deal with your impending foreclosure. Here are a few options to consider, as well as our personal opinion on the validity of using each option to get the foreclosure help that you need.
Bankruptcy – filing for bankruptcy in Phoenix, AZ is not really a positive way to get foreclosure help. Depending on the state that you live in, bankruptcy may not even be a possibility in avoiding foreclosure. However, it is an option, albeit the worst option. With bankruptcy (depending on the laws that differ in each state) you may be able to avoid foreclosure, but your credit will be ruined for a minimum of seven years.
Loan modification – With loan modification the chance at receiving foreclosure help is better than bankruptcy. However, the modification of your current mortgage is entirely up to the lender that you are working with. The lender can modify your loan to better fit your needs at their discretion. Since they are also struggling, they may not be inclined to change the terms of your loan as foreclosure could get them more money in the short term.
Short sale – The Short sale of your home is, WITHOUT a DOUBT, the best option available to someone looking for foreclosure help. To be clear, however, considering this foreclosure help is not entirely accurate as you need to start this process BEFORE the bank decides to foreclose on your property. With a short sale, you put your home on the market and find a buyer for it. Then, we you have an offer in hand, you can negotiate with the bank to take the offer even if the offer doesn’t cover the entire value of the loan. The bank will often times accept this lower offer because they understand that they will not get nearly as much if they sell the home at foreclosure. They will also forgive the remainder of the loan to remedy the process.
There are not a great deal of options available to you if you are looking for foreclosure help. However, foreclosure help is available. We feel that your best option, and your only option if you want to come out of this hardship with as little damage as possible, is the short sale.




Fred Weaver is a founding co-owner of Group 46:10. He has been working in the financing/real estate business for over 7 years. Fred began his real estate career by working for a large wholesale bank as a processor and rate/lock specialist for home mortgages. After 2 years in the business, Fred transferred from the banking side of home loans to the mortgage side. While on the mortgage side of financing, Fred gained experience originating mortgages and processing files for Morgan Capital of Arizona, Inc.
Kevin is a founding co-owner of Group 46:10. He began working in the real estate business in 2007 after spending 8 years working in the finance industry for companies such as Bank One, Green Tree Financial, & GE Capital.