Mortgage Foreclosure Appraisal: What You Need Before You Start

December 6, 2009 by  
Filed under Mortgage

Shellaine Enfesta asked:


Are you one of the millions of Americans under the threat of foreclosure? Mortgage foreclosure appraisal is one thing you might consider to look into as leverage. One of your options before you go into foreclosure is to get a mortgage refinancing and avoid or prevent foreclosure on your property or home. And when you are in the process of mortgage refinancing, the lender may require you to get an appraisal or mortgage foreclosure appraisal before getting your application approved.

It is very important to have a mortgage foreclosure appraisal before you get into the process of foreclosing your property or home. The appraisal is traditionally required by the financial institution or the lender. This method can give the lender or mortgage company leverage over the homeowner or the one foreclosing the property.

This appraisal is needed when you foreclose or try to refinance your mortgage. But if do the appraisal yourself, you will have the chance or opportunity to use the same appraisal deeded to you, and go shopping for another lender or financial institution who can give you a better offer.

Mortgage foreclosures are a scary thing for anybody. But there are things you need to do in order to avoid more problems. Like, do a realistic assessment of your situation. Ask yourself the question; is my financial problem only a temporary one? If it is temporary, then call your lender and ask for forbearance or a repayment plan, the lender might be willing to offer you this plans.

And always pay attention to your mails and phone calls from your lender. Avoiding those calls, mails and emails do not make your problem go away. In fact it will worsen your problem.

Because you have the mortgage foreclosure appraisal with you, assessing the value of your property is a lot easier and you can make a more informed decision on what to do next. You may also have the option of avoiding foreclosure, like selling it before the lender will foreclose your property. Refinancing is another option for you if you want to avoid foreclosure on your home. But beware of second mortgage that is high risk as it may cause your harm than good. Bear in mind that if you have an option of refinancing or taking a second mortgage, your lender will let you know that because they have vested interest in your mortgage.

Armed with the mortgage foreclosure appraisal in your hand, and knowing the dos and donts of foreclosure, you will undoubtedly make best decision on how to deal with your mortgage.



Stop Mortgage Foreclosure This Holiday Season

December 4, 2009 by  
Filed under Mortgage

Jill Borash asked:


The holidays are a horrible time to be facing foreclosure. The entire spirit of the holiday is dampened by the foreclosure that is hanging over your head. But rather than focusing on the foreclosure, focus on ways that you can stop mortgage foreclosure during this holiday season.

Here are a few tips to help you focus on what you can do to stop mortgage foreclosure during this holiday season:

1. Focus on what you can control instead of what you cannot. You cannot control who your mortgage company is or what solutions they may or may not be able to offer you. Let go of blaming them. That will get you nowhere with them. You can control how you react to your mortgage company. You can be pleasant to the people that you talk to at your mortgage company. You can choose to work with the people at your mortgage company. You have a far better chance of being able to stop mortgage foreclosure if you are actively trying to work with your mortgage company.

2. Stay away from giving monetary gifts. If you are facing foreclosure, you are certainly going through a difficult time financially. The holidays are a time when we typically express our love through gifts. Instead of giving things during this holiday season, give other kinds of gifts. Gifts of service or gifts of your talents are often more appreciated than gifts that cost money. Your friends and family will understand that you are trying to stop mortgage foreclosure on your house.

3. Focus on what is truly important to you in your life. At the end of the day, a house is a house. A home is wherever you make it. Your family and friends are far more valuable than the house that you live in. Be sure to take time during this holiday season to be with people who love you, care about you, and support you in all that you do. Remember that these are people who will love and support you as you work on being able to stop mortgage foreclosure on your house and they will love and support you even if you are unable to do so. Be sure that you take time to remember who and what is truly important to you in life.



4 Benefits Of A Short Sale In The Mortgage Foreclosure Process

December 4, 2009 by  
Filed under Mortgage

Sal Farzin asked:


Many homeowners are now finding themselves in a situation where they cannot afford to pay off their mortgage any longer. This maybe because they had taken advantage of the short-term interest-only loans or had their properties valued lower than the loan they have obtained. In such an event, there are some options available to them rather than to go through the whole process of mortgage foreclosure and run the risk of being evicted.

Short sale is a good solution. It involves the sale of your mortgage property at a low price. Keep in mind that banks would rather take the money that your property. As the borrower, you can propose a short sale to the lender so that everybody is benefited. This strategy is getting very common in the U.S.

There are mortgage foreclosure specialists and buyers works as facilitators of short sales. If you’re lucky, you might even be approached by them and have you sign a release or an authorization form of your property. The specialists would write up all the paperwork involved, including the contract of sale. The contract would contain the offered amount and all the conditions involved in the agreement. You’re free to review the document before signing it. Also included in the contract is a hardship letter indicating the reason why you can’t pay for the property and how the short sale can be beneficial to the lender.

A short sale of the real estate can be advantageous to the homeowner or borrower because:

1. It can help them save their credit history

2. It can help them find a solution to an otherwise embarrassing situation

3. It could reduce the stress of finding funds to answer a certain financial obligation

4. It is the faster solution to mortgage foreclosure process

In today’s housing market, there are tons of property inventories. And that causes the banks to lose a lot of money each day. The whole foreclosure process can be a long and tedious one for the lender. For the borrower, it is a stressful, embarrassing, and dreadful experience. Short sale could actually stop the mortgage foreclosure process involved and benefit all parties involved. Through it, the lender gets his money from the sale and the homeowner can walk just away from the property that he can’t pay for any longer. The buyer gains advantage too as he ends up buying a good property at a discounted price.



Avoid Mortgage Foreclosure With Obama’s Home Affordable Refinance Program

December 2, 2009 by  
Filed under Mortgage

Kathlene Easter asked:


Avoid Mortgage Foreclosure With Obama’s Home Affordable Refinance Program

Are upside down in your home loan? Are you making your payments on time? Have you been refused an application to refinance your loan? This Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) just might be able to help you avoid mortgage foreclosure. HARP is expected to be a life saver for 4 to 5 million home owning families.

Obama and his socialist cronies are looking to buy your vote by putting you and your kids deeper in debt with this spendy new program. Anytime the government wants to help me, I have to wonder how much that help is going to cost me.

However, if you are in the market to avoid mortgage foreclosure with government help this may be for you.

If you meet the requirements you just might be in luck to avoid mortgage foreclosure this way.

FNMA or FHLMC must own the mortgage or secure it

owner-occupied property

all mortgage payments must be current

only transaction costs can be rolled into new loan amount I.e. no cash out allowed

new mortgage may not exceed 105% of the property’s current market value

lines of credit and other mortgage loans exceeding the 105% may be subordinated if the lien holder agrees.

You may call these numbers for further information and to see if you possibly qualify for this assistance.

Fannie Mae,

1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 8pm EST). resource_center@fanniemae.com

Freddie Mac

1-800-FREDDIE (8am to 8pm EST) www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure

Some questions you have not addressed by the publicized qualifications:

Can liens on title, like IRS liens be rolled into the new loan?

Will PMI be required if a homeowner doesn’t have it now?

Can an escrow account be rolled into new loan if one doesn’t exist now?

Can a second mortgage or line of credit be rolled into the new mortgage?

Will homeowners whose primary residences are upside down by more than the 105% be allowed?

If you’re making your payments now, lowering your interest rate and payment will only decrease the chances of you defaulting on your mortgage. However, if you waiting for interest rates to go back down you just might be waiting for a really long time.

If you sense you are in any kind of trouble it would behoove your to take action now to avoid mortgage foreclosure possibilities in your future.

WARNING: Program ends in June 2010



How to Use the Law to Help You Stop Mortgage Foreclosure

December 1, 2009 by  
Filed under Mortgage

Jill Borash asked:


You can use the law to help you stop mortgage foreclosure on your home but you need to know what your options are and what you are looking for. Your best bet is to hire a real estate attorney to look at the foreclosure documents you received as well as your loan origination documents for any mistakes.

The Truth in Lending Act may be the perfect ally for you to stop mortgage foreclosure if you want to call into question the validity of your mortgage loan. If you want to go this route, you will need to prove that your originating loan documents were wrong. The area where this really comes into play is if your mortgage company made any mistakes in disclosing vital financial pieces of information. If this is the case, it is possible that your loan itself could be canceled. Here is where it is very important to have an attorney who is familiar with Regulation Z (has many of the detailed requirements of the Truth in Lending Act).

Some truth in lending areas that could help you stop mortgage foreclosure that you might want to have your attorney verify on your loan:

- Your mortgage company having more money in your escrow account than they are allowed.

- Not putting information in the documents that describes how you can get rid of your private mortgage insurance.

- Not adjusting your ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) correctly.

- Not including referral fees to the originator of the mortgage.

If you are going to try to use the Truth in Lending Act to stop mortgage foreclosure, you are going to need to make sure that your attorney goes through all of your loan origination documents with a fine-tooth comb. Any errors, mistakes or discrepancies could mean the difference between being able to stop mortgage foreclosure and losing your home.

Some other legal avenues that you may have available to you to stop mortgage foreclosure are:

- If you can prove that your mortgage company lost any of your payments. Having clear and detailed records on this will be your best defense.

- If you have an FHA-insured loan, you should have received information about preforeclosure counseling. This is required by law for FHA-insured loans.

- If your mortgage company accepted payment from you after foreclosure was filed on the home.