I am a homeowner and unemployed recently. I have tried my mortgage company and many other loan modifications to lower my mortgage till I get employed, no one wants to help me. What can I do to save my home from going into foreclosure or bankruptcy which I do not want to see happen?
By sandra from Salem, OR
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You might have to sell. There is something called short sale, where you set the price to what you need to pay off the balance or take the best offer, however, the bank has to approve the cost. Talk to your mortage company about something like that. Doing this would be better than foreclosure or bankruptcy. Bankruptcy might not be too bad of solution. Providing it is like it was a few years ago when I knew several people that filed bankruptcy. They got to keep their homes. Are there other bills you could skip instead of your mortage payment? Credit card bills, or time payments wouldn't be as bad to get behind on.
The mortgage is all I owe, I have cut every other expense to the bare minimum. For a short sale, do I do it myself or talk to a real estate person? I owe no car payment, no credit card, no medical bills. I cannot seem to find work.
For a shortsale, I don't know for sure who you would talk to first. Call a realtor and ask if you put the house up for sale first and then have it go to the mortgage holder, or vice versa? All I know is what I see on the Home and Garden Channel. By watching that channel there is a lot a person can learn. I don't even have a house that I can use most of the ideas, but I like to dream.
You could stall by asking them to "Produce the Note". They can't foreclose unless they produce the original paper you signed.
Remember this: "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a code that glorifies it." Frederick Bastiat "The Law" 1850
I'm a Realtor and I can tell you that you're wasting your time. Banks make more $$$ on your home than you think. Example: once they grab your home they hang onto it for a while and then turn to AIG (remember the bail out $$$ we gave them?) they will get a full price from them on your mortgage. Keep in mind that the bank probably paid 30 cents on the dollar for your mortgage. Lets say your home is worth $250K. They get $250K from AIG plus all that money we gave them for loan modifications that they refuse to use.
Now in addition to that they can now sell your home for half price quickly $125,000. Add the figures up it comes to $350,000 not bad for stealing your home out from under you. It's a quick profit better than a slow grind out over 30 years. check out: indymac slap in the face
on Utube.Trust me only 30 cents on the dollar.
I am curious who your mortgage lender is because almost all home lenders will work with just about anyone and especially if you had a good payment history before becoming unemployed. You need to not take no for an answer! Ask to talk to a loan officer (and another two or three if the first one isn't being helpful) and the manager and assistant manager if need be!
I have a friend who became disabled a couple of years ago and was able to forestall foreclosure for a few months but finally realized he was never going to able to hold on to the home because there is no hope of going back to work because of his particular disability. Anyway, he talked to his bank asking about a short sale and a couple of realtors and was Blessedly able to sell it quickly. Had he not done a short sale he would have been on the hook for the money he owed the bank if it had been foreclosed on.
Oh! One more thing! If you have more than a one bedroom home have you thought about renting the other bedroom(s) out to help you pay the mortgage until you're working again? You can charge them the going room rental rate for your area plus a portion of the utilies and in doing so it would help ease your financial burden!
Hey, have you tried contacting this organization about helping with your house? My friend used them and they were able to help her out a lot...
www.naca.com/
My sister sent me this comment and link when we were going through this...I'm sorry, but I can tell you many many real life stories of banks (esp. big) (WELLS FARGO was mine) who did not try to help and in fact, sneakily foreclosed on our house did it to my friend's nephew too, a little different, but just as sneaky!
Good luck!
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My husband and I live in the state of TN. We are having some financial troubles so therefore we have gotten behind on our mortgage through Green Tree Servicing. They are threatening to foreclose. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do?
Thanks so much,
Sandy from Bluff City, TN
The first thing to do is to find out exactly how much money you need to avoid foreclosure, then you know where to start. Talk to the mortgage company about what options you have, they may be able to lower your payments for a few months or forgive the late payments.
Sell what you can to come up with the money, ask relatives to help, and do whatever you can do to avoid this. You will do much better selling the house yourself if at all possible rather than letting it go into foreclosure.
If you have just recently bought the house, you may not have any equity and they are more likely to try to work things out with you rather than taking a loss on the property. If you do have equity, you may be able to borrow against it or if you are able to sell, have something with which to start over.
I'm sorry for your situation. You are certainly not alone in this day and age of adjustable rate mortgages and low wages. Keep us posted how this works out for you.
Susan
(05/30/2007)
By ThriftyFun
Yeah, this is definitely a question for Dave Ramsey. Just keep in mind he doesn't mince words. (06/01/2007)
By Allison
As a loan officer, I am usually reluctant to suggest this, but you can go into bankruptcy immediately. That puts the brakes on the foreclosure and the lender can't put you out of the house. It gives you a chance to work out a payment schedule, through the bankruptcy trustee, and get yourselves back on track financially without losing your home. After you have completed the bankruptcy, you can refinance. Hope this helps. (06/01/2007)
By fionarx
I have just been through the same thing, so I can really empathize with your situation.
I agree with others, you should contact your lender and explain your financial situation and ask for help. Most lenders want to work out a payment plan. It may be allowing you to make smaller payments for a set period of time until you can make full payments - such as a special forbearance. The lender may extend the length of your loan to recoup the back payments or may increase your mortgage payments to get you caught up.
If your lender is unyielding, I would then call Consumer Credit Counseling Services. They are nationwide and non-profit. CCCS can help examine your finances, set up a budget and they will contact your lender for you and help set up a payment plan.
Whatever your circumstances are, they are temporary. I doubt it feels like that; it didn't for me. But time and prayer covers it all. My prayers are with you and your family. You worked hard to get that house. Everyone deserves and has a right to have a place to call home.
Blessings.
Jenny (06/01/2007)
By Jenny
United Way is the only respectable and legit help out there for money management. They do it not for profit! (06/01/2007)
By Sarah
It may be best to give the house back to the lender and find a home that you can afford. This isn't a fun option, and it probably isn't the one you'd like. But, it may be the most logical one.
In the long run, the continuing struggle to stay on top of your mortgage could cause you more pain than going through a foreclosure now. You may find all the stress every month just isn't worth it. (06/02/2007)
One helpful reader suggested that you should just give the house back to the lender on 6/2. Of course we all have our own opinions about things. But, as a professional, I advise strongly against this. You probably shouldn't just give the house back to Green Tree unless they agree to do a "deed in lieu of foreclosure". That's a legal transaction where you turn over the deed to the lender and they stop the foreclosure (IN WRITING).
By fionarx
This is sort of a last resort thing, because I'm sure you don't want to move from your home. My mother is a realtor (though, in FL, not TN) and has helped some family of ours out of foreclosure. According to Florida law (you should call a TN realtor), the bank cannot actually "foreclose" until they sell the home at auction. Your bank may tell you otherwise (as they did to my cousin), which is why you should talk to a realtor.
By Courtney
First, don't panic. Call all of your other creditors and attempt to lower your interest rates, minimum payments required. Then, speak to your bank about paying "interest only" for a period of time. That's all they're really interested in. Of course, this means that you're not actually paying off the house, you're just paying for the cost of using the money. You may be able to defer payment on the principle of the loan for up to 6 months. Get rid of credit cards, shop at ALDI for food (or other discount place), and don't buy anything you don't critically need. I've seen people in foreclosure who refused to turn off the cable TV or get rid of their cell phones. Don't be one of those victims. Make a sincere effort. (06/23/2007)
By Sandy from Granger
