Should facing a foreclosure on your home or having to file for bankruptcy protection cause you to have to carry a stigma in our society? This question was recently raised on a bankruptcy forum website. (more…)

Sometimes people who are in financial trouble facing both foreclosure and bankruptcy have extreme reactions to their situation. One such recent extreme reaction, breaking news indicates, ended in death for the homeowner. (more…)

The mortgage foreclosure crisis is slowly winding down, and the mortgage industry is beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. The good news for homeowners is that the light is not likely a train. (more…)

English: Foreclosure signs, Mortgage crisis, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When you have to default on your mortgage, foreclosure is really a serious matter and not a game, but if it happens through no fault of your own, here are a couple of ways you might play the foreclosure game. (more…)

Movoto Real Estate reports that the housing market inventory throughout the United States decreased substantially in 2012, with the number of houses for sale in the housing market declining 27% from December 2011 to December 2012.

The decrease in available homes in the housing market will undoubtedly be great news for homeowners who have seen the value of their homes decrease for the last several years. Now with fewer available homes in the housing market for sale, existing home owners, who are faced with less competition, may be able to sell their homes for higher profits.

There has also been a decrease in foreclosure rates. Lower foreclosure rates coupled with appreciating home values will help the thousands of homeowners who previously had a mortgage that was under water. Experts contend the housing market for 2013 could see more of the same.

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English: Sign of the times – Foreclosure (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There has never been any doubt as to the correlation in the economy to foreclosure rates and bankruptcies.The recent rate of foreclosures provides us with a clearer insight to the state of bankruptcy in our economy. (more…)

English: Sign of the times – Foreclosure (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The same problems and questions often arise on bankruptcy forum websites about negotiating a deed in lieu of a foreclosure, especially after filing for bankruptcy protection. (more…)

“Ask us about FHA loans to Remodel for Veterans” – NARA – 514242 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to several recent news articles, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is due to loosen some very important mortgage guidelines for potential homeowners. The FHA is currently thinking of relaxing its guidelines for the standard waiting period of getting FHA insured loans for certain types of negative credit events. These events include filing for bankruptcy protection, having a mortgage foreclosure, and being forced into making a short sale on your home. (more…)

English: Foreclosure Sign, Mortgage Crisis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If it is not enough that the foreclosure crisis has wreaked havoc on our national economy, scam artists are coming by the droves to take advantage of the ripe conditions for their work. So, here is a quick look at foreclosure and the scams that accompany it.

Foreclosures are a matter of public record in every state of the Union. Scam artists pretty well know when someone has defaulted on their mortgage loan. As a result, the scam artists are quick to prey on the weakest and most in need of help. They often portray themselves as someone who can lend a helping hand at a time those in financial trouble need it the most.

Here are a few things you might want to check out before investing in this kind of help relating to foreclosures:

• Beware of Companies who will negotiate loan modifications for a fee. There are legitimate government sponsored loan modification programs, but none require a third party to help you negotiate the best deal for a modification to your mortgage contract to stay out of foreclosure. If you have defaulted on your mortgage loan, don’t be afraid to contact your mortgage service provider and tell them your predicament. They will put you in touch with a government backed modification program well before the foreclosure process is completed.

• Beware of Companies who promise to negotiate with your mortgage company once you have defaulted on your loan. Some of these companies promise to get you fully reinstated with your mortgage lender for an upfront fee, no matter how many payments you have missed. Many of these scam artists call themselves foreclosure mediators or foreclosure counselors, but whatever they call themselves, there is really no such thing. Mortgage contracts are secured loans, and unless back payments are made in full, the mortgage lender is not likely to partially forgive a loan. To do so may void the entire contract, and the mortgage lender has the full force of the secured loan to protect. They have legal considerations a third party cannot intervene in, and to protect their security, they must follow the laws of the foreclosure process.

• Beware of Companies who promise to buy your home through a secondary contract and without formally closing. Commonly called equity stripping, scam artists will promise to pay off your mortgage loan through a secondary contract to your primary mortgage agreement. They might even ask you to deed over the property to them, and some homeowners do, thinking the signing of the phony deed relieves them of ownership responsibility. The scam artists will rent the house out while the primary mortgage lender forecloses on the property, holding a legitimate lien on the title. Of course, you still owe the original loan the scam artist never paid. Closing at a title company is what protects both the homeowner and mortgage lender against such scams.

As irrational and stupid as it may seem, thousands of people are annually exposed to these types of scams, and many fall for them. Foreclosure is a legal process that often requires knowledge of the law, so when in doubt, it might be best to consult with a lawyer.

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English: Foreclosure signs, Mortgage crisis, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mortgage banks are basically run by a boneheaded lot. I have found that out by observing this past national home foreclosure crisis that has taken place since The Great Recession. Oh, the mortgage banks hire intelligent and qualified people and all, it is just their policies concerning foreclosure I sometime find to be very boneheaded and confusing.

For instance, why wouldn’t a mortgage bank, right away, begin to acknowledge a financial problem with their customer when the customer phones them telling about one? Bankruptcy sites are replete with personal bankruptcy stories where some mortgage company was near impossible to deal with when it came to the bank’s ability to understand the financial plight of their customer. The reporting attitude of the mortgage banks has been that they refused to compromise, understand, or even hear that their customer was having financial problems in meeting the demands of the mortgage contract.

Even after the customer has filed for bankruptcy protection, there are still too many stories of banks not taking home modification seriously, even those modification programs guaranteed by the U.S. Government.

The foreclosure process, especially in the current national foreclosure crisis, has been very costly to the mortgage banks. Not only do they have the cost of foreclosing, they are taking a beating on the sale of the foreclosed homes. Most are keeping the foreclosed homes off the market for better times, but is that really wise?

A home in foreclosure is just sitting out of the market, but it still has insurance, taxes, and upkeep expenses that can keep a constant drain on the value of the home. These expenses make it even harder to understand why mortgage banks will not face up to the reality they need to cut their losses and move on.

Homeowners who have filed for bankruptcy protection understand the costs associated with a home not being foreclosed on. Homeowner association fees can also become an albatross around a homeowners neck when added to insurance and tax issues. So, how does a homeowner who is facing a house foreclosure speed up the process when home modification possibilities cease?

Here are some ways you can legally try to force the mortgage bank to foreclose on your home:

• Cease payments on the property. Mortgage companies have no reason to listen to you or negotiate modification with you until they are sure you cannot make payments on your mortgage contract.

• Live rent free in the home until the Sheriff moves you out. For the time it takes in most states to foreclose, you can save enough money to make your moving expenses and get into a rental. You own the home until the sheriff sends you the eviction notice.

• Try once, and if the bank will not timely modify your contract, move on. Don’t get involved in the games banks play to get new information from you. It is time consuming. Most banks have all the information they need for a modification. If your first try and modification fails, it might be wise to move on.

• Cut your expenses on the home. Once you have defaulted and sure you will give up the home, maintain it so you live in a nice place, but don’t provide payments on unnecessary expenses you are not required to provide. Those would include any insurance on property other than liability and content, property taxes, and homeowner association fees up until the time you file for bankruptcy protection. Once you file, all new homeowner association fees must be paid until the deed is transferred out of your name.

Mortgage banks are not going to cooperate with you as long as they think you might have the ability to pay their original mortgage agreement. Filing for bankruptcy protection and defaulting on the mortgage loans are two ways to convince the mortgage company they need to foreclose.