You missed a house payment and now you are getting calls from the mortgage company.....
NOW WHAT??????
What to do:
Do call your lender and explain your situation.
Keep in contact with your Lender
What not to do:
Ignoring the phone calls and letters from the Mortgage Company.
Here is why.....................and we at Bettina Settles Realty ,LLC can help you with this.
You have several options and ways to keep your
home.
Let me give you a hypothetical example:
A Homeowner acquired a low interest mortgage loan within the past few years
and also
consolidate some of their high bills. During that time the Homeowner was still
working and had no trouble paying for the mortgage.
The company the Homeowner worked for fell on hard times and
let the buyer go. All of a sudden the Homeowner who was able to pay for the
mortgage could not keep up with the payment and fell behind. After a few
months of missing the mortgage payment the foreclosure notice arrived.
Most everyone who is in this form of situation either files for
Bankruptcy or just walks away from the house and lets the bank take the
house back. But there are other options called “work- out”, "short-sale",
and "pre-foreclosure".
Reasons for being late on your mortgage payment:
Typically, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures result from an
unexpected financial crisis. A job loss or medical illness that leaves
homeowners unable to pay the bills. But now experts are warning that
homeowners who, thanks to low rates, have taken on more debt than they
should have, face a growing risk of mortgage delinquencies and
foreclosures.
Get out of a bad situation. If you're a borrower with an ARM that is
about to see a rate spike, and you're clearly going to be in over your
head, it's time to make some hard decisions about your ability to remain
in the home.
Most often people in this situation choose to sell the home and downsize
to a more affordable home, or rent. But because mortgage rates have
remained so low, homeowners may be able to refinance.
Consider a "work-out."
When selling your way out of potential foreclosure isn't an option, it's
time to bring in the lender. Ideally a homeowner should contact the
lender as soon as it's clear a payment is going to be missed. The clock
starts ticking on the foreclosure process after a payment has been
delinquent 90 days. Homeowners who reach out early are more likely to
succeed in avoiding foreclosure.
Through their loss-mitigation department, lenders may allow homeowners
to modify their existing mortgage terms, through a workout, to avoid the
expense of proceeding with a foreclosure. A foreclosure can cost lenders
more than $50,000 in attorney fees and closing costs.
Banks don't want to take ownership of homes. They are not in the
business of selling Real Estate.
Workouts typically take the form of a bill-repayment or
loan-modification plan.
In cases where borrowers have faced temporary financial hardships that
they've now put behind them, lenders may allow a portion of the missed
payment’s, say 1/2 or 1/4 of the monthly payment due, to be added to
payments going forward until all the missed payments have been made up.
In cases of a current job loss or illness, a homeowner may be eligible
for forbearance, where a lender will agree to suspend monthly payments
for a period of time, say six to 12 months, until the homeowner can get
back on his feet.
Loan-modification programs generally are granted when an individual's
financial circumstances have changed for the worse, with no end in
sight. They are essentially refinanced mortgages without any upfront
costs. The lender may change the terms of the loan entirely, either by
extending the loan term to make the monthly payment more affordable, or
rolling the missed payments into the mortgage balance to bring the loan
current.
Either way, with a repayment plan or loan modification there generally
aren't any direct fees, but the borrower can end up paying more in
interest payments on the loan over the long haul. For example, a
homeowner with a $250,000 mortgage on a 6% 30-year fixed mortgage who
has missed three $1,500 payments could have the $4,500 tacked onto the
loan, increasing it to $254,500. The bump would result in the
homeowner's paying $5,213 in additional interest over the life of the
loan.
It's up to the homeowner to explain what is wrong and work with the
lender to come up with a solution. Take a hard look at your financial
resources and your basic living expenses. Then consider what kind of
payments you could realistically make. You'll also need to
present your lender with copies of your pay stubs, monthly bills,
medical bills and financial accounts and tax records. If you've suffered
an illness, a letter from your doctor explaining your condition can be
helpful as well.
Above all, be truthful in what you can afford and be prepared to explain
how you plan to come up with the money to cover the loan. For example,
Ms. Monroe, the homeowner, was able to prove her determination to keep
her home by taking on two part-time jobs to cover the one she lost
while she looks for a better-paying steady full-time job.
When a "workout" doesn't work out because lenders aren't willing to
negotiate a workout that you can agree upon, or if you feel
uncomfortable approaching the process on your own, consider turning to a
pro. Local organizations, such as the regional offices of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now may be able
help homeowners negotiate workout packages with lenders for little or no
cost, or direct them to legitimate, for-profit mediation services.
But beware "foreclosure rescue scams." No doubt by now you've seen the
flyers: "We Buy Homes for Cash." The National Consumer Law Center last
month released a report showing that scam foreclosure-mediation services
are rampant.
Read this report to learn more about what to look for and what
sales
pitches to avoid before you start shopping for professional help with a
foreclosure.
Finally, even if you're comfortably carrying your monthly payment take
nothing for granted. Create your own foreclosure-prevention plan by
socking away at least three months' worth of living expenses to help you
weather any short-term financial crisis.
IN SHORT;
What is Loss Mitigation?
Loss mitigation used to be referred to as
"Asset Management." It is the process of alleviating (mitigating) losses
to the lender and the borrower. Loss mitigation is guided by a desire
to decrease financial losses for the lender and keep borrowers in their homes.
Lenders don't want to foreclose.
Why Loss Mitigation?
Help Preserve Home Ownership
As Real Estate Professionals, it is our goal to help people achieve the
dream of home ownership. It should subsequently be our goal to help those
same people remain in their homes, even after hardships arise. We have
the opportunity to help homeowners in two ways:
Remain in their current home, if feasible.
Help them transition from their "house" into a new "home".
Assist Homeowner / Borrower
It is our privilege to assist homeowners after they find themselves in a
financial hardship. Most of these hardships are due to circumstances
beyond their control. Once it happens the homeowner doesn't know
where to turn. We show people how and where to find help.
YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL.....WE ARE HERE TO HELP!!!!!!
CALL US AT 317.508.0627