Deborah Sherman is one of those homeowners who are waiting for their turn on the loan modification. A day on March 4 before it was proclaimed, she applied for the said government program.

Since then, all she heard from Chase, her loan servicer, is: the process could take up to 90 days. Until now, she is still waiting.

The experience of Sherman was also experienced by most other people. Back in June, the program started in a chaotically as a multitude of homeowners all across the country jammed phone lines, overwhelming the staff. Frustration among housing counselors and homeowners build up due to the delays and confusion about eligibility requirements.

“I think … our mortgage program has actually helped to modify mortgages for a lot of people, but it hasn’t been keeping pace with all the foreclosures that are taking place,” said President Obama during a recent press briefing, expressing his disappointment with the program. Because of that reason and due to the fact that a lot of complaints from the home owners are already attacking him, he was asking his staff to put into practice more forceful actions.

Congressional Oversight Panel’s Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren echoed the remarks of the president at a current congressional hearing. The answer of the Treasury Department with regards to financial crisis has supervised by Chairwoman Warren. She also stated that the program had taken a couple of weeks to set off and they are now “moving very rapidly.”

Elizabeth Warren stated that the public must importantly realize not to miss payments on their mortgages so they will get help. She also added that if people noticed that they are having troubles, they must stay connected to their servicer.

A lot of homeowners have already applied for loan modifications with their respective servicers but are still getting the same response as Sherman and the waiting time takes longer than expected. Majority of the trouble homeowners gave up and allowing foreclosures news to come up because the waiting time for processing these requested modifications gets extended.

Frustrations towards the program were expressed also by several federal officials. They said, “People who are engaged in this program must need to perform better job so that expectations of the public will be met.”

Provided that these needs on loan modification are achieved, we might be expecting to listen to further foreclosure news because an increasing number of troubled homeowners fall short to save their properties.

More information on ms foreclosures and foreclosures in general (often miss-spelled ‘forecloser‘) can be found at http://bestforeclosurenews.com.

Here are a few directions you can take:

• Sell your house prior to the foreclosure auction. The value of this idea will vary heavily depending on the nature and quality of your local real estate market. If you’re in a market that still has very slow resale rates, selling your home could be a challenge. Ask a local real estate agent to determine the average number of days on the market for properties in your area.
• Initiate a loan modification. A loan modification is a process through which your lender changes the payment terms of your loan to more closely match your ability to pay. While this is not a guarantee, loan modifications have become more popular in the last 12 months.
• Refinance the property. If you are not yet fully into the foreclosure process but have reason to expect you will fall behind on your payments, it may be wise to try to refinance your mortgage to a lower rate. If your property is worth less than the balance of the mortgage, you’ll want to inquire regarding a “short refinance”, which is when a lender forgives a portion of the debt against you in order for you to refinance your property and pay off the remainder of the debt you owe.

When you’re trying to stop a foreclosure, the key is fast action.

Warning: Be very wary of people who aggressively attempt to purchase your home for investment purposes. While there are many legitimate real estate investors, there has been a significant amount of fraud with “Stop Foreclosure” scams, and it is wise to be very, very careful.

Please remember: The crisis you now face will soon be over. As a foreclosure survivor myself, I’d like to encourage you to remain hopeful, and to understand that your future does not equal your past!

Thanks for reading this information about how to stop foreclosure. I hope you’ve found value here.

Here are a few directions you can take:

• Sell your house prior to the foreclosure auction. The value of this idea will vary heavily depending on the nature and quality of your local real estate market. If you’re in a market that still has very slow resale rates, selling your home could be a challenge. Ask a local real estate agent to determine the average number of days on the market for properties in your area.
• Initiate a loan modification. A loan modification is a process through which your lender changes the payment terms of your loan to more closely match your ability to pay. While this is not a guarantee, loan modifications have become more popular in the last 12 months.
• Refinance the property. If you are not yet fully into the foreclosure process but have reason to expect you will fall behind on your payments, it may be wise to try to refinance your mortgage to a lower rate. If your property is worth less than the balance of the mortgage, you’ll want to inquire regarding a “short refinance”, which is when a lender forgives a portion of the debt against you in order for you to refinance your property and pay off the remainder of the debt you owe.

When you’re trying to stop a foreclosure, the key is fast action.

However, a warning for you: be very wary of people who aggressively attempt to purchase your home for investment purposes. While there are many legitimate real estate investors, there has been a significant amount of fraud with “Stop Foreclosure” scams, and it is wise to be very, very careful.

Please remember: The crisis you now face will soon be over. Remain hopeful and understand that your future does not equal your past!

If you’d like to speak with a real estate expert that can help you take fast action on a potential foreclosure, please contact Sharon Salisbury, your Fort Mill SC real estate expert.

Many of the foreclosed homes are tied to neighborhoods where subprime martgages were widespread.  MS Foreclosure are just one example. Unfortunately this has led to a decrease in home values as well which just adds fuel to the fire.  Additionally, state and most local governments were forced to cut back on their spending because the drop in the value of these properties sharply decreased their tax bases.

There were signs of this coming however, three of them in fact.  First was the bailing out of property owners due to the plummeting prices of real estate.  The second sign was all of the sub-prime loans and adjustable rate mortgages beginning to implode.  Lastly, the third sign has been the fact that even prime rate loan holders are losing their homes now due to job loss and the economic crisis.  Most of them even have good credit ratings.  Unemployment is now forecast to impact about 60 percent of all of the mortgage defaults.  Unfortunately, this means that even more foreclosure news will be heard through the rest of this year.

According to an analysis made by New York Times in February 2009 (data provided by First American Core Logic), the number of prime mortgages that have delinquent payments exceeded 1.5 million with loans totaling to 4 billion.  On the same month, delinquencies on subprime mortgages reached 1.65 million while the Alt-A loans rose to 836,000.  In all, a total of 7 billion worth of loans were recorded in February – this is an increase of 60 percent from last year.  All of these foreclosures have also dramatically impacted Wall Street and mortgage bonds.  These also lead to bank loses of hundreds of billions. (Note: Search on ‘forecloser‘ as well because it is a very common miss-spelling of foreclosure and is prevalent in the foreclosure news posts.)

The Obama administration announced in February that they will be spending billion to save as much as four million homeowners from foreclosures through mortgage incentives and reduced payments.  The effects of this plan are expected to be felt in the next coming months.  Until that time comes, you will need to brace for the storm and all of the foreclosure news that is still looming out there.

Well, as you no doubt already know, neither is a great option and if there’s anything you can do to avoid then, do it. However, if you are facing the possibility of losing your home then it’s certainly a legitimate question.  So which do you choose?

Here are a few things to consider when trying to make a decision between a short sale and foreclosure:

Some of the benefits of doing a short sale include:

• You are in control of the sale, not the bank.
• You may sleep better at night knowing who is buying your home.
• You will spare yourself the social stigma of the “F” word, foreclosure.
• Contrary to popular belief, you can be current on your payments and still effect a short sale.
• Your home sale will be handled like any other home sale.

How would either a Short Sale or a Foreclosure affect your credit?

While a short sale is not necessarily a derogatory mark on your credit because credit bureaus do not show the word “short sale” on your credit report, tt may say “pay as agreed” or “paid as less than agreed.” Some clients have reported drops in their crediting rating, anywhere from 50 points to 130 points.

In terms of the affects a foreclosure would have, a  number of sources have reported that FICO scores usually drop anywhere from 200 to 400 points after a foreclosure, and a foreclosure will typically remain on your credit report as a public record for 10 years.

So while the ultimate decision is one you’ll need to consider carefully, in most cases a short sale is usually ‘the best of the worst’ and for most people is a much smarter decision than a foreclosure.

Well, while a foreclosure is the worst possible scenario for someone that has fallen behind on their mortgage payments and it’s something you want to avoid if all possible, there are other options.  One of those options is something called a ‘short sale’.

As it relates to real estate, a short sale essentially means the lender has agreed to allow the home to be sold for LESS than what is actually owed.  Now, not all homes qualify for a short sale simply because not all lenders will allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed on it.

If you’re in a situation where you feel like you’re about to lose your home, investigating the possibility of selling it via a short sale might be a good option, but as with everything in life you MUST do your own due diligence.

You certainly want to consult with your accountant and an attorney familiar with real estate short sales.  You’ll find a great list of steps you could expect to have to take in order to sell your home via short sale right HERE.

On the buying side, purchasing a home via a short sale is much, much less certain a process than buying an average home listed for sale.  You’d be wise to consult with a qualified real estate agent that has some experience working with real estate short sales.

If you have any questions about either selling your home via a short sale or purchasing a home via a short sale, I have experience in both so please don’t hesitate to CONTACT ME.