Foreclosures and Debt » Foreclosure Process

A Look At Life After Eviction

Jacky — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:16:45 +0000

Dateline’s Chris Hansen checks up on a family that was evicted from their Las Vegas Home a year ago. Look at the video and see how they are doing after the foreclosure process.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Lower Mortgage Rates Wonâ€™t Stem Foreclosures

Check Foreclosure Fees Closely

Jacky — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:11:32 +0000

If it is not bad enough that your lender has foreclosed on your home, but there is a study that indicates the amount of money owed stated in the foreclosure notices may be incorrect! You may not owe as much as stated by the lender or there may be questionable fees charged in the foreclosure process. The bankruptcy courts are finding questionable fees charged to borrowers who file for protection under Chapter 13 Federal bankruptcy laws to try and save their homes in foreclosure and stop foreclosure.

Under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a debtor or borrower must file a statement of assets and liabilities under penalties of perjury declaring all monies owed and all income. A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is also known as a “reorganization plan”. In other words, a Chapter 13 filing allows a debtor to try and get their financial house in order by making scheduled payments to creditors approved by a Federal Bankruptcy Judge. The repayment plan may be spread out over several years to allow the debtor to make payments to the creditor, that may be lower than their original monthly payments. In a Chapter 13 proceeding, creditors must also file a statement to the court declaring the amounts owed by the debtor, before a repayment schedule can be approved by the Judge. This is where there may be some discrepancies in the actual amounts owed by a debtor-homeowner and what the lender-creditor states to the court is owed on the home loan.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. The amounts owed to the lender stated in their declaration to the Bankruptcy court may be inaccurate as in a recent study by Katherine M. Porter, associate professor of law at the University of Iowa as reported by the NY Times.

Tips On Stopping Foreclosure

Jacky — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:54:44 +0000

You have fallen behind on your mortgage payments, and the lender has sent you notices to try and collect the late payments and threatening foreclosure. What can you do to stop foreclosure on your home?

When facing foreclosure, many panic and give up, thinking that there are no other options to stop foreclosure and save their home. Well, here are some actions that can be taken to try and stop the foreclosure of your home!

Before any action, get your financial house in order. Calculate your income and expenses and determine what is really coming in and what is really being paid out monthly. If it is too much to do your own financial analysis, look for a nonprofit counselor that would probably do it free of charge and may also help negotiate with the lender. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, sponsors housing counseling agencies. Click here to find a list of HUD Housing Counseling agencies in your state.

Next, contact your lender and be sure to have an idea what you need from them, like some of the actions below.

Research economist James Gaines of The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, states

Come up with some kind of an answer to the lender’s question of how you propose to pay off the loan eventually. You’re better off to come in with an initial proposal. At least you’ve opened the door in the negotiation.

Try negotiating the following actions with the lender to stop foreclosure.

Forbearance – postponement of payments, for a specified amount of time until you get back on your feet. You are allowed to delay or reduce payments for a short period, with the understanding that another option will be used at the end of that time to bring your account to a current status. Keep in mind, this could result in a higher monthly payment after the forbearance period, since you will have to make up the missed payments.
Repayment Plan – also known as Loan Modification plan, allows you to repay part of the delinquency each month, along with you regular monthly installment. However, if the payments are too high or will be too high, ask for an extension of the loan for another five years, to reduce the monthly payment.

What is Foreclosure

Jacky — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 01:26:49 +0000

Foreclosure is the process where the lender of a mortgage terminates the borrower’s interest in the property secured by the mortgage loan. It is a termination of all rights of the homeowner covered by a mortgage. Once the foreclosure process is completed, the lender becomes the absolute owner of the property.

The trigger of the foreclosure process is when a homeowner misses a payment or fails to make payments of the money due on the mortgage at the appointed time. Many factors can cause this situation, like losing a job, becoming ill and unable to work, divorce and many other scenarios. However, the lender rarely considers any reason valid enough when they don’t get their payments on time.

Foreclosure allows the lender to “repossess” the property secured by the loan, and sell the property legally to try and recover the loan amount. Currently, foreclosures are up nationally 56% according to realtytrac, an online real estate database of foreclosures. So, if you suddenly find yourself in this position facing foreclosure, know that you are not alone!

Remember, the lender generally is not interested in owning your home, and you do not want to lose your home, so it’s time for a compromise!