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Foreclosure Laws - Get Proper Legal Advise If You Are Facing Foreclosure |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 12:02 |
Foreclosure laws can be very perplexing; foreclosures laws vary from state to state. Sometimes general information may be all that you need to start in the right direction. Make sure that you investigate the laws pertaining to you state or contact a real estate agent or attorney to ensure that you fully understand what you are up against and the amount of time you have to get help.
Foreclosures happen when a borrower defaults on the loan. By filing a "notice of default", on the property with the local court system where the property is located. Once the courts make a ruling in favor of the lender the property, generally put up for sale at a public auction. However the is a timeline between the filing of the legal paperwork from the lender and the auction sale of the property, this is where the local laws vary. Depending on the state and circumstances, this timeline is from three to twelve months long.
Lenders or the courts will publish an auction ad approximately thirty days prior to the auction.
However, before publishing the ad the homeowner is served with a notice about the foreclosure and pending auction sale. As soon as the property sells, the title/deed is given the new owner of the property.
If are facing financial hardship, in default on your mortgage payments you still may have a chance to avoid foreclosure, your chances are better if you have not yet receive a notice of foreclosure. Make sure that you do not ignore the phone calls or letters sent by the mortgage company, talk to them, they are not that bad to deal with. Well, maybe they are but ignoring them will not help your situation with them. Generally, they would rather try to work something out then to pursue the process and expense of a foreclosure.
Hiring someone that fully understands and can advise you on the local foreclosure law may be a wise decision on your behalf. They can be the mediator between you and the lender, and protect your rights as a homeowner; many times, they can assist in preventing a foreclosure as well.
Many sites available offer general information regarding foreclosure law, while most provide general information, make sure that you get proper legal advice from an attorney. Remember banks really would rather not foreclosure on your property, however if given no other option the will. The best approach is to educate yourself, ask question, do some research and most importantly do not just roll over and give up, fight for your home.
Thomas Bladecki is the author and can provide additional information about foreclosure listings, current real estate news and conditions on the most popular cities, visit Home Foreclosure Help to get the latest news and information about the foreclosure dilemma. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 12:03 )
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Foreclosure Loans May Save Your Home From Foreclosure |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 12:01 |
Foreclosure loans are available to people that are facing a home foreclosure. If you are having a financial hardship and the bills and mortgage payment are getting behind, you still may have some hope with a foreclosure loan. There are some options to protect your home from foreclosure, and places that offer home foreclosure help by providing valuable information and resources that may be able to help prevent foreclosure.
Foreclosure loans offer borrowers a second chance to avoid foreclosure on your home. Foreclosure loan companies often look at personal finances and credit worthiness of each individual situation to determine if you qualify for a loan. Taking the time to provide the information that a home foreclosure loan requires is usually time well spent.
If you find that a loan is not suitable option there are still other ways to prevent foreclosure of your property. Investigate all the options that you have available before you let the bank take your home.
Reduce your expense, pick up another job or somehow create another source of income. This may be all that you need to protect your home and avoid foreclosure. Reducing your expenses is a priority reduce the all the unnecessary monthly expenses. Cut the cable bill, cancel memberships and shop with coupons reducing your monthly expenses by only a few hundred dollars a month may be the answer to getting back on track.
If you are facing a home foreclosure there are web sites that offer help, use them. They offer valuable information and resources to people that are facing a home foreclosure. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 12:02 )
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Foreclosure Problems? Get Help |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:59 |
When a person becomes late on their monthly house payment, eventually the lender will begin foreclosure proceedings which in most cases will start with a notice of default or a lis pendens recorded with the county where the property is located. There are data companies that collect this information, and sell the information on a subscription basis. That is why, shortly after the notice is recorded, the homeowner is usually deluged with mail, phone calls and people knocking on the door offering various forms of assistance and/or foreclosure prevention. The Stop Foreclosure page on this site covers bankruptcy and investor offers along with some sources for homeowner assistance. This page will just cover Foreclosure Bailout Loans and Lease/Buyback Arrangements that require transfer of the property into someone else's name. Bailout loans are included because there have recently been more and more offerings called a "loan" that in reality is a property transfer.
This page will describe a common method of Lease/Buyback, points where a consumer should pay close attention will be marked in bold. The process begins with contact between the person offering the L/B and the distressed homeowner. The solution presented to the distressed homeowner is to transfer the property out of their name, stay in the home and lease the property for a year or more, then repurchase the property after the homeowner's credit has improved. The fee for accomplishing this is stated as free, or at a very nominal cost. We'll discuss the actual costs further down this page.
The property transfer will normally be accomplished by use of a quitclaim deed, which transfers any interest the homeowner may have in the property into a land trust. If the deed is recorded at the county recorder's office, it is not readily obvious to anyone searching the records that ownership has changed, it only indicates the property went into a trust. It is important to note that transferring title does not remove the owner's obligations under their loan. The homeowner still owes on the loan, but no longer owns the security for that loan. If the homeowner, or the Lease/Buyback purchaser does not make up past due payments and continue making payments, the lender WILL foreclose.
The Lease: Leases can be written with different terms, but a previous homeowner should note that if you are leasing, you DO NOT own the property. Any statements you make, or forms you sign indicating you are the homeowner will not be accurate or truthful. A common monthly rental amount under a lease/buyback arrangement will be 1% of the amount of the property transfer, for a lease period of 12 months.
Property transfer of $100,000 will have 12 lease payments of $1,000 or $12,000<br>
Property transfer of $200,000 will have 12 lease payments of $2,000 or $24,000<br>
Property transfer of $300,000 will have 12 lease payments of $3,000 or $36,000
Lease payments for a personal residence are not tax-deductible and there is no paydown on loan principal, it is just money going to someone else for the use of the space. Remember a few paragraphs up where lease buyback programs are being promoted as being free? They're not. One of the terms that will be written into the lease will be a requirement that the lease payments be on time. If you aren't able to make your lease payments, you'll loose your option to repurchase the property and get evicted as well.
The Loan Discount: Lenders will sometimes allow a reduced payoff for a loan if it is obvious a foreclosure is inevitable and a third party purchaser is willing to buy the property at a price lower than the full payoff. What determines when a foreclosure is inevitable? Commonly, when loan payments aren't being made, and the borrower isn't communicating with the lender. What is a third party purchaser? Someone who is not connected/related to the borrower willing to purchase the property at a price they consider attractive. Lenders generally will not consider a loan discount if title to the property has already been transferred.
The Buyback: The buyback price after the lease period is over can be anything the parties agree on.
One company promotes that they will re-sell the property to the previous owner for 95% of the current market value. Most "damaged credit" lenders will only lend to about 75% of the current market value. So, how's the previous owner going to qualify for financing since their credit is heavily damaged?
They do owner financing. They draft a new mortgage for 90% of the property's value, then they backdate it to the time the lease was originated. They then use the lease payments for verification that mortgage payments have been made on time. The backdated loan, along with its questionable verifications, is then sold on the secondary market. If the previous owner can't come up with the difference between the 95% repurchase price and the 90% loan, they can also get a short term loan from the company.
Are you facing financial difficulties due to your Mortgage, whether it is a loan rate hike, a subprime mortgage or already being faced with foreclosure. When you are not able to manage your household finances, especially your mortgage, that's when times are most difficult. On the other hand, there may be times when you have other pressing finances that you need to attend to. If your income is not enough for all your bills and other payments, you might be forced to skip on your loan payments.
Even if you only skipped a month of payment, this can affect you as a borrower. How much more if you delayed more than a month of loan payment? The worst thing that could happen when you are not able to settle your accounts is the foreclosure of your home. When you are in a situation like this, you have no need to panic. You can get help with foreclosure problems at various professional lending servicing agencies.
If you are looking for service providers, make sure that they have great expertise over the services that they offer. You have to determine how long they have been catering to the needs of homeowners. If they have been into this industry for sometime, this means that they are experts on what they are doing.
Most believe that stop foreclosure laws are designed to hurt rather than help them. Not so. The secret is that foreclosure laws have evolved to protect the borrower--not the bad lender. The secret is out! Stop foreclosure and listen closely and understand why I say this. The foreclosure process gives you, the borrower, specific periods of time in which to: bring your loan current by making up the missed payments (known as "reinstatement"), or pay off your loan in its entirety (called "redemption").
You will get the most benefit out of the foreclosure process if you envision this secret as a "window of opportunity" to resolve your financial problems. During this window of opportunity, you have time to learn about the foreclosure process and implement a strategy to stop the foreclosure. Another basic misconception about foreclosure is that lenders want to foreclose. Nothing could be further from the
truth! Lenders are in the business of loaning money--not owning real estate. They don't want your house back for numerous reasons. Lenders are reluctant to incur the costs of a foreclosure. For example, if your lender is forced to foreclose, it will not only lose your back payments, but it will also incur foreclosure expenses, taxes, insurance, wear and tear while you (or your tenant) live in the property, repair costs to refurbish the property for sale, and a real estate agent's commission once the property is sold. As a result, many lenders will go out of their way to work out a resolution--short of actually foreclosing--if you give them the opportunity. Secret to stopping your foreclosure is communicating with your lender. With the sudden avalanche of foreclosures and defaults, lenders are more eager than ever before to workout a solution rather than foreclosing. Lenders will do almost anything to avoid increasing their overflowing REO inventory of foreclosed properties.
Don't shy away because you've missed payments, divest debt concerned that you will miss some payments in the future, or that your property has already gone into foreclosure. Whether you communicate by telephone, letter, email, fax, or in person, you will have a much easier time stopping (or at the very least, delaying) the foreclosure if you talk to your lender rather than adopting a code of silence. The secret is to negotiate directly with divest debt someone with "authority" at your lender's office. The first step is to determine who your lender actually is. (This is no small feat these days with lenders selling their loans to other lenders like hot potatoes.) If your property has already gone into foreclosure, the first person you will be dealing with will either be the foreclosing trustee, or the attorney for the lender. If it is a avoid foreclosure, you will most likely be contacted by a process server, sent by the lender's attorney. If it is a non-judicial foreclosure, the trustee is responsible for handling the avoid foreclosure process |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 12:00 )
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:57 |
It is a sad reflection on the times to write that it is currently a good time to invest in a foreclosure property. Does that possibility leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable?
Well, it should not, because when buying a foreclosure property you are probably doing the previous owners a favor. By law, once the foreclosure order is finalized it cannot be rescinded in favor of the original owners again, and the longer the house remains unsold, the more painful it can be.
Having got that out of the way, and having acknowledged that someone has to buy it - why not you? It is no surprise to report that foreclosures are up, but to realize that the figures are up 94% over this time last year is quite a revelation to most of us!
A home can be brought into foreclosure once a home owner is at least two months in arrears; a lender can give notice that it will foreclose. The final part of a foreclosure is public auction sale, but before this, the owners do have certain time allowances to bring the loan current. Time varies from state to state.
When we think of a foreclosure sale, to most of us, it is a home coming under the auctioneer's hammer. But buying a 'distressed' property is far more complicated than that. For instance, when looking for a foreclosure you will also come across REOs and short sales.
REOs are not short sales, but some intended short sales can end up as an REO. All short sales are foreclosures but not all foreclosures are short sales.
To further complicate matters; although REO stands for real-estate owned, in fact some bank owned properties are called REOs (meaning real estate owned by the lender). Foreclosed homes can become REOs when the bids have not been sufficiently high enough at an auction. Then the lender retains the property. In the case of an REO, the property is already owned by the lender, through a foreclosure action.
With a short sale, the home is in foreclosure, but has not yet gone to public auction. (In this instance, the lender must agree to accept less than the amount that is owed on the property). This is a legal requirement because this type of sale will save them the problem of dealing with the final part of the foreclosure.
A 'short sale' home is a good investment for a buyer looking for a bargain home. This type of transaction is often portrayed as happening on the court house steps!
All these different scenarios are pointing to the fact that you will probably feel more comfortable working with a real estate agent that has experience in buying foreclosure homes. This way you will know what to expect at each stage of the purchase and you will be forewarned of the procedures.
Apart from the lower price in foreclosure purchases, there is one other difference. Everything moves very fast. Have your financing ready and expect to feel rushed!
Working with a real estate agent who can inform you of the different stages of the process ahead of time and prepare you for each stage may help to ease your mind and offset any unfamiliar feeling of moving into such a large sale faster than you would choose! |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:58 )
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Foreclosures in California - The Effect of Sub-Prime Lending on California Real Estate |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:55 |
Real estate in California is generally a hot topic of discussion. People come to California for the weather and then want to stay and need to purchase a home. As we approach 2009 we find ourselves with the unenviable dilemma of looming foreclosures on some of these homes.
It is not only the newcomers to California who will find themselves in this position, but all of the homebuyers who purchased homes in the last two or three years with little or no down payment and an adjustable rate mortgage. Delinquency on these loans is increasing, even though the rates are lower than for the United States as a whole. Many of these borrowers were either self-employed or had poor credit. Poor credit is defined as someone having a FICO score of less than 620.
These loans are termed sub-prime and have been the target of consumer protection groups who see the next two years as crucial for the survival of these loans. Although the California housing market appears to have stabilized, people are now looking at these loans to see what effect, if any, they will have on the overall real estate market. Sub-prime loans have grown in the past few years so that currently they account for about 15% of all home loans made in California.
The problem arises when these loans reset from their original low interest rates to fully indexed rates.
This happens after one or two years, depending on how the original loan was written. Many of those who took out these loans in order to be able to purchase their home initially will find themselves in a difficult spot. When the loans reset the payments increase significantly and borrowers may not be able to make these larger payments easily.
The economy and job growth in California has continued to grow, but that may not be enough for some borrowers. Lenders will work with those unable to make the larger payments by offering several different options because foreclosure is costly for them and for all parties concerned.
This will be the first time that the market has dealt with the possible default or foreclosure of homes due to sub-prime lending to marginally qualified buyers. Whatever happens during the next two years will be indicative of how loans will be underwritten and what qualifications will be required before buyers are able to purchase homes with little or no down payment.
Lessons will be learned during this time that will enable the lenders to take whatever action is deemed necessary and prudent to avoid problems like these to occur in the future. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:57 )
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How Does Foreclosure Impact Your Credit Report? |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:53 |
How does a foreclosure effect your credit report is a perplexing question. This is because Fair-Isaac Company, who started the credit scoring system, will not share this information. What complicates the issue even further is that all the credit information reported is calculated into the individuals' credit score as it occurs. The credit score is updated instantly whenever there is an inquiry, otherwise it sits waiting for some person or institution to access it.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:55 )
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How Long Can I Remain In The Home For After The Home Has Been Foreclosed On? |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:50 |
In june of 2008 over 176,000 foreclosures were filed throughout the country. Yes, that is in one month. The other months this year have produced similar overall numbers as well. The number of foreclosures is definitely an immediate concern and it really is too bad that so many people are dealing with this devastating experience. First off, let me say that I am not promoting allowing your home to go into foreclosure. However, if you have exhausted all of your options and you simply have no way to avoid having your home foreclosed upon, this article will provide some information that will prove useful.
One of the most common questions asked by consumers who are going through a foreclosure is, "how long can I stay in my home after my home is foreclosed on before I have to leave?" Foreclosure can be an embarrassing enough event to go through let alone having to worry about coming home one day and either finding your home locked up by the county sheriff or your belongings thrown out of the home on the lawn. Nobody wants to take the chance of that happening, especially if you live in a neighborhood with a lot of friends that are unaware of your financial situation.
So how long can you remain in your home after it has been foreclosed upon or do you need to move from the property as soon as the foreclosure process is started? A homeowner can remain in the home all the way up through the time of the sheriff's sale of the property. You do not have to vacate the property immediately after finding out your home is being foreclosed on. The sheriff's department will not come over and board up your home, change the locks or throw your personal belongings out on the front lawn while you are at work. You are still the homeowner of record until the home has been bought via sheriff sale. Therefore, you still have a right to remain in that home until the home is transferred to someone else through the sheriff sale. Many times your lender will buy the home back through sheriff sale and this will put the home into their name and remove you as the owner of the home. You can wait until the sheriff comes to the home at this point to evict you, however, you may want to simply consider leaving as soon as the home has sold through the sheriff sale.
Therefore, even after your home is foreclosed upon you may still remain in the home because you are still the owner of the home. Most foreclosure processes can take anywhere from as little as 2 months up to as long as a year. Although in rare occasions the process has even taken up to 2 years. You will be able to remain in the home until you are evicted and it is highly recommended that you begin saving as much money as possible to prepare for life after foreclosure. Expect to pay larger deposits up front for things such as rentals, utilities, and phone and cable services. While foreclosures are not the most pleasant of life's experiences, you can still make the best of a bad situation by remaining in the home and saving up as much money as you can. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 July 2008 11:53 )
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Foreclosures
