Believe it or not, monsters like vampires and zombies do exist. They're not under your bed, but they might be in your neighborhood right now. Fortunately, they're not the kind that want to drink your blood or eat your brains, but you should still be aware of their existence.
So, you've experienced a hardship that caused you to fall behind on your mortgage payments, but you're committed to doing whatever it takes to keep your home. You know that you'll need the help of a lawyer to have the best chance at success. But, once you've hired a qualified attorney, what do you need to do to help them fight to keep your home?
So, you're ready to apply for a mortgage loan modification. You've done a lot of research and think you should qualify, that there's no reason to believe you'll be denied. But before you get too excited about life with a modified loan and the reduced financial burden you'll have as a result, remember that a lien you don't even know you have will prevent you from getting that loan modification.
When you do not pay your home loan payments, your lender is required to follow the laws and procedures of your state to take ownership of your home and sell it. Some states require lenders to file a lawsuit in court in order to foreclose, which is known as judicial foreclosure. Other states allow lenders to foreclose without filing a lawsuit in court, which is known as nonjudicial foreclosure. Roughly half of the states have judicial foreclosure rules and half have nonjudicial.
Losing your home is a stressful process to endure, but it doesn't mean you have to give up on your goal of owning a home forever. But many homeowners are unsure if they will be able to get a mortgage after foreclosure.
Yes, you can buy a home after going through foreclosure, but you may need to wait several years or more after your foreclosure is completed, and you may be charged a higher interest rate and need a larger down payment to do it.
Some might assume that foreclosure happens primarily to irresponsible people who have low income and education, and are in a position to lose their home because of their own bad life choices and laziness. While some people experiencing foreclosure might fit that description, it's wise to remember what your mother told you about assuming: it makes something undesirable out of 'u' and 'me'.
If you are behind on your mortgage payments and think you need the help of a professional, you'll find that there are no shortage of attorneys willing to take you on as a client. But, there are many different types of attorneys with different experiences, resources, and points of view. For example, a law firm specializing in intellectual property law probably would not be the best choice if you need foreclosure defense and loan modification help, any more than an ear, nose, and throat doctor would be the best choice if you need surgery on your knee.
One of the fundamental principles of capitalism is that, if there are a sufficient number of consumers who wish to purchase a product or service, a market will be created to sell it to them. If there's money to be made meeting some need or want, whether it's real or imagined, vital or not, some entrepreneur will provide it and try to turn a profit. We're all grateful that farmers meet our need for food, and Hollywood meets our desire for entertainment (sometimes), and we're happy to hand over our money for those things. But there will always be some entrepreneurs who are intent on making money by deception, or by taking advantage of consumers who wish to purchase a miracle.
Mortgage loans are the cause of more complaints than any other financial product to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to its Monthly Complaint Report for September 2015.
The CFPB has registered 192,500 mortgage complaints, which account for 27% of the total of 702,900 complaints it has received. More than half of all mortgage complaints are related to issues borrowers encounter when they are unable to pay, including problems with foreclosure and loan modification applications.
You can't fix a problem you don't know you have, and foreclosure is a very serious problem indeed. Home loans are valuable investments for a lender, and you can bet that if you stop payment on yours, you will be hearing from them asking you where their money is and if you intend to catch up, and eventually telling you to get out so they can sell the property to someone else.
If your home is underwater (worth less than what you owe on it), and you've tried and failed to modify the terms of your loan or come to another agreement with your lender, you may be wondering if it's wise to continue making payments on the property. Is there a way out?
Few people have been more universally hated throughout history than tax collectors. They take your hard-earned money, but it always seems like too much for what the government they represent provides in return. It's a story as old as civilization. Nobody likes paying taxes.
