Monday, September 7, 2009

How to Avoid Foreclosure by Writting a Hardship Letter

By Bryan Burbank


One of the biggest problems many Americans live with today is the threat of foreclosure. With so many Americans losing their jobs and the economy shakier than ever the reality of losing your home is realer than ever. In this article I will highlight some of the things you may want to put in a hardship letter to your lender.
First, I suggest you call your lender the minute you feel you may have a problem paying your mortgage. You want to ask for a loan modification. It is essential you follow their requirements exactly. Many lenders require a hardship letter. Along with the letter they may want to see pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns. It is very important that yo do all of these things quickly because time is of the essence. Also while you are working with the bank make sure you keep making your payments.
Second, how you write the letter doesn't have to be very difficult. Make sure you include your name address and loan number and always include a phone number where you can be reached. Tell them in detail why you are behind on your loan. If it is sickness be specific with amounts. If you have lost your job document it. If you have had excessive home or auto repair spell it out and provide documentation. Most important spell out to the bank how a loan reduction will allow you to keep paying your mortgage. Remind them how you have been a loyal customer of theirs for years. You may want to remind them that it is better for you to be paying your mortgage at a reduced rate then for them to be the owner of your home. Fight a good fight, after all it is your home that you are fighting for.
Third, after you have given all the necessary information to your lender stay in touch. You don't want to become a pain in the butt, but you do not want to disappear either. Hiding has never solved any problem. Make sure you have the name and number of the individual who is handling your appeal. Try your very best to keep up with the payments until the lender offers you some relief. If you stop paying and your loan becomes a problem it will be way more difficult to alter your loan. Most important don't give up and keep on top of the situation.
Get Free: Stop Foreclosure Now
How to: Avoid a Foreclosure
Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Real Estate and Foreclosures
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Burbank

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Thursday, September 3, 2009

What You Should Know About Foreclosures and Short Sales

By Tom Tillman

When a borrower can no longer pay their mortgage loan and defaults on the terms of the loan, the bank takes possession of the home. This is known as foreclosure, and has become increasingly common in the United States over the course of the past few years. Foreclosed and soon to be foreclosed on homes can represent a unique opportunity for home buyers.

Homeowners in default or who are in danger of being in default may try to sell their home before it enters foreclosure. This is known as a short sale. Negotiations take place with the seller once the offer is made, and then the offer is sent to the bank which reviews it for up to 60 days. If the bank accepts the terms of the sale, the advantage to the buyer is that the price they will pay will be less than the asking price of the home.

When considering purchasing a foreclosed or soon to be foreclosed home, it is important to remember that these homes are sold in as is condition. In other words, you owe it to yourself to have an inspection performed on the home to check for major damage and structural repairs that may be present before you enter into a short sale agreement.

Sometimes, however, buyers are not allowed to inspect the homes before purchase, so it is important to be very clear about the terms of the sale before entering into it. Short sales can also take some time to process, depending on the bank, the seller, and various factors.

To find out whether or not a particular home is a good deal for you, be sure to check the public records before making an offer to purchase a home. It is important to hire a real estate agent with experience handling foreclosures and short sales. The right agent can handle negotiations and help to protect your interests and guide you through the buying and negotiation process. Your real estate agent can find out whether or not a foreclosure notice has been filed, and how much the lender is owed. This will help you to determine how much you should offer.

Even with the inherent risks, foreclosed home short sales offer buyers the opportunity to purchase homes significantly below market value, and can sometimes allow sellers to avoid the foreclosure process at the same time. Be sure to do your research, and weigh your options carefully before entering into any type of real estate purchase.

FREE access to over 20,000 foreclosure listings REOs/Bank Owned, and Short Sales properties in Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Tillman

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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Huge Profits From Home Foreclosures - Myth Or Reality?

By Bruce Swedal

There is always someone eager to uncover a different method of making tons of money with minimum work. Getting rich fast is the ultimate dream; and late night TV seems to tell us that the easy way to quick riches would be through investments in homes that have undergone foreclosure. On a daily basis, we see advertisements which offer to exemplify secrets in purchasing distressed properties, which will give you profits, within 48 hours.

More advertisements inform us of foreclosed homes existing within the area at low purchase prices or how there are several troubled homeowners who are simply desperate to sell. Is there any truth to this? Can money be made easily by buying foreclosed properties?

Home foreclosure happens to be a process where homes are taken from buyers by somebody with liens against said property. Most lenders initiate this when buyers have not made any mortgage payments for extended periods. Lenders aren't truly interested in taking houses back; they would rather have more cash. This will result in foreclosed houses being sold at auctions so lenders have the chance to recoup the investment.

Because of rising rates of interest and house prices, a lot of people find themselves with mortgages which they aren't able to afford. However, are people truly letting go of houses at auctions for mere pennies? Is it possible to purchase foreclosed homes today to sell them in a week for big profits?

The truth is less exciting than advertisements let on. Here are several reasons why:

1. Auctions come with huge competitions. You are not going to be alone when you attend auctions of real estate. In fact, with such sky-high prices, there will be a lot of bidders since everybody hopes to save several dollars. Most hammer prices on these auctions are sure to be close, if not higher than, regular prices on the market. Competition happens to be fierce.

2. You need to instantly pay in full. If you purchase homes in auctions of real estate, you are expected to instantly pay in full. If you do not have liquid cash in six figures, this may not work for you.

3. Many properties are damaged. This is very common, and you might not get to fully inspect the damage or the property beforehand. Beware.

4. There might be issues with the title. It might or might not be a possibility to get clear titles when it comes to the property. The majority of professionals that purchase such property end up spending numerous hours on title research, placing dents within notions that part-time money can be made like this.

5. Think about the homeowner desperately trying to sell prior to the lender foreclosing on him. The market right now is quite lively. Nobody will sell properties at a third-off when it is possible to simply place for-sale signs on their front yard.

The thought of making a fortune doing this is lucrative for people that market related books. For everybody else, it would be a risk, expensive, time-consuming job.


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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

FHA Foreclosure Listings For Free

By Hector Milla


Of course you can find foreclosure listings involving FHA houses. The Federal Housing Administration is of course a government agency. If the Federal Housing Administration ends their non-profit services for the poor then there would likely be riots in the streets. The FHA is a division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. You can find such free foreclosure listings at the official website for the department that is run by Shaun Donovan.

You must remember that if you are already talking about a home where the Federal Housing Administration has to get involved just to make sure the person who previously owned the home was already likely living below the poverty line. So this means that the home is not located in the nicest of neighborhoods and thus may not be that appealing to many buyers.

Federal Housing Administration foreclosures are available on a state by state basis if you look for it. There is no state that will be left behind. You could be talking about homes in an active college town like Boise, Idaho or a town with seemingly very little opportunity like Colchester, Illinois. Some of the properties in the Midwest that make the federal foreclosure list happen to be farm land so the price of the properties tends to be a bit higher than some buyers are willing to spend on first glance. If you know a lot about farmland you can understand the value of farmland and how lucrative it can be. Of course if you buy farmland this might mean that more bureaucracies end up getting involved in the process.

The United States Department of Agriculture will likely want to know what is going to happen to the land that is being foreclosed upon. Of course if you don't actually do anything with the land as far as growing crops and dealing with issues like that they may not really care what happens to the property as long as you aren't going around and buying crop insurance.

By the way, by researching and comparing the different free foreclosure listing services in the market, you will be able to determine the one that meets your specific requirements, plus the free or cheaper options. This way you will save time through up to date foreclosure listings and money by getting better results over your investment.

Hector Milla runs the Best Free Foreclosure Listings website, where you can see a review of the best rated free foreclosure listing service.

Read our full reviews, plus hundreds of articles and video training about this subject.


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