Foreclosure Help & Alternatives
Every day in our current market, thousands of home owners are finding themselves in the unfortunate position of owing more on their home than it is worth. Many homeowners feel embarrassed about a foreclosure situation because they believe they will be seen as financially irresponsible. In many cases, though, these people are simply victims of circumstance due to the decline in our economy.
Alternatives
There are several alternatives to allowing your home to go to foreclosure. From something simple such as a temporary “forbearance” where the bank helps you get caught up on a few missed payments to a more advanced option like a loan modification where the bank rewrites some of the terms of your loan to make it possible for you to recover financially. If you would like to learn more about these and the other options, fill out the form below and I will sit down with you to go over these and other options available. I’ll explain the pros and cons of each option, which ones you might qualify for, and help you determine which might be the best for you and your family. In some instances, you might find there is a solution that lets you keep your home and get caught up with your payments.
The Short Sale
Simply put, a short sale is a real estate transaction where the homeowner owes their lender more than what their property is worth and they need to sell. In a short sale, the lender must approve and accept less than what they are owed as full payoff (this means they may settle for $400,000, even if you currently owe them $500,000…even if the loss is hundreds of thousands of dollars). If you find yourself in a situation like this and you need to sell, a short sale may be your best option.
A short sale can help you:
- Avoid paying TAXES on the money the bank loses at foreclosure! (Yes, you may have to pay taxes on the amount of loss to the bank if the home goes to foreclosure!)
- Save your credit from the “Foreclosure” ding
- Avoid Bankruptcy
- Avoid Foreclosure
- Relieve the stress that this financial burden has become
- WITH NO OUT OF POCKET FEES OR ANY UP FRONT COSTS OF ANY KIND! …or in other words, you pay us nothing and if we do our job and save you from foreclosure, only then will we get paid by the lender!
Don’t Feel Ashamed
One thing to remember, we’ve all had our ups and downs in life and a lot of other good people are also in the same tough spot as you. Life seems scary when you’re facing the reality of foreclosure and I know how you feel when you just don’t wanna answer the phone any more…
We all agree that we’re in the middle of a national mortgage crisis and that, in many cases, homeowners who have bought or refinanced in the last few years have been seriously abused by unethical lending practices!!
You bought your home and hoped (like we all did) that it would increase in value (and some folks were even promised it would!), but most likely the harsh reality is that now your home is worth less than when you bought it and the value is still declining sharply.
I’ve helped many homeowners in this position to get the help they deserve.
Find the Right Agent
Did you know that nearly 90% of the homeowners nationwide who try to “short sale” their home will end up losing their home to foreclosure due to an uneducated or lazy agent? Don’t allow this to happen to you!
I hate to say this about my fellow agents, but the majority of them that are “trying to help” have not been properly trained and sadly, they are misinformed as to how to negotiate with lenders. Some even get so far as to submit your “short sale packet” and then just sit back and wait for a response! In the end, they simply don’t know how to help you and you will become one of the 90% that lose their home.
Understand that the short sale process is not a simple thing. Any licensed agent can try to sell a home short. And some even manage through the process successfully on occasion. But, it takes experience and hard work to effectively negotiate with the bank. Having a working knowledge of the processes a bank uses to consider and evaluate short sales can mean the difference between a short offer being accepted and a home going to foreclosure.
You Have Control
You own your home, not the bank. This means that until the foreclosure process is totally finished, you have complete control over what happens to your home. No one can force you to do anything you are not comfortable with. Weigh all your options carefully and make the decisions that are best for you and your family.
Not all agents can do a short sale and not all people qualify for my help. I am here for you if your situation meets the following criteria:
- Are you facing a financial hardship that you know will decrease your income?
- Are you getting behind on your mortgage and you’re not sure if you can catch up?
- Or do you just need to sell quickly but your home is worth less now than when you bought it?
If you are facing any of the situations, you probably qualify for a short sale. If you’re not sure if you qualify and just want to find out, give me a call or complete the form below and I will walk you through your options. Believe it or not, you may just need help getting a temporary reduction in your payments to ‘catch up’. In any case, call me to talk about the several options that you may not be aware of.
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