Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

Superstorm Sandy, Foreclosure, and Loan Modification Success

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

In May of 2014 a homeowner in Sullivan County, New York, that I'll call Mr. Goulet to protect his privacy, retained our firm to help him avoid foreclosure. He hadn't been served with a foreclosure lawsuit when he retained us, but knew it was coming, and wisely sought help from experienced professionals.

Mr. Goulet is a successful business owner. Things had been going well for him until Superstorm Sandy tore through the region in late 2012 and damaged his home. (Sandy caused about $75 billion in damage, which is second only to Hurricane Katrina.)

He moved out of his home, over the state line into New Jersey, while the damage caused by Sandy was being repaired.

There's Never Been a Better Time to Get a Loan Modification

If you're having trouble with your mortgage, you've probably heard about loan modifications. Modifying a mortgage loan involves making a permanent change to one or more of its terms. The interest rate can be lowered, the term can be extended, and principal and fees can be reduced.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Monday, September 12, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] loan modification, foreclosure defense, HAMP

The recent financial crisis, housing crisis, and recession really did a number on homeowners. You didn't have to be an economist or real estate expert to know that there was a sharp increase in the number of foreclosures. All you had to do was turn on the news and you'd hear about it, or drive through any residential neighborhood and see the signs in front yards.

About seven million homeowners have experienced foreclosure since the start of the crisis. The wealth homeowners held in their homes evaporated as jobs were lost. That left many homeowners in the terrible position of being unable to afford their mortgage payment or sell their home because they owed more on it than it was worth.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Thursday, August 25, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] loan modification, foreclosure defense, housing market, foreclosure crisis

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

In January of 2016 we were hired by a Florida homeowner to help him avoid becoming a former homeowner. Let's call him Mr. Cohen to protect his privacy. Mr. Cohen definitely needed the help of an experienced foreclosure defense attorney. After falling behind on his mortgage his home was scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction on April 13th, so we immediately got to work to stop the sale and find a permanent solution.

Applying For a Loan Modification

We rushed to submit a Request for Modification Assistance (RMA) to Rushmore Servicing, Mr. Cohen's loan servicer, that would permanently modify his mortgage loan and return it to normal servicing if accepted.

Canceling the Foreclosure Sale

As the April sale date approached the RMA had not been reviewed by the bank, so we filed a motion with the court to cancel the foreclosure sale. The motion was granted and the April sale date was canceled and rescheduled for June 14.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Thursday, July 14, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] loan modification, successful loan modifications, foreclosure defense

U.S. foreclosure filings were slightly lower in May of 2016 compared to April, according to real estate data company RealtyTrac. There were 100,841 properties with foreclosure filings in May, which is a 21 percent drop from May of 2015. The decrease in foreclosure activity in May is the eighth month in a row with a decrease compared to the same month a year ago.

New Jersey Number One In Country For Foreclosures

New Jersey leads the nation with the highest foreclosure rate of any state. In the Garden State one in every 559 housing units had a foreclosure filing. Maryland was next with one in every 693, followed by Delaware with one in every 716, Florida with one in every 738, and Nevada with one in every 851.

Among the metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents, areas in New Jersey take the top two spots for the worst foreclosure rates in the country. In Atlantic City one in every 448 housing units had a foreclosure filing. In Trenton, New Jersey, it's one in 446.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Tuesday, July 12, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] foreclosure defense, housing market, news

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

Everybody needs help from professionals sometimes. That's especially true for people trying to save their home from foreclosure. Despite many homeowners best efforts, they're not able to get the results they want on their own because they lack the knowledge and experience needed to do so, and the consequences of failure are unacceptable. So they seek outside help.

That's the case with a recent client of ours who retained us to help them avoid foreclosure. To protect their privacy, let's call this couple the Livelys. The Livelys have a home in Bronx County, New York and they fell behind on their mortgage payments in August of 2013.

Solo Loan Modification Attempt

Since they wanted to keep their home, but didn't have the massive amount of cash ($91,251.00) needed to reinstate their loan, the Livelys applied for a loan modification which, if successful, would have gotten their loan back to normal and eliminated the threat of foreclosure. They submitted an RMA (Request for Modification Assistance) to Ocwen, their mortgage loan servicer.

New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Illinois Lead Nation in Zombie Foreclosures

Almost 1.4 million homes in America were vacant as of May 2016, according to real estate information company RealtyTrac's recently released Residential Property Vacancy and Zombie Foreclosure Report for the second quarter 2016.

Those 1.4 million vacant homes represent 1.6 percent of all 85 million residential properties in the country. The most recent numbers are a 2.7 percent increase in vacant properties from the previous quarter.

Zombies Becoming Less Common

While the number of vacant properties ticked up slightly, the number of zombie properties, which are residences that are vacant and in foreclosure, declined. 4.7 percent of properties in foreclosure, which is 19,187 residential properties, are vacant. That's a 3 percent decline from the quarter before it and a 30 percent dip from the same quarter in 2015.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Tuesday, June 7, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] foreclosure defense, zombie foreclosure

Yes, it is too late to save your home when you've received a writ of possession. To learn why, let's look at what it is.

A writ of possession is a court order that the sheriff will place on your door notifying you that you have to get yourself, your family, and all of your belongings out of your home after it is sold at a foreclosure auction or repossessed by the bank. The sheriff will come back 24/48/72 hours after posting the writ of possession to execute the writ, which is code for kicking you out.

It doesn't matter if you have nowhere else to go. At this point it's too late to do much.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Friday, May 20, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] foreclosure defense, life after foreclosure, foreclosure, writ of possession

Other than facing criminal charges that could cost you your freedom or a custody battle for your children, there are few legal fights that are more consequential than foreclosure. Your home is probably your largest investment and also has an emotional value that can't be measured in dollars. Accordingly, many people hire a foreclosure defense attorney to help them deal with it. But even the best attorney can't solve your foreclosure problem without your help. You have to do your part.

Doing everything you can to help your attorney isn't going to be worth a damn if you hire a flake attorney with no experience. So you need to do some homework to make sure you get a qualified professional.

[fa icon="clock-o"] Monday, April 25, 2016 [fa icon="user"] Maxwell Swinney [fa icon="folder-open'] foreclosure defense, foreclosure

Foreclosure is so stressful that you'll find yourself experiencing powerful emotions when you are faced with it. Your home is the most expensive, and most important purchase you will ever make, so the possibility of losing it is tough to reckon with. How do people do it?

Superstorm Sandy, Foreclosure, and Loan Modification Success

There's Never Been a Better Time to Get a Loan Modification

Foreclosures Down, Home Values Up, Loan Modifications Still An Option

Homeowner's Property Saved From Foreclosure Sale at Last Minute

Applying For a Loan Modification

Canceling the Foreclosure Sale

Foreclosure Down in May 2016, New Jersey Worst in Country

New Jersey Number One In Country For Foreclosures

Attorney Demands Bank Proves Reason For Denying Loan Modification

Solo Loan Modification Attempt

New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Illinois Lead Nation in Zombie Foreclosures

Zombies Becoming Less Common

Is It Too Late to Save Your Home When You've Received a Writ of Possession?

Your Foreclosure Lawyer Needs You to Help Them Help You

The 5 Stages Of Foreclosure Grief

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