Most people don't plan for it, but about half of all marriages end in divorce. And when a couple decides to go their separate ways, their property has to be divided up or sold. Some property is easier to divide than others. A couple's Beanie Baby collection is relatively easy to deal with in divorce. It has some positive value, can be sold, and easily carved into two pieces. Your underwater home, on the other hand, is the opposite. It can't be cut in two or immediately sold and is harder to deal with because of that.
When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Even if what's sour is something as consequential and life-altering as foreclosure. There are countless examples of people experiencing a terrible event in their life and turning it into a positive. It's hard for anyone in the middle of a difficult situation to imagine how something bad can be good in the long run. And to be fair, it may not. But you can maximize the chances of making your sour situation sweet by turning your attention to what you can do to fix it.
Your lender has been watching you all year, and knows if you've been naughty or nice. But if you make their naughty list by not paying your mortgage, they don't come down your chimney and leave you a stocking full of coal. They'll do something much worse and take your home, chimney and all. Unlike Santa Claus' naughty and nice lists, you should know for sure which one you are on. What is harder than knowing is getting off of the naughty and onto the nice list so you can stay in your home.
Your mortgage lender has a very simple rule for determining whether you're naughty or nice. It's determined by whether or not you pay your mortgage on time every month. If you pay on time, you get to be on the nice list. Keep up the good work. What's your reward? Keeping your home, and not being threatened with the 'f' word. That's not the four letter 'f' word, it's the one with 11 letters: foreclosure.
Is it possible to make too much money? You might think that it's not any more possible than being too good looking, too smart, too healthy, or too happy. Having too much of any of those positive things is what most of us would call a high quality problem, so the question is too much for what? If you're trying to get a mortgage loan modification, the answer is yes, you can make too much money to qualify.
Beginning in 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established new rules to protect homeowners facing foreclosure from unnecessary expenses and surprises. Among the rules are restrictions on the mortgage servicer's ability to pursue foreclosure while reviewing your application for a loan modification, a practice known as dual-tracking.
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?
1. Natural Disasters.
Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. During natural disaster, people will skedaddle from their homes and sometimes they never return.
2. War or Civil Conflict.
Violence, anarchy, etc. In times of war and civil conflict there are lots of people who will just abandon their homes and never ever come back.
When it comes to applying for a loan modification, your debt-to-income ratio is really very important. Having the right or wrong DTI ratio can make or break your loan modification. But what is debt to income ratio? Let's dive right in. President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan has it set up so that for your first mortgage, your Front-end debt-to-income ratio can be no more than 31 percent. This basically means that your house payment cannot exceed 31 percent of your gross monthly income. So if for example your monthly mortgage is $1,000, your gross monthly income should be at around $3,230 or more.
There are actually 2 debt-to-income (DTI) ratios to become familiar with:
- First there's your Front-end DTI ratio which is based on your house payment. Under the President's plan, the Front-end DTI ratio target of 31 percent only applies to your first mortgage. Other loans taken against your home such as a second mortgage or an equity line of credit are separate and are not a part of your Front-end DTI. Instead, you can calculate these other loans as a part of your Back-end DTI. But wait, what is Back-end DTI? I'm glad you asked!
- Besides Front-end DTI, you also have your Back-end DTI ratio which is based on all your monthly debt payments combined. This includes your house payment, credit card payments, auto loan payments.
If your loan modification was denied, don't worry: you're not alone. Loan modifications may be one of the hardest things to get approved without the assistance of an experienced attorney. After denial, your next step will depend on the reason why you were denied and where your home is in the foreclosure process.
Massachusetts is a non judicial (technically, “nonjudicial under power of sale in deed of trust") foreclosure state... Uhm, what the heck is that you ask? Oh, just that lenders can take your home without going through court, or any sort of judicial proceeding. Okay and?! AND, say good bye to any extra time you thought you had in your home, because clearly there will be no pending judicial process delaying your foreclosure... I don't mean to a big ole' foreclosure ogre or anything but that's reality peeps, time to embrace the “it is what it is.”
Foreclosure by sale
Otherwise know as, “foreclosure under a deed of trust.” which just so happens to let the lenders sell your precious property through a power of sale (unfair much? after all you two have been through, haha they got you! If you didn't already know, lenders have 0 remorse..). Now I'm sure you want an explanation of how this power of sale BS works. Here it goes.....
