Save My Home!
If you are facing foreclosure on your home, you are not alone!
Millions of home owners will lose their homes in the next few
years.
Mortgage payments will skyrocket as $1 Trillion dollars of
adjustable rate mortgages adjust. Their payments are based on
indexes such as the prime rate that will be 3 or 4 times higher
than they were when the loans were taken out. In spite of the
adjustment caps that most of these loans have, these homeowners
will see their payments jump 20-40%.
Once these new payments hit, budgets will be stretched,
banjo-string tight. The reason most people took adjustable rate
loans was because they could not afford the payments they will
now be forced to make.
On top of that, the housing market is already slowing. In many
parts of the country, unsold housing inventory is doubling,
homes remain unsold for 60 days or more and stocks of home
builders are down by 1/3 or more. Prices are falling, even in
New York and California.
All this means that these cash-strapped people will no longer be
able to refinance to a lower payment. Also, George Bush's new
bankruptcy law will prevent them from wiping out their credit
card debt to free up cash to pay their mortgage.
Therefore, the slightest interruption of their incomes will put
most of these people into a downward spiral which will toss them
and their families into the street.
If you or someone you know is potentially in this situation,
listen up!
There is help available, if you act at the first sign of
trouble. One of the best sources of help, is your lender!
They do not want your home. Industry statistics show that it
costs lenders between $30-$50,000 to foreclose and dispose of a
house. Banks also get demerits from banking regulators for
having non-performing assets (your delinquent mortgage) on their
books.
In fact, banks have staffers whose job it is to help you avoid
foreclosure. This may not be obvious to you as you attempt to
locate them and negotiate a resolution of your problem.
That is mainly due to the fact that you may be dealing with the
wrong bank! Just because you send your payments to your bank,
does not mean that they own your mortgage. They may be the
"servicing" bank, merely collecting payments on your mortgage,
which was probably sold the day after your closing. It may have
been sold many times thereafter, perhaps ending up in a bundle
of mortgages sold to Wall Street or even China!
These entities have their own requirements and procedures for
working with delinquent borrowers. Your best bet to Save Your
Home is to work with a knowledgeable professional who will know
which lender to deal with and how to present your case in the
best light.
Your lawyer is a good place to start, but act quickly. The
earlier you take action, the more options will be available to
you.