What can I do to avoid foreclosure?

What can I do to avoid foreclosure?

Is your home in Jupiter underwater, and the sharks are circling?  Fear not, you’re not alone.  We are here to help you sort through mounds of information around and how to avoid Foreclosure.  There are alternatives!

Florida Residents Call NOW 561-827-1790 for a FREE confidential consultation and evaluation of your situation and see what we can do to help.  We never charge a fee.

Beware agencies that charge as much at $5,000 to modify your mortgage and never do anything.  They have great sales pitches, so beware!

Call NOW, there is no obligation.  We are Jupiter, Florida Certified Distressed Property Experts, with the knowledge, Training, and Experience to provide the highest level of service available.  Feel free to browse our site for more information on Home Preservation, Short-Sales and other topics that may affect your property.  Don’t delay. Everyday that goes by causes more unnecessary stress.  MAKE THE CALL  561-827-1790 RIGHT NOW

Foreclosure

What It Really Means & How To Avoid It. We will guide you all the way!

9 Ways to Avoid Foreclosure:

Reinstatement – Bring the loan current

Forebearance – Temporary repayment plan

Refinance - New loan with reduction in monthly payment

Loan Modification - Modify original loan terms

Sell The Property - Use equity to pay off the note or pay the difference.

Rent The Property - Must make loan current

Short Sale - Negotiate with the lender to accept less than owed

Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure - Friendly Foreclosure, Not recommended.

Bankruptcy – Used to stall foreclosure, but will not prevent it

Click the Images for important information

SHORT SALE 101

Step 1:  CALL US FIRST

Often times, unforeseeable events cause major financial hardships. It’s important to remember that you are not alone! You aren’t the first to go through this, and you certainly won’t be the last. If bankruptcy becomes an option for you, please notify us prior to filing, as it will affect any sale of your home and possibly negotiations with your lender!

For now, take a deep breath, read the following pages, and sleep well knowing you have the very best professionals working hard on your behalf.  Looking forward to your success!

What is a short sale? A short sale is any transaction in which, at closing, there will not be enough money to pay all underlying lien holders. (This would include excise tax, closing costs, agent commissions, etc.)

Why would my Lender want to allow a Short Sale to help me? The reason is simple; a short sale often has a better return on investment to the lender than a foreclosure. The average savings a lender sees from a short sale property compared with a foreclosure property is $14,000-$50,000

Not only does the lender receive this savings, they are also paid on the loan 6 months earlier than in the foreclosure process. This allows them to collect and cash-out earlier than they would in a foreclosure. Plus, lenders spend a great deal of money with attorneys to complete the foreclosure process. Lenders created the short sale process as a foreclosure alternative for those reasons. The incentives to perform a short sale on your property are in place to motivate you to participate.

When should I start my Short Sale? It is best to begin a short sale when you realize you can no longer afford the mortgage, so that your property can be marketed properly and you can receive a high offer. The earlier you start, the higher our likelihood of success. Contact us to see if you have enough time.

How long does it take for you to complete a short sale once we fill out the paperwork? Typical transactions are completed within three months. If you have a foreclosure sale date approaching we will attempt to complete it sooner. We have often found buyers quickly and have used our relationship with the banks to push back your foreclosure sale date.

What is a Deed in Lieu? A Deed in Lieu is when the property is deeded back to the lender with the approval of the borrower prior to foreclosure. (This process may still leave a negative impact on the borrower’s credit.)

Why should a lien holder accept less than the outstanding debt? After the lender does an appraisal on the property and discovers that the value is less than the payoff, the lender will decide if it is worth further legal actions and cost. A business decision is made to either continue foreclosure action or accept the short sale offer.

What is a HUD 1 Closing Statement? A form used at closing that gives an account of the funds received and paid at closing, including the escrow deposits for taxes, hazard insurance, and mortgage insurance.

What is a Deed? The legal document conveying title to a real property.

What is a Deed of Trust? A deed of trust is an instrument used in many states in place of a mortgage. Property is transferred to a trustee by the borrower (trustor), in favor of the lender (beneficiary) and re-conveyed upon payment in full.

What is Depreciation? A loss of value in a real property brought about by age, physical deterioration, functional or economic obsolescence.

What is Loss Mitigation? Loss Mitigation is a process to avoid foreclosure; the lender tries to help a borrower who has been unable to make loan payments and is in danger of defaulting on his or her loan.

What is a Loan Modification? A mortgage modification is a loss mitigation option that allows a borrower to refinance and/or extend the term of the mortgage loan and reduce the monthly payments.

What is a Forbearance Plan? A forbearance plan is a loss mitigation option where the lender arranges a revised repayment plan for the borrower that may include a temporary reduction or suspension of monthly loan payments.

What is an Offer on a property? An offer is an indication by a potential buyer of a willingness to purchase a home at a specific price; generally put forth in writing.

How long is a Short Sale process? Depending on the mortgage company and the state in which the home is located, a short sale process can take between 2-5 months.

What is the difference between a Satisfaction of a Lien vs. a Release? A satisfaction is a total release from the debt owed. A release is when the lender releases the lien from the property to allow the home to be sold. (The borrower may still be required to repay the balance of the debt.)

How do a foreclosure and a short sale show up on my credit? Foreclosures show up as FORECLOSURE, and can stay on your record for seven years. Anytime you apply for a new loan or have your credit run, the foreclosure will show up and is usually a required disclosure you must make on most credit and job applications. A short sale is listed as SETTLED DEBT, and is much less harmful to your credit. Please consult a credit company for more information.

What liability do I have when doing a short sale? In a short sale, it is possible the bank could 1099 you for the difference in what you sell your property for and what you owed. This means the IRS could consider the difference as income, and you could be taxed on that income.  The bank might also ask you to pay a portion of the difference back in the form of an unsecured note, which is similar to an I.O.U. It is a negotiation, and we employ tactics to have the bank consider the debt settled.  In a foreclosure, your house is sold at an auction, which typically causes the difference of the total amount you owe and the foreclosure sale price to be much greater. This means you have a higher potential tax liability. Additionally, the bank may come after you for a Deficiency Judgment.  Although there are no guarantees, a successful short sale should eliminate a deficiency judgment, minimize your tax liability, and keep the foreclosure off your credit.

On December 20 President Bush signed into law H.R. 3648, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.  H.R. 3648 will provide relief from that kind of tax bite in certain specified situations. Beginning January 1, 2007 and lasting until January 1, 2010, certain discharges of mortgage indebtedness on a principal residence will be excluded from a taxpayer’s gross income. As always, though, certain restrictions apply.  For more information on deficiency judgments and the tax liability you may face based on your current situation, submit your information to one of our analysts for a free consultation, and as always consult your attorney/tax advisor.

Mortgage Debt & Relief Act

What is a Deficiency Judgment? A Deficiency Judgment can arise when the bank sells the house at foreclosure auction. The bank can sell the house at auction for any amount less than the total amount owing of the debt plus fees. A deficiency judgment can arise if the bank sells the house for less than the mortgage debt. The lender then holds you responsible for the unpaid portion of the loan. For instance, if you owe $100,000 to the mortgage servicer and they see proceeds after the auction of $55,000, the remaining difference of $45,000 can be moved into a judgment against you. This will also appear on your credit report along with the foreclosure. The lender may be allowed to take further legal action such as garnishing wages to pursue payment based on the laws of your state. Some states have restrictions and regulations on deficiency judgments, but unfortunately the majority do not.  Some lenders will choose the deficiency judgment while others may pursue a path to write off the loan. If they choose to write off the loan, the lender may issue a 1099 form which you will have to pay taxes on for the calendar year.

Do I need to give you power of attorney? No.

Why does it take so long to get through each step with the lender(s)? Frankly, it is because the lenders are overwhelmed. Each Loss Mitigation Consultant at the bank can, and probably does, have up to 400 files on their desk that they are negotiating at any given time. For this reason, it can be extremely difficult to get through to or return calls from the banks. Often they will take days, or even weeks, to return phone calls. Sometimes we are forced to call them (with up to 2 hours on hold per call) as many as 10-12 times before they will return calls.

Luckily, with many lenders, we have ongoing relationships that allow us to negotiate multiple transactions with the same phone call.

Why do Letters need to be submitted on bank letterhead after they have already been submitted with ERA Herman Group Real Estate paperwork? In most cases, ERA Herman Group Real Estate’s short sale packet is more than sufficient to satisfy lender requirements. Unfortunately, there are a few banks that have not yet embraced standardization, and require their own forms be used. In 90% of these cases ERA Herman Group Real Estate will already have their forms and will forward them to you as soon as we are made aware of whom your lenders are. In still rarer cases, a very small handful of lenders are insisting that that they must send you the forms which you must get notarized in order for us to begin the negotiation process.

How are non-owner occupied properties affected when short selling them? For the purposes of short sale negotiations, non-owner occupied properties are handled in the same way as owner occupied properties.

Can the listing agent be the purchaser on a short sale? Generally speaking, it is best to maintain arms length relationships in short sale transactions. It would be unlikely that a bank would pay a real estate commission to the purchaser of the property. This should not be construed, however, to dissuade real estate agents from buying short sales.

I’m a real estate agent and am at risk of losing my home through a foreclosure. Can I list my own home as a short sale? In a short sale, the seller is not allowed to benefit financially from the transaction. Therefore, there is no advantage to listing your own house. It is our recommendation that you have another agent handle the listing and sale of your property.

If there isn’t a hardship situation, can they do a short sale? Never say never. It definitely looks better if you are in a hardship situation, but it all depends on the bank.

Closing Dates – How should they be handled? We are at the mercy of the bank, and the short sale process can take any where from 2-5 months for an approval.

Why does ERA Herman Group Real Estate request photos of the home? Lenders rely on the information we provide them. They have no way of knowing the extent of the homes disrepair with out someone telling them. The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, really holds true here. Photos of tarps on a roof, for example, can be far more telling than simply stating that the roof leaks. Always photograph EVERY deficiency in the home.

What if the homeowner needs to short sale multiple properties? While we would still need short sale packets filled out for each of the properties, the hardship letter, financial statement, bank statements, and many of the other supporting documents will only need to be sent to us once.

Can ERA Herman Group Real Estate negotiate a short sale on commercial and Multi-Family Properties? Yes.

Can the buyer be John Doe and/or assigns or Mega Business, Inc.? No. Lenders prefer not to sell to investors, and while they don’t prohibit such transactions from occurring, they might not choose not to sign off on a transaction that is assignable, or that is being purchased by a corporation.

Can the buyer be a trust? Yes. Most lenders will allow this.

Can we short sale multi-million dollar homes? Yes. As a matter of fact, the greater the price, the higher the likelihood the bank will accept the short sale.

Will ERA Herman Group Real Estate negotiate transactions under $100k? Yes, on a case-by-case basis.

Will ERA Herman Group Real Estate negotiate a short sale if they receive the short sale packet less than 2 weeks prior to the auction date? On a case-by-case basis.

How often does ERA Herman Group Real Estate “touch” my short sale file? As often as necessary, but ultimately we touch each transaction almost every business day.

Can I call for updates on my short sale transaction? Yes, but limiting phone calls to our office will save you time on hold and playing phone tag, and it will allow our negotiators to focus their time, effort and energy on the important details of your transaction.  Once our office has received the completed short sale packet, each file is assigned a web page with a unique user name and password, which you can use to receive the most up-to-the-minute transaction information.

What advantages are there in using ERA Herman Group Real Estate instead of other firms? Other firms charge up front fees, and may or may not even put forth the effort necessary to successfully complete short sale negotiations. After all, if you’ve already paid them for the job, what incentive do they have to continue working on your file? ERA Herman Group Real Estate DOES  NOT CHARGE UPFRONT FEES. Our success (and our compensation) is entirely contingent upon your success, and that of the transaction. If the short sale does not close successfully, we don’t get paid. In fact, there is talk of potential legislation to go after short sale companies that charge up-front fees. One would surmise that if a short sale company truly believes in their ability to close a transaction that they would be confident enough to get paid at closing.

Does the homeowner need to give you power of attorney to conduct the short sale? No.

Does ERA Herman Group Real Estate get special treatment with the lenders? Yes. Because of our experience and the number of transactions that we handle on a daily basis, lenders welcome our calls with open arms. Often times, we are able to negotiate multiple transactions with the same lender on the same phone call. This is more efficient for both the lender and ERA Herman Group Real Estate and ultimately results in greater success and timeliness in the transaction.

We are here to HELP in complete confidence.  CALL Today for a FREE consultation.  We NEVER charge a fee.

Most many cases, we can negotiate a SHORT-SALE on your property and you can remain in your home!  No need to relocate, change schools, etc…

Warm Regards,

Craig Fialkowski

ERA Herman Group Real Estate – 561-827-1790

What can I do to avoid foreclosure?