Real Estate Information

by Nancy Woodward

I'm certainly into Real Estate. I've been working with Foreclosures in the last year. I'm now troubled over the constant increase in the number of foreclosures in the UNited States.

I believe, in an effort to help my clients, I shall begin also offering information and resources on the current state of the market with regard to Real Estate, financing and refinancing information and more.

If I can help you find more resources to help, I shall.

What do I do when I'm falling behind on Mortgage Payments and selling isn't feasible?

by nancy woodward

There are so many homeowners in this position today. They find themselves owing more to their lender(s) than the current market value of their home. As Real Estate values decline this occurence is becoming more common. Many families with multiple mortgages are realizing they can't sell their home and break even today.

I believe all lenders really don't want your home. They want you to continue making interest payments for the next thirty years. The lender makes money by receiving your continuing payments - the interest portion of your payment is the lenders income stream.

Lenders actually rework 90% of loans for their good customers who are experiencing problems meeting their obligation. They have more than one option which will help you stay in your home.

1. Partial Reinstatement - you agree to continue making your payment as usual and makeup the balance overdue in the next year.

2. Short-term Forebearance - You skip a number of payments or reduce your payment for a few months - then make up the difference in a set period of time.

3. Long-term Forebearance - Payments discontinue for a longer period of time (usually more than twelve months) then you begin to repay all.

4. Loan modification - Your payment is permantely changed. This could be a rate change, time extension or a combination so you can continue making your payments.

5. Other terms - the bank has the flexiblity to combine and or modify whatever it takes to reduce your payment to an acceptable level.

Call your lender when you realize you will be having a problem meeting your obligations. You need to ask for the correct department - don't speak with collections. Their job is to collect money, not modify loan terms.

Most lenders have experienced these problems over and over in the past year. They will be willing to talk to you.

Short Sale - What happens afterwards?

by Nancy Woodward

When real estate is sold, normally there is a profit for the buyer. When the buyer has less equity than the current selling price of the home, it is necessary to do a short sale to avoid foreclosure.

This definitely leads to tax consequences for the seller. They may owe taxes to the government on the amount that was forgiven by the lender. This can be acapital gains.

Many of the homeowners I have spoken to in an effort to help them - don't understand or believe this concept. They tell me ' other investors don't tell me this'.

You should make yourself aware of this situation and how the process actually works. The lender has several ways of handling the deficiency:

1. They can attempt to collect this amount from the seller

2. They can require the seller to sign a promissory note.

3. They can just cancel this amount.

Now we need to see how the IRS handles this process. They consider any amount of mortgage debt ordinary income once it is forgiven. This means income taxes will have to be paid.

More to follow --

What should I do to Avoid Real Estate Foreclosure?

What should I do to Avoid Real Estate Foreclosure?
By Nancy Woodward

If you are in this position, you have certainly experienced financial difficulties. You may or may not be behind in your mortgage payments. When you realize you are having problems, you should make a list of your creditors and begin contacting them.

The worst thing you can do is to ignore the situation and assume it will take care of itself. Lenders and creditors do not want to take legal action. They are willing to work with sincere people who are experiencing temporary problems.

So, you should:

1. Write a complete list of your creditors
2. Find documentation of your loans to obtain the following information -
a. Your loan number
b. Payment amount
c. Due date
3. Calculate your current living expenses.
4. Determine if you need to decrease expenses and/or payments of liabilities and for who long.
5. Call your lenders

While this sounds simple in theory, you may experience problems reaching persons in authority who can help you. You need to find the right department and person who are handling your account.

Create a spread sheet. Track all calls you make and the conversations you have with lenders. You should know the name of the person you are talking to and what their position is in the company. You need to follow up yourself.

Ask your mortgage lender for help and information. Perhaps they will allow you to refinance your mortgage, take out an equity loan, or pursue forbearance. Once you make it clear that you are willing to work with them, you will stand a better chance of avoiding foreclosure.

What is Forbearance?

Real Estate Foreclosures – What is Forbearance?
By Nancy Woodward

Forbearance is a process taken by a lender which allows the borrower to temporarily stop or decrease the amount of their payments for a period of time. The lender may allow the borrower forbearance of principal, interest or actually both.

Forbearances have a limited time span. Twelve months is the maximum amount of time allowed. This process allows the borrower time to get on his feet again.

Lenders are not required to offer forbearance to borrowers. They may choose to do so for a good client experiencing temporary problems. It generally is considered for those who are willing to make their payments and are suffering a temporary problem that would be helped out with this process.

If your problems have had an adverse effect on your credit, pursuing forbearance will not change anything related to this. I would suggest you contact your lender and creditors before your problem gets out of hand. Many lenders and creditors will work with you once they know how sincere you are.

Foreclosures are a Reality of Life Today

Foreclosure is now a sad reality of life for many homeowners
By Nancy Woodward

Foreclosures in general have been on the rise for over a year. At this time, sub prime borrowers are scrambling to refinance their loans. They payments have now skyrocketed and homeowners realize they must find a way to reduce the loan payment now. Tighter lending standards put into place by Federal Regulators in recent months are making it more difficult to refinance subprime loans.

According to Brett Warren, president of Buyer’s Home Mortgage Inc., as recently as six months ago, most requests to refinance were from homeowners wanting to reduce their interest rates or take equity from their property. Today, most requests are coming from subprime borrowers trying to reduce payments.

Many of these homeowners obtained loans with teaser rates and high fees. Some now find themselves in a position where the equity in their home is negative. As the number of resetting loans increase, so will the foreclosure rate.

Philadelphia and New Jersey have a majority of mortgages in the prime rate area. These seem to have a lower foreclosure rate according to Mortgage Bankers Association. The highest increases in foreclosures last month were in California and Florida, followed by Ohio and Michigan. The firing of employees in the automotive industry had a direct impact on this.

While this number will continue to increase, homeowners should seek help before they reach the foreclosure point. There are ways to solve the problem.