Foreclosure - The Last Resort

Jorge L asked:


I have not been able to pay my house for the past six months, it went into foreclosure and know I got to pay Property Taxes but I dont have the money either. Could all of this affexct my ability to get my citizenship.

Greta

robotdentist asked:


Hi. I have a verbal month to month agreement with my landlord in New York State. She recently stopped paying the mortgage and the house is going to go into foreclosure. I got the paperwork from the attorney handling it back in November. My lanlord states that I have to continue to pay her the rent each month of $400. Is this true? I’ve heard from other sources that I can continue to live in the house with out paying my landlord until the bank gives me a 60 day notice to move.

Thanks for all your help in advance!

Sebastian

Julio Martinez-Clark asked:


Foreclosure is a financial and legal issue. If you attack the issue from a financial standpoint, you must to have cash to pay your mortgage. If you attack it from a legal standpoint, you must be able to find a flaw in the foreclosure lawsuit to dismiss it. I don’t see any other way of stopping foreclosure.

If you are facing foreclosure at this moment, you are inundated by letters from foreclosure assistance companies that charge outrageous amounts of money to negotiate with your lender; the majority of these companies are a scam.

You also get creative letters from so-called “investors” offering free advice and with the intention to make you sell your home to them at a deep discount using deceptive kitchen table closings in which they make you sign mysterious paperwork (land trusts, etc) that basically transfer the title/deed of your home to them sometime taking over your mortgage payments and leaving the loan liability on your name. Some of this “investors” also offer very deceptive “lease-back” arrangements in which they let you stay in your home as a tenant, and they pray that you stop paying rent so that they can evict you so that they can take possession of your house. You also get letters from Realtors® who are trying to make you list your home for sale and paint a rosy picture of the real estate market and the value of your home (Read National Consumer Law Center’s report “Dreams Foreclosed;” one of the best studies recently written about the rampant theft of American’s homes through equity-stripping foreclosure rescue scams).

Last but not least dangerous, you get letters from nice attorneys offering free consultations to make you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy; what these attorneys don’t tell you is that based on research (see studies: The Realities of U.S. Personal Bankruptcy under Chapter 13, and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Successful Versus Unsuccessful Debtors) the overwhelming majority of Chapter 13 filers do not complete their payment plans and are not discharged.

You will also find on the internet a proliferation of eBooks that promise to stop foreclosure magically with names such as “Foreclosure Free Zone,” “The Fight Of Your Life: How To Beat The Foreclosure Demons Smart Solutions For Saving Your Home,” “Avoid Foreclosure And Fix Credit Problems,” ”Foreclosure Help - Don’t Let The Bank Take Your Home!“ In my research, I’ve even bought some of these type of eBooks just to see what’s so magical about them, and found that they don’t have any information that isn’t common sense and readily available for free online. All the advice in these books fall into these categories: 1) Talk to your lender, 2) Sell your home, 3) File for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, and 4) Refinance/Get a loan. None of these books, nor the Chapter 13 attorney, nor the Realtors®, nor the “investors” in their white horses tell you about your legal rights and how you can defend yourself from the abuse of the debt collector attorneys.

Foreclosure is a financial and legal issue. If you attack the issue from a financial standpoint, you must to have cash to pay your mortgage regardless of negotiating a payment plan with your lender yourself or through a foreclosure assistance/consulting company. Bear in mind that when negotiating a payment plan with your lender (sometimes called Forbearance Agreement) , you may be required to come up with a lump sum (usually half of your past-due payments) and proof of income. It’s very simple; if you have sufficient cash and/or income to pay your monthly mortgage obligation, it’s very likely you can negotiate something with your lender to stop foreclosure. If you don’t have the cash and/or the income, you will have to attack the issue from a legal standpoint.

If you attack the issue from a legal standpoint, you must learn about your legal rights and, preferably with the help of a consumer protection attorney (www.naca.net), find a technical or legal flaw in the lawsuit to have it dismissed. These flaws could be hidden in the lender’s debt collection attorney not following your state’s rules of civil procedures (for instance: You were served improperly) or by digging into the foreclosure complaint and court docket to see if there is an actual plaintiff’s proof of ownership of the promissory note, or if the original promissory note has been filed in the court records, or any of the other twenty-something reasons that that could render a judgment void or invalid.

There is no magic in foreclosure. If a homeowner doesn’t pay his or her mortgage, the lender will foreclose on their homes. There is no magical negotiation with a lender that can be done without cash at hand and/or ability to pay supported by proof of income. There is a lot of literature on the internet and in bookstores about the debt collection industry, on how to stop foreclosure negotiating with the mortgage lenders, about how debt collections works, about what to expect from debt collectors, etc, etc. However there is little information about how to navigate the legal system, on how to file pleadings and motions and on how to execute the steps necessary to win the debt collection/foreclosure battle in court. Almost nobody explains to homeowners in simple terms how the legal system works and how they can use it to your advantage to win debt collection lawsuits.



Heidi

Eric B asked:


I see all these things on TV but I want to LEARN all about the tax foreclosure industry before I do anything dumb. If you have had success with anything related to this, please let me know how you started learning about it.

Caden

David Faulkner asked:


The good news for first-time buyers, or those interested in investing, in the Houston residential market is that there are many Houston foreclosures for sale. These Houston foreclosures include both Veterans Administration and HUD properties which have been taken back by the government, as well as residences now owned by the banks and financial institutions which once held the mortgages on them.

The types of Houston foreclosures in which you are interested will make a difference in how you buy them. Your purchasing process will be dictated by the institution which holds title to the property, so if you feel somewhat intimidated finding your way through the various rules and regulations, consult with a realtor experienced in handling the purchase of Houston foreclosures.

Locating Houston Foreclosures

Walk away from any so-called”professionals” who offer provide you, for a fee, with listings of Houston foreclosures; the information is freely available from plenty of sources. If, however, you would like to have a listing of homes in pre-foreclosure, on which the owners may be in default but which have not gone into actual foreclosure yet, you’ll have to pay for it.

A listing of Houston homes in pre-foreclosure may prove well worth its price, because it will direct you to highly motivated sellers who want to avoid having foreclosures on their credit histories.

Realtors who specialize in Houston foreclosures and Internet sites devoted to foreclosures can also supply you with listings.

Houston Foreclosures: A Wide Choice

If you’re looking at HUD or VA Houston foreclosures, you’ll have a better chance of qualifying as a purchaser if you intend to make the property your primary home. These foreclosures are not available as investment properties until the have first been through the auction process. If you do manage to get a HUD or VA foreclosure, you’ve probably landed a bargain, with favorable financing as the icing on the cake.

Bank-held Houston foreclosures, on the other hand, are available both to those looking for residences and those interested in investment properties. Homes in bank foreclosure are acquired more easily than government foreclosures, and can be purchased directly from the lenders, who can also arrange buyer-friendly financing.

If you’d like to make an entry into the Houston real estate market, begin by getting information on Houston foreclosure listings. With a little legwork, and some careful homework, you’ll be on your way to finding the residence or income property you desire, at a price that will give you a Texas-sized smile for a very long time!

If you are losing your home to foreclosure, just remind yourself that you are one among hundreds of thousands who are. Financial difficulties can assault and devastate best-prepared among us, and all that is left is to look forward and keep going.

There was a time when you thought, and your banker agreed, that you were a great bet to handle monthly payments on a mortgage for twenty or thirty years. You had that confidence once, and you can recover it. And when you do, you may find yourself surveying the foreclosures market to save money while putting yourself in your own home once again!



Chelsey

Peter Baptiste asked:


(c) 2008 Peter Baptiste

Do you want to keep your home from going into foreclosure? Millions of people have foreclosed on homes across the nation. There are many reasons for this. There are ways to avoid foreclosure if you are serious about saving your home. These methods include loan reinstatement, forbearance, and a loan modification. The loan reinstatement is the most common way to save your home from foreclosure through the bank.

Many of the things you should consider when your home is going into foreclosure include: - The foreclosure process - Tips on Saving Your Home

The foreclosure process can take up to a year for some people. This is because there are many steps of the foreclosure process. Not every home forecloses in exactly the same amount of time. This process can take six months for some homes and a year for others.

When a foreclosure begins a bank will issue a statement of claim because you have missed at least three payments on your mortgage. Your ability to service the financing of your home will be questioned. The second phase of a foreclosure is when the statement of claim is served to you. The third step of a foreclosure is the bank demanding you sell the home. This will be stated inside of the statement of claim. The bank will give you time to try to sell the home. This timeframe can be up to six months. This period is usually called the redemption period. Toward the end of this period the fifth step is the Order of Sale. This documentation will be served to you as a homeowner. This will include a date when the bank is going to sell the home through an auction at the county courthouse in your local county. The final period is when the home is sold through the auction and you are required to move out of the home. This entire process can be very lengthy.

Some people are not serious about saving their home. Because of the length of time it takes before you will be legally removed from the home, some people live in the home for free right up until the day the home is sold at the auction. If you want to keep your home you should not let the home get past the third stage of the foreclosure process.

There are three primary methods you can save your home from foreclosure. These three methods include loan reinstatement, forbearance, and loan modification. If you are serious about keeping your home you should look at these three options and determine which method is right for you.

The forbearance agreement is a common way a homeowner can save their home. This agreement is made between the bank and the homeowner. The homeowner commonly has an emergency in the household that prevents them from making the monthly payments. They make an agreement with the bank to catch up on the arrearages by making larger monthly payments on the home loan until they are caught up. The bank will usually give the homeowner a six month period. This could double the payments in some cases and may not even be affordable for you. When you agree with the bank on a forbearance agreement it does not stop the foreclosure process. This puts the foreclosure on hold until you are entirely caught up with your payments. If you do not make the promised payments your home will go through with the foreclosure process.

A loan modification used to be the most common method of resolving the problems of foreclosure in the past. This method allows the lender to issue a new home loan agreement with you where all of the arrearages are added to the end of the loan. This would extend the life of the loan but the homeowner can continue making their payments as if they were never behind and everyone wins. This is not a common solution anymore and banks rarely agree to allowing a homeowner have a loan modification.

The loan reinstatement is the third way you can save your home from foreclosing. This method is when the lender has initiated the process of foreclosure and you find a way to pay back all of the missed payments, late fees, attorney costs, etc. These amounts must be paid back in full and zeroed out in order for it to be valid.

There are many positive sides to the loan reinstatement you might consider. These include being able to keep your home without the worry of losing it to a foreclosure. You are back at square one with your monthly mortgage payments. You are not behind and you don’t owe any additional money for late fees or anything else. This is the best method and banks are usually willing to accept this method if you can come up with the payments to catch up.

There is a downside to the loan reinstatement that you might want to consider. The downside is that if you have to borrow the money to be able to pay the bank all of the money you now owe someone else. This may be another monthly payment for you. If you are in the foreclosure process because your monthly payments are difficult to be able to afford you might have a hard time making payments on an additional loan too.

The loan reinstatement method of saving your home from a foreclosure is the most expensive way to save your home and be able to keep it. It is important to remember that if you take a loan out to save your home then you must give the bank the entire amount you owe them including the fees. Do not just pay back the monthly payments you missed or the home may continue to go into the foreclosure process. A bank will not work with you on the loan reinstatement unless you zero the balance out.

You should be sure you can afford to come up with all of the money in this process also. If you really cannot afford to do this you might be digging an even bigger hole than you expected. It may be inevitable that your home goes into foreclosure but you are denying that you really cannot afford it. It is important to know for sure that you really can afford to save your home through the loan reinstatement program.

A loan reinstatement is the most commonly accepted method of saving your home if the bank has started the foreclosure process. It isn’t common for banks to agree to other methods because they want their money. You should be sure that you really can afford your home if you can get out of the hole you are in before you decide to pay off the entire debt.



Dante

ray_ray asked:


There is a home up for auction in three weeks. How do I go about asking the owners if they would like to sell it to me before it is auctioned off? They owe $97,000
I want to offer $110,000 it will pay off there mortage and put a little money in their pocket. If I were to buy it before foreclosure auction it would look alot better on their credit also. How do I ask these people it is such a sensitive subject, and they are probably going through a very hard time right now.

Benjamin

Paris P asked:


I am exploring housing options for the near future, looking to buy my first house and willing to fix it up in order to sell in 3-5 years. I would be living in the house as I fixed it up as well. Is there any differences in buying foreclosed or pre-foreclosed houses vs. buying a realtor-listed house that’s for sale and making a low (but not too low) offer? Will it be worth my while to buy the listed house at a discount or should I go for a cheap foreclosure in order to get the best deal?

Jasmine

Help asked:


Foreclosure has started, getting ready to move now, how long am I liable for the home?

Alexander

Essy asked:


My landlord just told me she is foreclosed on the house I am renting. I’m paid through this month but she said I can stay until probably March.
I want to be prepared for anything since I am unfamiliar with the foreclosure process. When should I start prepping to leave? She declared foreclosure either end of September or early October.

Jayden