Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

I know you've heard the term short-sale before, I mean, after 2008, who hasn't? Yet many of you who have heard the term, don't know what it means or how it works. Basically, a short-sale “is when a bank agrees to accept less than the total amount owed on a mortgage to avoid having to foreclose on the property. This is not a new practice; banks have been doing short sales for years. Only recently, due to the current state of the housing market and economy, has this process become a part of the public consciousness.”

Voila, that is all you need to know about short-sales... End of article here...

Just kidding...

The description above sounds like a no brainer (you already knew that!). However, understanding the elements needed to obtain a short-sale isn't quite like takin' a walk in the park . Although short-sales these days are a common practice, many homeowners are given information that is kinda sorta not true (misunderstandings, myths, fallacies, whatever you want to call it) about short-sales. Now, don't freak out because I've come up with a plan to clear some of those common misconceptions for you, so look below and feast your eyes on what you thought you already knew....But was really just wrong.

I'm going to call this segment... the modern day short-sale fallacies.

Since when have they really been on board with anything not created by them anyhow..?

So what's this law I'm talking about you ask?

The 2012 Massachusetts foreclosure law was predominately designed to help distressed homeowners. It works like this : The law allows nonprofit organizations to buy homes that are foreclosed, after buying the foreclosed properties, the nonprofits sell back the homes to the homeowners that originally lost the homes to foreclosure. Better yet, because the nonprofits tend to buy the homes from the lenders at their current market values, they can sell the home with a restructured loan (one the buyer can very much afford) and give it back with a modified loan agreement. The ultimate goal is for homeowners to keep their homes at affordable rates.     

How selfless of Massachusetts to want to implement such a life changing concept. You can bring out the tissues... now!

However, like Murphy's Law goes, anything that can go wrong will!

And what can go wrong with this?

If you're not quite sure what eminent domain is, or if you just forgot, then let me refresh your memory. Eminent domain is “The compulsory purchase (as in, required by law, obligatory, mandatory, or in other words AGAINST YOUR WILL) to take private property (in this case your home) for public use by a state or national government. However, it can be legislatively delegated by the state to municipalities, government subdivisions, or even private persons or corporations when they are authorized to exercise functions of public character.... I don't know about you, but being forced out of my home by the government doesn't seem like a great idea to me, and now New Jersey homeowners are on boat with (a watered down version of eminent domain) to (possibly) save them from losing their homes? Are you seeing an awkward paradox here...? (WHAT THE HECK NEW JERSEY?!).

Ok, ok, let's stop the dramatic antics, even though eminent domain (in its natural definition) sounds sadistic and sinister, Newark, New Jersey's government is planning to use it for homeowners' benefit. Apparently, there is a new process in the works that would “allow the township to seize underwater mortgages and restructure them on behalf of homeowners to make payments more affordable.” Hmm, sounds intriguing, what else?

You can take that with a grain of salt...

ILLINOIS IS MAKING IT HARDER TO FORECLOSE? IS THERE A CATCH OR...?

According to the high and mighty and all so reasonable Supreme Court of Illinois, the new foreclosure rules, effective as of March 1, 2013, basically take a load off from the soon (or not soon) to be foreclosed homeowner.

Some of the new legal mambo jumbo (aka rules) include;     

Paying off your mortgage faster may not be your goal when you first buy a house, but after a few years your financial situation may change. If you have more income than you did when you first bought the house, you might consider paying off your mortgage early.

So what's this about boomerangs? You mean those wooden tools that were first made in Australia, you know, those objects that you throw and they come right back to you? Well... Not Exactly

BOOMERANG BUYER.

Boomerang buyer is a term of art, and it is used to describe the homeowners that underwent foreclosure and are now ready to buy another home. Hm, clever or....? I know it sounds kind of crazy, but there are many people who go through the stress and anguish of losing a home to foreclosure, yet soon enough, they want to buy again. Are these people sane or do they need a pinch? The first thing you're probably asking yourself is can they even do that?

The simple and straightforward answer is YES they can.

The name Ocwen financial corporation may sound familiar considering they are one of the main providers of national residential and commercial mortgage loan servicing. They have headquarters in Georgia with offices in West Palm Beach and Orlando, Florida, amongst other locations throughout the United States. Ocwen is also licensed to service mortgage loans in all 50 states and has been servicing for over 25 years. To top it all off, Ocwen is the fourth ranked subprime mortgage servicing company behind the likes of giant familiar companies such as Bank of America/Countrywide and Chase Home Finance.

You might be saying to yourselves, “well, referring to the above information and the fact that Ocwen is such an immense servicing corporation, then why the 99 problems title?” It is not just meant to be a little clever... Listen closely and I'll explain why:

No, you didn't misread, this mom actually raps about her foreclosure. So feast your eyes on this mom making light of a terrible situation by cleverly rapping about her whole foreclosure process.

Mom says that she's “sick of these banks taking our homes and pocketing all the money! Here's my story - and I decided to rap it!”

It's important for consumers to understand they have important rights if contacted by a debt collector about a delinquent or defaulted account. "Millions of consumers per year may find themselves behind on payments and are contacted by a creditor or debt collector," ACA International CEO Pat Morris said.  "While no one ever wants to get a call or letter telling them they owe money, consumers need to know they are protected by very important federal and state laws."

America's economy relies on the repayment of consumer credit such as loans, credit cards, and bills for services rendered to keep costs down and ensure the availability of affordable credit. Federal, state, and local governments in the public sector also rely on the repayment of billions of taxpayer owed dollars in delinquencies including student loans, uncollected court fees, unpaid taxes, library fines, and traffic tickets. The following are helpful tips for U.S. consumers who may be contacted about a rightfully owed debt:

Recently, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and NeighborWorks® America highlighted the ongoing foreclosure rescue scam crisis during a press conference to identify top consumer complaints in New York.

During this National Consumer Protection Week event, representatives offered guidance on avoiding financial scams, including loan modification scams.

The Federal Trade Commission’s Office organized the press event, which highlighted the most egregious frauds plaguing New York residents and featured scam avoidance tips from the Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York, United States Postal Inspection Service, New York Attorney General’s Office, New York State Department of Financial Services, New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and AARP.

The Loan Modification Scam Alert Campaign educates homeowners about the warning signs that indicate that the person or company offering assistance may be a scam. The top three warning signs of a scam are any person or company that:

• Asks for fees in advance of fully providing services

• Guarantees that they’ll stop a foreclosure or get your loan modified.

• Tells you to stop paying your mortgage company and to pay them instead