If loan modifications were the holidays, then Wells Fargo would be the Grinch. While the other big banks have been known to make life difficult for homeowners who are facing foreclosure, Wells Fargo's loan modification unit is among the worst. How many American homeowners have they spoiled Christmas for this year?
If you are paying for a trial loan modification, then the cold, hard, truth is that your lender does not have to stop the foreclosure process on your home. In fact, expect foreclosure to proceed as if you hadn't done anything, unless you've otherwise been informed by the courts. This is for 3 reasons:
Regardless of how the economic landscape progresses in the coming months, there are certain steps consumers can take to safeguard their own financial well-being. Nonprofit firm InCharge Debt Solutions advises following these five steps:
1. Reduce your debt – Paying for debt instead of life's necessities (food, shelter, utilities) is counterproductive, particularly during a recession. Take steps to pay down your debt as much as possible before another downturn.
2. Create an emergency fund. Even if you only have a small amount of "extra" money every time you receive income, put as much as you can away.
3. Cut your expenses. It is amazing how many things you can save on when you really put your mind to it - cable, insurance, entertainment. There are always ways to cut back.
It's hard to believe, but 2013 is already coming to a close. This has been quite an eventful year for New Jersey homeowners- especially because the events of 2012 have started a ripple -- or better yet, a wave of effects that lasted into 2013. For example:
Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 5,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.
Would you believe that there are actually critics who blame homeowners for the foreclosure crisis? These critics are so detached from real life that they forget to project a human face onto the numbers. Nobody wants to lose their home to foreclosure; the foreclosure crisis was comprised of a lot of people who faced extenuating circumstances (including unfair mortgage lending) that caused them to lose their homes.
Several Hardships Led to Foreclosure
The New York homeowner in our story certainly faced extenuating circumstances of his own. His family had faced death within the family, and was also enduring the financial effects of serious extended sickness. He was no longer able to pay his $786 payment to GMAC (his loan was eventually sold to Ocwen Financial) on his home that he and his wife shared, and was over 8 months behind and far into the foreclosure process by the time he and his wife retained us.
As if to add insult to injury, the homeowner's interest rate was an astronomical 9.0% (his home loan was one of the infamous adjustable-rate loans that played a large part in starting the mortgage crisis), and the homeowner had been planning to retire in early 2013 for years; this now seemed like a bleak prospect. The homeowner retained us in late 2012, and our home retention department began working with he and his wife to compile a loan modification package. Simultaneously, our legal team began to prepare a legal defense for the homeowner.
Learn 8 ways that homeowners can (or cannot) stop foreclosure. Does refinancing stop foreclosure? Does loan modification?
If you are facing foreclosure, it's important to learn about your situation and be prepared.
Click through to see the slideshow.
If your loan modification has been denied, be assured: you're not the first person to experience denial, and you certainly won't be the last. Loan modifications may be one of the hardest things to get approved without an experienced attorney's assistance. After denial, your next step depends on the reason why you were denied and where your home is in the foreclosure process.
Fraudsters have discovered new ways to steal money and information thanks to the popularity of social networking sites, unsecured public Internet access points and online activities like shopping, buying and selling, dating and gaming. Online fraud may be the latest way to scam people, but it is not the only approach that is used.
"The best way to avoid becoming a victim of fraud is to protect your personal and financial information at all times. Whether you're at home, in a public place, on the phone or online, keep in mind that someone could steal personal information if it is not properly protected," says Ursula Menke, Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). "Fraud can be committed by anyone—someone close to you, someone in your community, or a distant stranger," she adds.
Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 5,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.
Imagine being confronted with the prospect of losing your home in foreclosure. Now imagine having to deal with that financial pressure and the pressures that come with having a newborn baby. This is what our client was faced with, and was able to eventually overcome, thanks to Amerihope Alliance Legal Services.
When this client retained us in May 2013, she had already tried working with other law firms who simply weren't able to solve her situation. She was already 4 and a half years behind on paying her $1,750 mortgage payment to Flagstar Bank, and was in active foreclosure. This presented a unique challenge, as our team did not only have to clean up the mess left behind by the previous law firms, but we also had to work on preparing a great loan modification package for the client.
When researching options for preventing foreclosure, expect to encounter conflicting opinions regarding the most effective strategy. That's to be expected, because personal finance is exactly that – personal. What makes sense for one person's financial situation may not be the right move for a person with slightly different circumstances. Some homeowners choose a strategy that includes filing bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. Careful review may lead others to decide they're better served by combining a loan modification program with aggressive foreclosure defense.
Immediate Effect of Filing Bankruptcy
Filing bankruptcy holds a major appeal to stressed homeowners worried about foreclosure. It brings foreclosure proceedings to a temporary halt, offering the homeowner a bit of respite from the ticking foreclosure clock and buying some time to find a solution. That's because once bankruptcy is filed, no further action, including foreclosure, can be taken by the home loan lender without approval by the judge. Filing bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure has become an increasingly popular tactic.
