There's a growing pollution problem in Massachusetts, but for a change, it has nothing to do with the Charles. Many Bay State lenders are saddled with toxic titles in the wake of the “apocalyptic” ruling in U.S. Bank v. Ibanez. That case, decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 2011, dealt a serious blow to banks involved in the slice-and-dice securitization of residential mortgages which contributed to the 2008 market meltdown. Now some new legislation may fix all that at the expense of former homeowners.
Connecticut may soon become part of another revolution, at least as far as foreclosure law is concerned! Under recently signed legislation, a new foreclosure option could allow homeowners to recoup more of the money they’ve invested in their homes.
Strict Foreclosure and Foreclosure by Sale
Connecticut’s judicial foreclosure process has traditionally allowed for either strict foreclosure or foreclosure by sale. Under strict foreclosure, courts allow lenders to foreclose on underwater mortgages and receive title to property automatically. A foreclosure by sale is only slightly better; setting the property up for public auction with the hope that the borrower recovers whatever is left over after the debt is paid. Hint: typically not very much.
Not satisfied by such meager offerings, both homeowners and real estate professionals have been calling for something a bit less antiquated. Foreclosure by sale, they argue, shuts them out of the process, leaving borrowers to watch as their home is sold off to the highest bidder, often for far less than it may be worth. Foreclosure by market sale, as the new measure is known, aims to change all that.
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;
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 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.
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!”
Imagine having a Foreclosure Complaint filed against you in 2010 as you were almost 12 months behind in making your mortgage payment. It is now 2014 and a trial has been scheduled to determine whether you get to keep your home or lose it at an auction sale.
In the intervening years, with the help of AALS you have submitted numerous applications for assistance to modify your loan with the lender, but have been denied for any government assistance program and have only been offered a solution that would require a substantial lump sum down payment. The owner of the loan has changed at least one time during the course of the litigation along with the servicer and the attorney for bank has changed as well. The new attorney for the bank has filed numerous documents with the Court as the trial date has approached and it appears that the new servicer has all of its "ducks" lined up to go forward and get a final judgment of foreclosure and have your home scheduled for sale.
Good people face foreclosure every day, all over the country. The reality of the situation is that most people who face home foreclosure want to pay their bills, but have run into financial instability due to circumstances largely outside of their own control. Since the year 2000, foreclosure statistics have been on a steady upward trajectory year over year, starting at 470,000 homes in 2000, and growing each year to peak at 3.9 million homes in 2011, the most recent year for which full statistics are available. Foreclosures are regularly attributed to non-payment, but there are other reasons they occur, as well. Can foreclosure happen due to late fees?
