Avoid and Stop My Foreclosure! Save Your Home!

American Foreclosure Crisis Isn't Over

2016-05-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

American Foreclosure Crisis Isn't Over Is a Article Written By Robert Hennelly Of Money Watch, CBS News.

This is the Link To The Actual Article American Foreclosure Crisis Isn't Over

I Think This Article is important to the American People Because Many People Think That The Crisis Is Over. Well Everyone Except Those That Are Still Losing Their Homes.

Click Here>>>>>>>>> If You Are About To Lose Your Home Listen To This Video First

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By ROBERT HENNELLY MONEYWATCH January 26, 2016, 5:00 AM

America's foreclosure crisis isn't over

With Goldman Sachs (GS) recently agreeing to pay $5.1 billion to settle claims related to its role in the 2008 mortgage scandal, the firm became the latest big Wall Street bank to reach a deal with the U.S. government. As part of the settlement, $1.8 billion is to be set aside for programs to help homeowners who are still trying to fend off foreclosure?

Yet nearly seven years since the Great Recession ended, the question remains: How well have these anti-foreclosure programs worked? It depends on whom you ask and where they live.

Back-stopping the nation's banking system was the top federal priority during the height of the 2008 financial crisis. But out of the $475 billion that Congress authorized for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), $46 billion was supposed to help millions of struggling families avoid foreclosure.

A subsequent 2014 settlement between prosecutors and Bank of America (BAC) netted an additional $16.6 billion, of which then-Attorney General Eric Holder said $7 billion would go to "provide relief to struggling homeowners, borrowers and communities affected by the bank's conduct."

All told, between the programs administered through the Treasury Department -- like the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) -- and the pools of money committed by Wall Street banks as part of their settlements, tens of billions of dollars have been set aside to assist families facing foreclosure by modifying their mortgage terms so they can remain in their homes.

Today, foreclosures are down nationally, and the number of mortgages that are current on their payments is on an upward swing at 93.9 percent, according to a report issued last month by the Office of the Controller of the Currency. The OCC survey is based on an analysis of 42 percent of the nation's mortgages.

The number of homeowners who are "underwater," with a house that's worth less than what they owe on their mortgage, was down to 4.3 million in the third quarter of 2015, compared to 5.2 million in 2014, according to CoreLogic, a real estate analytics firm. For context, back in 2011, 11.6 million households were underwater.

Mark McArdle, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for financial stability, told CBS MoneyWatch that the Obama administration's efforts to help homeowners played a pivotal role in these improvements to the housing market.

"Treasury has a variety of programs to assist struggling homeowners, with the goal of helping to prevent avoidable foreclosures and stabilize communities," McArdle said. "The Home Affordable Modification Program has helped more than 1.5 million homeowners avoid foreclosure, while the Hardest Hit Fund has assisted more than 250,000 ‎homeowners across participating states."

McArdle acknowledged this effort isn't complete. "While the housing market has recovered in many parts of the country," he said, "several areas and states are still struggling, and we will continue to help homeowners and communities in those places still recovering from the housing crisis."

However, critics of the government's anti-foreclosure strategy have never been hard to find. While the Justice Department pursued large payouts from the Wall Street banks instead of criminal prosecutions, the Treasury Department created a multibillion-dollar suite of programs, which induced the very same banks to service the mortgage modifications with billions of dollars of taxpayer-funded incentive payments.

In 2013, Christy Goldsmith Romero, special inspector general for TARP, warned that homeowners were defaulting on their modified loans at an "alarming rate." In the IG's most recent quarterly report to Congress in September 2015, the rate of default on these reset mortgages increased greatly over time.

For borrowers who first sought mortgage relief under HAMP when the program was launched in 2009, the redefault rate is nearly 53 percent. Overall, more than a third of people who have participated in the program over its lifetime have redefaulted.

"The longer a homeowner remains in HAMP, the more likely he or she is to redefault out of the program," Romero's office concluded, a damning indictment for an initiative that has already far undershot the Obama administration's prediction in 2009 that it would help upwards of 9 million homeowners adjust their mortgages to avoid foreclosure.

From 2009 through 2015, 2.2 million households applied for a trial modification, the first step to getting a permanent reset, but roughly 786,000 canceled. Of the remaining 1.4 million granted HAMP modifications through Treasury, some 467,000 ultimately redefaulted.

This wave of redefaults cost taxpayers $1.8 billion dollars in TARP funds that were paid as incentives to the banks and mortgage servicers to participate in the modification program.

In most states, 35 percent of homeowners could not keep the terms of their modification, setting themselves up for another default or foreclosure. In some states the default rates are running even higher: For example, it's 44 percent in Mississippi, 42 percent in Louisiana and 40 percent in Nevada.

According to thousands of calls received on the SIGTARP hotline, problems with the banks and mortgage-servicing companies that handle the mortgage modifications are contributing factors to the default rate. Complaints about lost paperwork and clerical errors are common. According to SIGTARP, so-called "dual tracking" is also an issue. That's a practice in which the servicer of the HAMP mortgage will continue to pursue foreclosure, even while the homeowner is in the HAMP program.

"Nobody wants to deal with the reality that these mortgage modifications were not affordable long term," said Kathleen Engel, a research professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston and author of "The Subprime Virus: Reckless Credit, Regulatory Failure and Next Steps." Said Engel: "[The mortgage modifications] were all predicated on the property values appreciating in value, but they actually declined."

The national aggregate drop in foreclosures masks troubling trends in many of the communities where property values have continued to drop, pushing more families deeper underwater, according to John Powell, director of the Haas Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. He said in many American cities, especially in minority neighborhoods, the number of foreclosures and abandoned homes have severely depressed real estate values since the 2008 collapse.

"When the government was saying the crisis was over," said Powell, "we had thousands of neighborhoods in places like Ferguson, Missouri, where a disproportionate number of homes were underwater and the government did not step in."

According to "Underwater America," a report published by the Haas Institute, 71 of the 100 cities with the highest rate of underwater households have a population that's more than 40 percent African American and Latino. All told, more than 10 million Americans live in one of 395 so-called "hot spot" ZIP codes, where between 43 percent and 76 percent of homeowners are trapped in underwater mortgages and heading for foreclosure.

For community activists hoping for a sustainable long-term housing turnaround, the key challenge has been to break this cycle of depreciating real estate values, often exacerbated with higher property taxes as municipalities scramble to make up for a shrinking tax base.

"If you don't help us with $20,000 to tear down two derelict houses on a street, you will see people walk away from $200,000 mortgages on that same street," saidJim Rokakis, vice president with the Cleveland-based Western Reserve Land Conservancy and director of the Thriving Communities Institute. Rokakis has pioneered the creation of urban land banks to help hard-hit communitiesdemolish derelict structures and refurbish what can be saved.

In some Cleveland neighborhoods, one in five homes are abandoned compared to one in 10 across the whole city. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are 2.5 million vacant homes in the hardest-hit 25 American cities.

Late last year, Rokakis and his colleagues made a persuasive case in Washington documenting that in neighborhoods where derelict structures were removed, the rate of foreclosure declined. The argument is based on a detailed study that the Western Reserve Land Conservancy had commissioned. Both Congress and the Obama administration signed off on a $2 billion appropriation to fund the demolition of these "zombie" homes in the hardest-hit states as part of the recently enacted $1.1 trillion government spending bill.

Yet community activists say the fact that so many homes across America were permitted to fall into disrepair is proof that the federal response just hasn't been aggressive enough to contain the damage from 2008. "I commend the Department of Justice for taking on the banking industry," said Frank Ford, an attorney and senior policy adviser with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. "But when they had the leverage, they did not close these settlement deals in a way in which the proceeds could hit our streets fast enough."

WikiHow- Stop Foreclosure Proceedings

2014-09-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

How to Stop Foreclosure Proceedings

If You Are Having Any Immediate Foreclosure Issues Go Here

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Foreclosure is a legal process that allows a mortgage lender or municipality where you pay property taxes to seize your property to pay off what you owe in payments or back taxes. However, just because the lender or county files a foreclosure complaint against you doesn't mean they'll automatically win. Knowing how to stop foreclosure proceedings may help you keep a roof over your head for a lot longer and even save your property outright.

Steps

Trying to Work with the Lender

Reach out to the lender and explain your situation. If you think you'll be at risk for missing a monthly payment or possibly several, putting you at risk of foreclosure, reach out to your lender immediately. Don't sweep the problem under the rug. As weird as it may sound, it's in the lender's best interest not to foreclose on you, as it costs close to $30,000 by some estimates[1] for the lender to foreclose. That's time, hassle, and money down the drain for the lender; they want to avoid foreclosure if at all possible. Talking to your lender will start a dialogue in which both parties can talk about possible solutions before foreclosure becomes the only option.
- Let the lender know if your problems are temporary.[2] If you've incurred unexpected medical bills or have been laid off, for example, the lender is more likely to give you a reprieve until you've got your head above water. They might ask you to make a payment in one lump sum, or even freeze your monthly payments if you're lucky.
Try to modify the loan in your dialogue with the lender. As far as the lender is concerned, 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. That means they'll often be willing to modify the terms of your loan to get you paying something, even if it's not the original monthly amount.
- Try to extend the amortization period. Amortization period is a fancy word for the life of the loan. If you make the life of the loan longer, your monthly payment will go down.
- Change the interest rate. The interest rate of your loan is determined by your credit rating, as well as other factors. Suffice it to know that it can be lowered in order to make monthly payments more manageable.
- Switch from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) usually start off with a pretty low interest rate and then shoot up over the life of the loan. They look nice to start off with but they actually end up being pretty expensive. Switching from an ARM to a fixed rate — where the interest rate stays the same for each monthly payment — can save you a lot of money as well as make the monthly payment much more manageable.
Ask for forbearance. Asking for forbearance is a temporary way to stall the foreclosure proceeding, but it works in a lot of instances. Forbearance allows you to either pay partial payments or no mortgage payments for a specified time agreed upon by you and the lender.[3] You must, however, eventually pay the full amount forbore. You may agree to one lump sum payment to catch up on your mortgage or make extra payments in addition to your monthly mortgage payments.
Consider hiring a housing counselor. A housing counselor will work on your behalf to get your finances back on track and find a compromise between you and the lender so that foreclosure can be avoided. A good quality counselor will usually be a good investment, especially if they help you hold onto your house.
- Be weary of those housing counselors who "guarantee" a stall or stop in the foreclosure process. These counselors often charge exorbitant sums (think thousands of dollars) and sometimes only stall the proceedings, leaving you no better off than you were to begin with. Visit the Department of Housing and Urban Development's website to see a full list of approved housing counselors.
If you do decide to fight the foreclosure, file a written answer to the foreclosure complaint. Filing an answer and attending the hearing stops the lender or county from obtaining a default judgment against you. Research the defenses to foreclosure — these are the reasons why the mortgage lender or county shouldn't win, and they are listed below.
- Select the defense to foreclosure that fits your circumstances.
- Write an answer, including your defense to the foreclosure.
- Submit the written answer to the county court where the lender or municipality filed the foreclosure complaint.

Fighting the Foreclosure

Make the lender "produce the note." When you sign a mortgage document, there's a promissory note that lenders are supposed to keep that details all the specifics of the loan agreement. During the housing boom, unscrupulous lenders underwrote so many loan documents and filed them away or sold them off, content simply to know they had made money. Now, many of the documents cannot be found, partly because they were sent off when the mortgage was securitized. The short story is this: if the lender cannot find the note, foreclosure can effectively be postponed, if not stopped completely.[4][5]
- Making the lender "produce the note" can be effective, especially if the lender used less-than-savory means of getting you to agree to the loan, but it's not a long term strategy for success. You can buy a lot of time if the lender can't produce the note, but in most cases you won't be able to stop foreclosure once the note is found.
Consider selling the house before the house is auctioned off. If you can manage to sell the house before the foreclosure of your home actually clears, you can keep whatever equity you still have invested in the home.[6] It may be hard to sell your home on such a quick turnaround, but it's definitely possible, especially with the market heating up. Read here for more tips on how to sell your home quickly.
Question the chain of title. When a property is about to be foreclosed on, a database attempts to make sure that the ownership of the mortgage — from the time you signed the papers up to the present moment — is clear and unambiguous. This way, the courts can recognize the legality of the foreclosure. Because so many mortgages were bundled into complex securities and traded on the marketplace, the chain of title is often not clear and unambiguous. If you can successfully question the database that keeps track of the chain of title, you may be able to keep your home.[7]
- The database that keeps of the chain of title is called the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS. It was established specifically in order to track the chain of title, a tall task given the rate at which many mortgages were being securitized and then traded. But some courts are skeptical of MERS's legitimacy. One popular foreclosure defense rests on forcing the lender to independently verify the chain of title without using MERS.[8]
- In order to save your home from foreclosure using the chain of title defense, you're probably going to need a lawyer. This may be a bit more expensive than some of the other options, but it's a defense that's quickly gaining traction.
Negotiate a deed in lieu of foreclosure. If you have little other option, you can always ask the lender's loss mitigation department if they're willing to accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure. This is a document where you legally agree to transfer ownership of the deed over to the lender in exchange for the ability to walk away owing nothing to the lender.[9] If you don't think you'll be able to hold onto your house, this option can be especially attractive if you owe a significant amount on monthly payments in arrears.

Stopping Foreclosure by Declaring Bankruptcy

Understand personal bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is the process of eliminating some of all of your debts in exchange for either regular payments or a seizing of your property.[10] Although it may not seem like an enviable option, it's the smartest way out of an underwater mortgage for many homeowners. When you file for bankruptcy, the foreclosure proceedings can be stopped with an automatic stay.
- Qualify for bankruptcy. In order to qualify, you have to complete a means test, pre-bankruptcy credit counseling, as well as acquire the correct paperwork such as tax documents.
Decide between filing chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy. There are essentially two different kinds of bankruptcy declarations, each with their own unique rules and specifications. As they relate to stopping a foreclosure, they are briefly described below:
- In chapter 7 bankruptcy, you ask to have most, if not all, or your debts discharged by the courts.[11] In exchange for this discharge, the courts can take any property not exempt from collection, sell it, and distribute the proceeds to your creditors. With chapter 7, you won't be able to keep your house, but you will be able to stall the foreclosure for at least a couple of months.
- In chapter 13 bankruptcy, you agree to a plan to pay back all or most of your debts over a certain period of time. The time you have to repay the debt, as well as the repayment plan itself, depends on how much you earn, as well as the types of debt you currently own. With chapter 13, you should be able to keep your home, especially if you think you'll be able to make payments in the future. The repayment plan usually lasts three to five years.
File your bankruptcy petition with your local U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Meet with a lawyer and declare your bankruptcy. Start making payments. After a while, attend a meeting of the creditors. This is a meeting between you and a bankruptcy trustee. However, your creditors may also attend. This meeting will give you a better sense of where foreclosure proceedings are at.

What Not to Do in Foreclosure

Do not sign the title of the property over to another company. Some companies lure desperate families into a trap by promising to get the mortgage current and then re-sign the mortgage back over to you. Yet this rarely happens. More often than not, the company pulls equity out of the home, lets foreclosure proceedings continue, and dumps the home like a bag of wet peanuts. Worst of all, there's nothing you can do because the title of the property is no longer in your name.
Do not seek counseling from a non-HUD approved organization. Seeking counseling is an important tool for many homeowners fighting to keep control of their home. Yet many sharks take advantage of people by demanding steep up-front fees and interest rate hikes after the dust has settled. Be sure to vet any counseling service you use on HUD's list of approved housing counselors.
Do not avoid court documents or requests. Although out of sight, out of mind may be a decent coping strategy for some of life's problems, it's generally not a good way to hang on to a house. Promptly honor any requests that come from either the court or lender, as failure to do so may result in hefty fees and even legal trouble.[12]

Warnings

You can complete and file bankruptcy on your own, but you may need a lawyer to help you. For example, the trustee may require you hire a lawyer to attend the meeting of the creditors.

Sources and Citations

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Stop Foreclosure Proceedings. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Foreclosure Investing

2014-09-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

The Pros And Cons Of Investing In Foreclosures

Buying foreclosures is no doubt one of the ideal chances to earn money in today's economy. As with any sort of business endeavor, there are risks entailed. Investing in seized residential properties offers excellent opportunity to get residences dramatically under market, but there are some risks such as significant study, underlying lien troubles, lasting carrying costs and also a number of others. If you want to take the opportunity on a home or two you could prosper ultimately.

ARE YOU LOOKING TO INVEST IN FORECLOSURES?

Confiscated residences can be bought at numerous stages.There is the pre-foreclosure stage, then the auction stage as well as lastly the REO phase each of these presents their very own set of pros as well as cons. Familiarize on your own with each of these various kinds of foreclosures, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for every way, you might manage to stay away from a pricey blunders as well as problems through the procedure of purchasing house foreclosures.

Look at the possible advantages and disadvantages at the numerous stages of a foreclosure:.

Pre-Foreclosure Stage.

This is show business where the resident is still responsible of the home. The funds is in default and also the tension from the lenders is merely starting. The property owner is typically in a position to market the property quickly as well as prevent the repossession procedure entirely. This indicates hue financial savings and large prospective revenues for you.

Pros.

20-40 % rebates on the price quote value.

Low or no deposit, as a result of the integrated equity.

Study as well as examination opportunities.

Sales arrangements that are pliable.

Disadvantages.

Homeowner could not be reachable.

Intense competitors, numerous investors are shopping these kind foreclosures.

Time to research records and court filings.

Confidential or hidden liens against the residential property.

Foreclosures available here

Public auction Stage.

Auctioned residential properties normally supply the best prospective revenue when acquiring foreclosures. An auctioned residential property is sold during a public auction to the highest prospective buyer.

Pros.

Greater discount rates could be as higher as 35-50 %.

Great ROI, return on financial investment.

Greater potential earnings.

Cons.

Home inspection is typically not offered.

Postponed auctions mean important time lost and also research squandered.

Huge down payments that must be paid at the time of public auction.

Incomplete study could cost you a great deal of money.

You might not succeed by attending the auction at all.

Discounted Houses

REO Stage.

An REO happens when the lending institution retains the residential property after the public auction stage. If the quotes are not high, sufficient throughout the auto the lender will certainly bid on the home to seize control and also re-sell it themselves. The property has no value to the loan provider up until the home sells; in this case, the loan provider is usually encouraged to sell the property quick.

Pros.

Price cuts of 5-18 %.

Clear title, free of cost of all liens.

Back tax obligations are up to day.

Lenders may do the repair works, or deal added discounts.

Cons.

Low ROI, return on investment.

Research should be really through.

Prospective for loss eventually.

<<<<<< Are you looking to buy a foreclosure? >>>>>>>

How Does Bankruptcy Stop A Foreclosure

2014-09-07T17:48:00.000-05:00

Can A Bankruptcy Stop A Foreclosure

Can your foreclosure be stopped with bankruptcy? Well the short answer is yes.

The long answer is find out the details pertaining to your specific ordeal and act accordingly. Remember, this is your home, and you are attempting to save it.

Also before I share this video with you, let me give a disclaimer here. I am not a lawyer. I am not giving you legal advice in anyway. I am simply sharing information that in the past has helped others to save their home from foreclosure.

<< Ask A Lawyer Specific To Your State

A couple of other great recommendations to consider, that I believe will be a great help to your fight of keeping your home from foreclosure are:

1). A Layman's Guidebook To Fighting Foreclosure

2). What Lies In Your Debt

Join Us On Facebook @ Stop My foreclosure Now

Bad Credit Mortgage Lenders

2014-08-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

Things You Should Know About Subprime Lenders

By Carrie Reeder | Published 07/3/2005

Interest rates and fees vary between subprime lenders just like regular mortgage lenders. Just because you have bad credit, that doesn't mean you should accept the first financing offer from a subprime lender. Take the time to do your research, and you can make sure you are getting the best deal in terms of interest rates and fees.

It’s A Service

Subprime lenders take risks that the average bank refuses, namely loans to people with bad credit. As a result, subprime lenders charge higher interest rates and fees to ensure they make a profit even with the higher rate of loan foreclosures.

Compare Online

The best way to compare interest rates and fees of subprime lenders is to go online. You can get a straight answer on rates and fees from a number of lenders by entering your information online. When you are comparing between lenders, remember to enter the same information for each lender so you are getting a quote for the same risk level.

Rates And Fees Vary
Interest rates and fees can vary as much as 5% between subprime lenders. While a few dollars a month may not seem much, over years this can mean the difference of thousands of dollars. You should also compare closing costs and other fees in the financing package which can also add up to hundreds of dollars.

Apply Online

Once you have compared companies and found the best lender for you, you can finish the process by applying online with the subprime lender. Mortgage lenders will process your information and send out the paperwork for your final approval and signature. The whole process can take a matter of days.

Read Your Paperwork

Whether you are refinancing or buying a home, make sure you know what type of deal you are getting into by reading the paperwork the subprime lender sends. If you have any questions, you can contact the lending company by email or phone. You can also take the paperwork to a lawyer to get their opinion. You should be comfortable with all the terms before you sign.

Online subprime lending companies means people with bad credit can now find reasonable mortgage loans. To view our list of recommended bad credit or subprime mortgage lenders online, visit this page:

Carrie Reeder

Carrie Reeder is the owner of http://www.abcloanguide.com http://www.ezerk.com. They are both informational websites with informative articles and recommended resources about various topics.

View all articles by Carrie Reeder

Veterans Losing Their Homes

2014-08-29T17:41:00.000-05:00

Why Are Veterans Losing Their Home's?

A huge question to ask nowadays is " Why are veterans still losing their homes to foreclosure".

I know some have come to this page just to see the numbers. The problem with that is if the numbers are what some might consider low compared to national averages. Then we walk away with a warm and cozy feeling that the problem is being handled. When that is far from the truth.

I submit to you that if just one veteran is in foreclosure, and loses their home it is one too many.

They will still be subject to the pain and suffering of watching their family and selves being put out in the streets. ( Believe me it hurts and not to mention, stressful).

To my fellow Veterans, I have 4 links I want to make you aware of.

The first is:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs- foreclosure

The second is:

Department of Veterans Affairs- Delinquency Assistance

The Third Is:

Department of Veterans Affairs- Foreclosure Alternatives

The Fourth & final you need to hear this information and make a determination if it is something you want for yourself:

I recommend that you click the link below to be introduced to this information. It will help you. Knowledge Is Power When Applied.

What Lies In Your Debt???

Please Comment - Share - Like

For Veterans That Need A New Loan or Plain Refinance:

God Bless The Veterans Everyone Of One Of Us, To keep Our Home.

Home Owners In Trouble!

2014-08-29T11:50:00.000-05:00

Real Estate Bubble, Rising Interest, Variable Rate Loans Concern Fed.

By Greg O. Bacon

Hurricane Katrina, floods, earthquakes, high fuel prices, shrinking pocketbooks, and now, worries over variable interest rate loans are discussions heard throughout the nation.

With mounting concerns by the Fed over rising inflation, there is a serious push to increase the current rates of interest. This may help to curb inflation, but will also have a devastating effect for millions of homeowners tied to variable interest rate loans. As rates go up, so do most underlying mortgage payments, placing an even greater stress on those who want, or need to sell their property.

For these concerned homeowners, many are beginning to find themselves in an ‘upside down’ sales position. In other words, decreasing home values in some areas of the country are already leaving owners in the dire position of owing more on their property than the current market price will bring. In addition, rising mortgage payments coupled with slower real estate sales, are forcing more owners into foreclosure, and in some cases bankruptcy, which is currently on the rise and heading toward one of the highest levels in U.S. history.

In an effort to curb this combination of economic pressures, and for saving equity wealth positions, many homeowners are now resorting to selling their property as a, For Sale By Owner. In doing so, they are saving large portions of equity profit that would otherwise be paid out as a real estate commission.

What many owners have discovered is that a 6% rate on a $200,000 home is in fact, $12,000. If their equity wealth position is $24,000 on their property, then they have effectively paid 50% of their profit to a real estate broker, not 6%! This financial inequity is created because the 6% commission is being charged on the gross price rather than on the net proceeds from the sale.

Add to this, the standard 2 1/2%-3% normal closing costs for each transaction, also calculated on the gross price, and again, a home owner’s wealth diminishes even further! To avoid this loss, an ever-increasing number of owners are opting to ‘do it themselves.’ In an attempt to help homeowners succeed on their own, the following five basic steps are being provided as a solid foundation in the For Sale By Ownerprocess:

Step #1: Determine A Fair Market Price For The Property. This can be done by visiting a local Title Insurance Company and having them run price comparisons for ‘SOLD’ property (over the past two years) within a 2-block radius. Using ‘sold’ prices in an immediate area will help establish a price/value range and trend a homeowner might effectively use for marketing their property.

Step #2: Connect With An Attorney and Escrow Office. One of the first connections to establish is with a qualified real estate attorney. This attorney will be used for helping guide the homeowner through the legal portion of the transaction and for finalizing any Offer To Purchase (also known as Earnest Money Agreement). The best place to start looking for a qualified real estate attorney is at the same Title Company used for researching the property value. Larger Title Companies usually have a full service escrow department for closing transactions. In addition, they can also provide a good alliance with some of the better, local real estate attorneys. By choosing the right Title Company in the initial research phase, it can prove to be a one-stop-shop for helping solve many of the home-selling challenges.

Step #3: Find A Mortgage Lender. Now that the attorney and escrow office are lined up, a good mortgage lender will be needed for helping to qualify purchasers and ultimately, for financing the transaction. My recommendation is that at least two conventional bank lenders, and one or two mortgage brokers are contacted for this purpose. The reason for having choices is that each lender will offer different financing packages. It is this loan diversification, which will open a wider range of financing opportunities when working with buyer prospects.

For completing these first 3 steps, the homeowner should figure on creating one ‘Action Day’ where all research and connections are finalized. At the end of this day, a complete sense of control and organization for the selling process should be accomplished.

Step #4: Advertising and Marketing. Now that the attorney has been chosen (and contact has been made), a location for escrow and closing the transaction has been determined, and all mortgage lenders lined out, it is time to place the yard sign and begin advertising.

There are many sign companies found on the Internet for purchasing a For Sale By Owner yard sign, and one that may be of interest is Victory Signs at:http://www.victorystore.com. However, for immediate service, a homeowner might also check out the offerings and pricing from their local sign shops.

As for advertising, the most effective ad placement will be a clearly written classified ad stating the most unique feature of the home. This targeting of the ad copy will help to draw out the one most likely prospect that will purchase the property. When writing the ad, it should be kept economically viable remembering that serious house hunters will read all ads within in a column, whether they are promoted in bold type, or not! Knowing this information can help to keep your ad costs lower.

The other most important real estate advertising to consider, is through creating a simple flyer that will be placed in a clear plastic holder attached to the outside yard sign. This flyer can also become an effective advertising tool when used as a handout at all open houses.

From my own research, almost 60% of homebuyers actually locate their homes by driving the neighborhoods where they intend to live. Realtors have known this for years, and that is why yard signs are so heavily used in promoting property for sale. If signs were not effective as a marketing and branding vehicle, agents and brokers would resort to advertising only through display and classified advertising media channels. But they don’t! So, it quickly becomes apparent this is an effective means for marketing any property. And one you do not want to overlook.

As a final note on this subject, make sure the flyer box on the yard sign is always kept full of flyers for the people who are driving the area. To help in creating the most professional looking sales flyers at a reasonable cost online, a good source to check out is: http://www.myfsbo.com.

Step #5: Writing Your Offer. When initially meeting with a chosen attorney, the homeowner should also ask him/her how they would prefer the initial offer to be drawn up for a prospective purchaser? At this time, the attorney will also be able to provide a list of what questions need answering and any other legal paperwork required for state compliance. The attorney can also provide good initial direction for making sure negotiations hit the most key elements when consummating the sale. This initial pre-sale legwork helps to alleviate many future concerns. Once again, proving there is no magic formula used for selling real estate or for writing an Offer To Purchase. What it really boils down to is the intent of the seller and buyer for consummating a fair and legal transaction between them, and with full disclosure.

In Summary: If you find yourself at the mercy of rising interest rates and variable rate payment adjustments, these five, For Sale By Owner steps, can help you to move beyond traditional marketing methods, potentially avoid foreclosure, and help save more of your equity wealth position. Taking these steps can also help to alleviate stress-causing unknowns from misinformation and lack of preparedness.

About The Author: Greg O. Bacon, President of MXMRQ® Corporation, is a former sales and operations manager for Coldwell Banker® Real Estate, and is the author of:“Warrior Economics – Taking Back Your Home Selling Profits! A Complete For-Sale-By-Owner Program.” For more information in regards to this money saving marketing system, the Master Real Estate Resource Center, or the author, click on: www.MXMRQ.com

P.S. if you want to compare mortgage rates, have the banks compete for you. Click Below to check it out.

MORTGAGE REDUCTION IS POSSIBLE

2014-06-30T22:14:00.000-05:00

Reduce Your Mortgage, Starting Today

Did you know mortgage reduction is still possible.

I know what people are saying. It won't work. It takes to long. I don't want no hand out.

All these things could or could not be true. However you will never know unless you try.

This company makes it easy. Just take the time to allow them to help you.

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Click This Link: MORTGAGE REDUCTION MADE EASY

Read through the entire page. FILL OUT THE FORM.

Here's to the real success of you lowering your payments.

No Money Down Home Loans

2014-06-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

There Are Still No Money Down Home Loans Available

No matter what you've may have heard, you can still buy a home with no money down, and you can do it regardless of your credit or your income situation. For more information and assistance please see:

*****No Money Down Home Loans*****

My Personal Experience With Foreclosure

2014-06-19T01:08:00.001-05:00

What Happen To Me During Foreclosure

Immediate Foreclosure Issues Click Here

SEE The Actual House here. Brick Front Lower & Upper blue Siding.

My name is Charles T. I was a homeowner until March 05, 2010

when I lost my home to foreclosure. Let me give you a brief recap

of what happen to me.I built my home new in Chicago, Illinois, and

closed Oct. 29, 2006. I put down $13,000.00 and moved into a

beautiful home. We loved our home. In 2007 it was appraised at

$240,000.00 THEN THE MARKET WENT SOUTH. My bank went belly

up. National City Mortgage . It was then bought by Bank Of America,

who promptly sold it to PNC. Next PNC sold it to Saxon Mortgage,

Who in turn sold it to Kandour. Who then Bundled it, and sold it to a

company of private investor's out of Colorado.

I worked for the Chicago Transit Authority who laid off 1500 drivers

in Jan. 2010. I was blessed to keep my job, but our hours

were cut. I went after a refi and was blessed to get a closing date.

but as things would go, I was set to close on that Friday Sept. 19,

2008 and the Monday before on Sept. 15, 2008 Lehman Brother

went belly-up. The whole credit and Financial worlds collided & the

markets dried up and they cancelled my closing. Talking about being

between a rock and a hard place. Man I thought I would lose my

mind. I tried to get a modified loan and could not. NACA fought

for me, but the day before my house was to sell a caseworker called

almost crying, (WE WERE CRYING), saying they were sorry, but they

could not save my home.

( I found out why the Obama plan, and most loan modifications

don't work . The big banks bundle and sell our mortgages to small

investor's who are not required by government to do loan

modifications, because they took no bail-out monies.) So they have

no restraint to foreclose.

I have since learned of several ways to stop them. Just one of the

ways would have saved my home.I can't even begin to tell you how

much HELL my family went threw. My wife is very sick now from this

experience. I don't want anyone to go threw what we did. Please

check the record My Address was 6429 S. Honore st. Chicago, Illinois

60636 . I didn't tell you the worst of it. My home lost its value From

$240,000.00 to the last 2 CMA's were $9,400.00 and $10,000.00.

Believe it, I said Nine Thousand four hundred dollars. My taxes went

up this year to $4,200 a year. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Do you know

they refused to do the loan modification for $67,000.00. Greed at it's

purest form. I have provided a link for you to consider. IF I WOULD

HAVE KNOWN BEFORE I GAVE THEM MY KEYS I WOULD STILL BE IN MY

HOUSE! Take a look! Get the information and give them a FIGHT.

Save Your Home. GOD BLESS YOU! I HOPE YOU KEEP YOUR HOME!

2014 Foreclosure Stats

Were you aware under the new rules, REGULATION X which

became

effective Jan. 01, 2014 , at any time during the life of the loan,

a borrower facing foreclosure, could now challenge the QM

status of their loan. The borrower could claim that things were

not done correctly and that they didn't have the ability to repay

the loan. He or she could be granted an injunction against the

foreclosure, and could receive up to three years interest, which

could be offset against his or her indebtedness.

I Highly recommend Clicking the link below for some amazing information to help you.

Click Here!

Foreclosure Process

2014-06-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

Foreclosure Process State by State

FORECLOSURE PROCESS BY STATE

^Click The Link Above To See Your States Process ^

BEEN A WHILE

2011-02-11T13:44:00.001-06:00

I Just want to encourage everyone that is battling Foreclosure. Keep up the fight for your Home.And If you are in the Casper, Wyoming area and about to lose your home. Send me an e-mail @ damccctrimm@yahoo.com, I have some solutions that will help you keep your home, or get out from under it with your Credit and Good Name Intact.

How's Everybody Doing?

2010-10-14T00:29:00.000-05:00

Just a short note to encourage U. Continue to fight for your home. You are not in the fight alone. By the Grace of God He will bring you threw. You can make it. I know sometimes this statement sounds cheap while U are in the middle of the battle. But I am praying for you. For he alone has the power to Turn It Around.
Remember there are loans to help U.

Click on the link SAVE YOUR HOME for more information

HOME LOANS AVAILABLE TO SAVE YOUR HOMES

2010-10-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

Home Loans Available To You, and Other Loans Also.

My Personal Experience With Foreclosure...... Read more

Hello Everyone. I thought I would post this info on the blog. I have found a great source of funding for home loans. Doesn't matter what you situation is. You can get funded.You heard me right, THERE IS MONEY TO HELP YOU.

With the country going in the direction of halting foreclosures while they investigate, why not use this time to get the much need funds to become current. Click on the link:

Okay Let's Talk About What No One Really Want To Say Out Loud. What is that you say?

I Need Money- Money- Money

Let me ask you a very important question !!!!!!!!!!

Do you have a situation in your financial world right ????

I know you got here because of a possible foreclosure, but are you

In need of a car? Behind on your mortgage? Bills, Bills, Bills

Credit card debt. Just to name a few. You don't want to miss this page.

Go to All Solutions Network see how It can be a help to you.

Racial predatory loans fueled U.S. housing crisis.

2010-10-04T13:44:00.002-05:00

This article was posted on the Wall Street Journal that I think would be of great value.Check it out Charles T.

By Nick Carey

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Predatory lending aimed at racially segregated minority neighborhoods led to mass foreclosures that fueled the U.S. housing crisis, according to a new study published in the American Sociological Review.
Predatory lending typically refers to loans that carry unreasonable fees, interest rates and payment requirements.
Poorer minority areas became a focus of these practices in the 1990s with the growth of mortgage-backed securities, which enabled lenders to pool low- and high-risk loans to sell on the secondary market, Professor Douglas Massey of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and PhD candidate Jacob Rugh, said in their study.
The financial institutions likely to be found in minority areas tended to be predatory -- pawn shops, payday lenders and check cashing services that "charge high fees and usurious rates of interest," they said in the study.
"By definition, segregation creates minority dominant neighborhoods, which, given the legacy of redlining and institutional discrimination, continue to be underserved by mainstream financial institutions," the study says.
Redlining is the practice of denying or increasing the cost of services, such as banking and insurance, to residents in specific areas, often based on race.
The U.S. economy is still struggling with the effects of its longest recession since the 1930s, which was triggered in large part by the housing crisis, which was in part triggered by the crash of the subprime loan market.
Subprime lending refers to loans made to consumers with poor credit and others considered higher risk. They tend to have a higher interest rate than traditional loans.
The study, which used data from the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, found that living in a predominantly African-American area, and to a lesser extent Hispanic area, were "powerful predictors of foreclosures" in the nation.
Even African-Americans with similar credit profiles and down-payment ratios to white borrowers were more likely to receive subprime loans, according to the study.
"As a result, from 1993 to 2000, the share of subprime mortgages going to households in minority neighborhoods rose from 2 to 18 percent," Massey and Rugh said.
They said the U.S. Civil Rights Act should be amended to create mechanisms that would uncover discrimination and penalize those who discriminated against minority borrowers.
The study is published in the October issue of the journal.
(Editing by Paul Simao)

Need Help With A Foreclosure

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF FORECLOSURE

2010-09-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, just wanted to share something I was just made aware. I am just amazed at the effect foreclosure is having on the States. It seems to me that stopping foreclosure should be the number 1 topic in congress.. But anyhow, Students that are coming home from college after school, are finding that because many of their families have gone threw foreclosure, they have no place to go. Many of there parents are needing to stay with extended family members.This is a terrible feeling. How do I know. WELL, when I came home from the military back in 1977, my Mother had just lost Her home in foreclosure. I came home to her living in a mission. Which only gave me 30days to find a place.It put me on the streets. HOMELESS. I wonder how many others are being made homeless thru foreclosure. That's enough for today. looking for your comment.