"THE NEW REALITY TO FORECLOSURE AND WHY THE GOVERNMENT DOESENT WANT YOU TO LOOSE YOUR HOME"

With the passing of the Obama’s Making Home Affordable mortgage modification Program it gave many Americans the glimmer of hope as they grasped for the last breath of the American Dream. However this was an illusion as nearly ninety percent of Americans did not qualify for the program or have been rejected all together.

Homeowners in the thousands have lost their homes prior to the program taking root and many are now facing foreclosure as the job number continues to increase. With the picture I just described it looks contrary to the title of this blog itself but don’t despair as with all Social Programs the lag time is usually several months to a year before the process really begins.

As the next wave of mortgages resets begin to transpire in 2010 banks are in overtime working with anyone making some effort to show that they want to stay in their home. In fact the length of time you are able to stay in your home once the bank has filed the foreclosure process depends on entirely how much effort or should I say how much of a fight you are going to put up.

The blunt truth is home ownership is one of the lifelines of the economy and without people able to keep paying on the loans or taking on any new loans the economy will not expand and therefore the government will not be able to collect revenue from taxes. If you ask any financial planner, or banker your home is your biggest and greatest investment. With that said it is the government’s best interest to do whatever assistance it can to keep you in your home, refinance your home, or provide additional incentives for you take on a new loan to purchase another home.

GOVERNMENTS INTEREST IN YOU KEEPING YOUR HOME

If you are facing foreclosure, there are many ways to delay the process almost indefinitely. Remember it’s in the government’s interest to keep you in your home, and these strategies don’t require any additional money out of your pocket so don’t fall for the bombardment of letters that promise they can get you to stay in your home for a fee.

Tax revenue and keeping the American Dream in the minds of millions of American tax payers is all the incentive the government needs. In fact the government is giving an 8,000 tax credit for new home ownership and with The Fed now having the majority of interest in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac there is talk of refinancing up to 150% of your loan amount.

So there are some cases where you can stay in your home for up to two years without making a payment. However do not think staying in your home without making a payment for two years is the norm. These are in frequent at best but what I am trying to press upon you is that mass foreclosures cause’s economic chaos and panic these two things the government will avoid at all costs. So with that said it pays to know that you have the government on your side to help stay you in your home. If you and have a firm understanding of the foreclosure process, how it works and what to do step by step you will not have to loose your home.

COMMUNICATION

So let’s start at step one your communication. It is imperative to not get overwhelmed by the situation and not answer the calls that will certainly exasperate the situation. If you ignore the summons you are looking for them just to get you out. Why give in! With just some communication you could keep the ball in your court and foster a solution and as a minimum more time.

So when they call talk to them; Explain your situation in detail, inform them you are looking to do whatever is possible for you to remain in your home. Reference the home affordable package by President Obama this will give you at least a week or so as they mail out the package to you.

Your next form of communication is to ask for a repayment option plan. Explain to them on what payment is feasible for you at the moment and then based on that what that payment is see what could be done to schedule additional payments. The payments suggested will probably be at a higher payment than your original payment.

“If your thinking is well if I couldn’t afford the first one how will I be able to make a higher payment”? There is a method to this madness by asking to be put on a repayment plan you are buying time.

Your object here is to see if in the next month if things could possibly change maybe some extra income may come in from another source or sources; if you lost your job then possibly you could land another one or take on a second job. At very least the process of setting up a repayment plan will show that you are putting in effort and give you the most elusive and valuable asset which is time.

There is one point to remember as a caveat for your own sanity in the communication process and please don’t forget this WHEN EXPLAININING YOUR SITUATAION BE PREPARED TO SAY THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER TO SOMETIMES 4 OR 5 different people. I say this with the hope that this doesn’t happen. However the staff inside these lenders are less than ideal and the level of professionalism and basic caring may not be evident. SO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND BE PATIENT THIS IS ALL IN THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION.

ADDITIONAL STEPS IN SAVING YOUR HOME
1) If you find that you can’t make the obligation of the repayment plan option after your first missed payment call in again and state an amount you can send and see what could be done on getting your reinstated on another payment plan. Again you’re looking for time here.

2) The next step if the repayment option will not work is to ask for a loan modification in which the bank will send you out a detailed package in which you will explain your case through your financials and a hardship letter. You will have to provide w’2s, bank statements, tax records and anything else under the sun to determine if they can give you a newer LOWER loan payment. This process is a minimum of 30-60 days in some cases it could extend to 90 days depending on how swamped the bank is. If they ask you to provide something additional financials to help make the decision this presents more time for your favor.

What happens if you are not given the option of the repayment plan or refinance Obama making homes affordable plan and your bank moves on to straight giving you the foreclosure summons?

1) Answer the foreclosure summons do not just think this is the end begin a dialogue by calling the number on the notice and the person of contact.

2) See if a “forbearance” could be done this is simply another form of modification in which the payments are held off and you make payments at a targeted date in the future they usually again at an amount close to double your individual payment.

3) Request a court hearing in which you could plead your case this process alone provides a minimum of 60 days additional time even if you loose the case.

4) Finally if you really want to stay in your home and I do not recommend this but I know it has been bound to work is to file bankruptcy.

THESE ARE SOME BASIC STRATEGEYS BUT FOR A COMPLETE SYSTEM ON WHAT TO DO:

There is a course that I highly recommend to stop foreclosures and it is by a person who has survived one it is: To Stop Foreclosure Remember, you can do this without paying for Lawyers, Agencies or for any service at all. Click here to save your home What happens during a foreclosure by ALFRED SANT.
It is well worth the small amount of money he is charging for his course.