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Montana’s foreclosure future uncertain
The Obama Administration is providing a new $2 Billion fund to needy homeowners in states in with the highest foreclosure rates. Montana does not make that list of 17 states, but our foreclosure future is as uncertain as ever.

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Montana’s foreclosure future uncertain
The Obama Administration is providing a new $2 Billion fund to needy homeowners in states in with the highest foreclosure rates. Montana does not make that list of 17 states, but our foreclosure future is as uncertain as ever.

Read more on KBZK Bozeman

Late mortgage payments spike in 2Q vs year ago
The rate at which U.S. homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments remained stubbornly elevated in the second quarter.

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Seven of 13 foreclosed homes bought by Indio ready for sale
Foreclosed and dilapidated homes the city of Indio bought and renovated through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program are ready for purchase.

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Need prayer? Tailgate prayer stand attracts California commuters, takes prayer requests to go
LOMA LINDA, Calif. – Joyce Kim needed a sign to remind her to pray. She found it a few months ago along a stretch of rural road where she and hundreds of other Southern California commuters drive home every day.

Read more on Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

Its almost time to cast your vote
Clyde Vanel, top left, will challenge Assemblywoman Barbara Clark while Lynn Nunes, above left, will take on state Sen. Shirley Huntley. TOP FILE PHOTOS, ABOVE LEFT COURTESY LYNN NUNES, ABOVE RIGHT BY ANNMARIE COSTELLA

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Specifically Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows the person filing to work-out a repayment plan that extends over a 36 to 60 month period. The amount of the repayment is based on the income of the “petitioner” and can substantially eliminate certain debt. But this debt is only non-exempt items which are not fully collateralized by an asset, such as an auto or a home.

What happens is the petitioner petitions the court to accept his Chapter 13 filing. It does not have to be accepted but if it is accepted, the court appoints a trustee who determines a repayment schedule. The petition does not have to be accepted if the petitioner filed too recently or if his assets don’t qualify. If accepted, the trustee begins his work of determining how the monies from the homeowner will be distributed to his creditors. As soon as the filing was accepted, the petitioner (homeowner) no longer has the ability to sell any of his assets without the trustee’s authorization. Assuming you want to stop your foreclosure by filing bankruptcy, you will temporarily lose your ability to sell your home without the trustee’s approval.

If you find a buyer, the trustee will allow the sale, but only if he can be convinced the price is at fair market value (FMV). He needs an appraisal, because homeowners could sell their assets below market value prior to their filing. It is the trustee’s responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen by checking bank statements and the public records back six months and sometimes longer. If such a sale took place, the trustee could have the deed voided and the sale reversed. This would be very inconvenient and costly for the new homeowner and the petitioner.

Lenders know that many homeowners will file bankruptcy because attorneys’ advertise so heavily and the homeowners do not understand the legal process. When the lender gets notice that a bankruptcy has been filed by the homeowner, they immediately instruct their attorney to petition the court for its release from the bankruptcy filing. A special hearing will be scheduled so there may be a few day’s delay in your having to leave your home. However, when the court hears the lender’s petition to release the home, the court will approve it. Now the homeowner has a bankruptcy to contend with, and his home will be back on track to be sold.

The larger consequence of the home being released is that the homeowner will have a bankruptcy on his credit report for ten years instead of seven years for a foreclosure. Actually, the bankruptcy is a matter of public record for 20 years and will stay on the individual’s credit report under “Public Records” for up to 20 years. So bankruptcy is a short-term fix with very long-term consequences. Consult an attorney as soon as you believe bankruptcy may be an option for more complete information.

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Do Nothing – The stress of facing foreclosure can push many homeowners into turning their head and letting the foreclosure process run it’s course. Doing nothing to save your have is the worst mistake you can make. You can avoid foreclosure with foreclosure assistance by a loan modification attorney. Saving your home from foreclosure should be your top priority. Homeownership is the key to financial wealth, personal health, and a stable family. Why do nothing when we can stop foreclosure today.

File Bankruptcy – While this option may of been very popular in the past new bankruptcy laws and restrictions make this once easy process very hard. Filing for bankruptcy may not relieve you of your obligation to repay your mortgage, foreclosures may still proceed, and it may damage your credit for the rest of your life. Avoid bankruptcy at all cost and consult a loan modification attorney before filing for bankruptcy.

Short Sale – A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure. Often a bank will choose to allow a short sale if they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing. The downside to a short sale is that it takes time to sell a home even at a bargain in such a defunct housing market. There are foreclosures on every block, housing prices are rock bottom, and selling a short sale is next to impossible. The entire time the home is on the market you are still responsible for your mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance. Can you truly afford this option?

Loan Modification – Loan modification has quickly become the best option for homeowners facing home foreclosure. Loan modification is not the only option for homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure due to late mortgage payments. However; it is an option that can save your home while putting you in a mortgage you can afford. So how does loan modification work and who is eligible for a loan modification? Here are some helpful tools and resources below to help you understand your options.

The most common loan modifications are lowering the interest rate, reducing the principal balance, ‘fixing’ adjustable interest rates, forgiveness of payment defaults & Fees, or any combination of these. A loan modification can help home owners who can’t refinance or afford their current mortgage payments. Getting an approved loan modification for troubled home loans can help stop the foreclosure process.

A loan modification with a loan modification attorney may offer a more favorable loan modification agreement than your mortgage lender will offer you directly. With so many home loans adjusting to higher payments a loan workout with a Loan Modification Attorney, can modify mortgage loan terms fast and effectively. Obtaining foreclosure help and proper legal advice from a loan modification attorney will get you a better loan modification agreement with your lender and preserve your credit. If you are already behind in your mortgage payments this may help stop the foreclosure process and help you avoid foreclosure.

A loan workout needs to perform for both parties; your lender does not want your home and to go through the foreclosure process. However, they may not want to accept your partial payment and threaten foreclosure if you are late or in default. A HUD housing counselor or a loan modification attorney can offer free foreclosure advice to homeowners that want to keep their home.

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Read more on The News Journal

Paulson’s bet on PMI drives company stock higher
Hedge fund buys 5 million shares of Walnut Creek mortgage insurer

Read more on Contra Costa Times

Shire to withdraw ProAmatine after FDA threatens to pull it off shelves over missing data
WASHINGTON – Shire PLC says it will pull a blood-pressure drug off the market following warnings from federal regulators who said the drug has not been proven effective.

Read more on Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

Paulson’s bet on PMI drives company stock higher
PMI Group Inc., the Walnut Creek-based insurer that posted 12 straight quarterly losses, rose the most in four months, leading mortgage guarantors higher after billionaire John Paulson’s hedge fund disclosed it bought 5 million shares.

Read more on Walnut Creek Journal

Home sales slide while prices jump
The number of homes sold in Oakland County this July fell 15.6 percent to 1,380 from last Julys 1,636 but prices climbed nearly 12 percent.

Read more on The Oakland Press

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1. Missed Payment – this notice usually arrives when you miss a mortgage payment on any given month. Payment has to be in during the first day of the month. However, banks give a grace period up until the 15th. Otherwise, you would have to pay for a late fee.

2. Demand Letter – Demand letter is sent to homeowners when two payments are missed. The time frame before a demand letter is written up is usually 60 days. The lender is still willing to work with the homeowner at this point. However, the borrower should remit payment within 30 days.

3. Notice of Default – Also called as NOD, this letter is sent 90 days after payments are missed payments. Here, your loan will be transferred to the foreclosure department of the lender in the same county where the property is situated. The borrower is informed and the Notice will be recorded. The letter may arrive within 10 days after the Notice is filed. Another 90 days will be given to let the borrower to settle his obligations.

4. Notice of Trustee’s Sale – If after 90 days and you still have not sent in the payment for your delinquency, a notice of trustee sale will be recorded from the same county of filing. The lender would now initiate the process involved with the sell of your property. It would usually take 21 days. The borrower would also receive a copy of the letter for reference.

5. Trustee’s Sale – Also known as Sheriff’s sale, this indicates that the property is already advertised at a public auction. It would be sold anytime an interested buyer surfaces.

6. REO – REO means real-estate owned. This correspondence indicates that the property is not sold during the auction. It would then be forwarded to a broker to further sell it to the general public.

7. Eviction from Property – The default homeowner can stay in the property for as long as it still hasn’t sold. But once it does, an eviction notice would arrive telling you that you have to vacate the premises immediately as another person already owns the property.

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1. DOING NOTHING. This is the biggest mistake. If you don’t start fixing the problem, you won’t determine a solution that works in your favor. Many homeowners facing foreclosure are paralyzed in fear of the calls from the collection department and just let the foreclosure process take over, giving up their homes without a fight. You need to study up on your options, make a plan and follow it up. There are many options for you which will make life easier in the long run if you do some research yourself and then approach a professional to assist them in stopping a foreclosure.

2. TALK TO LOSS MITIGATION, NOT JUST COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT. Contacting regular mortgage staff instead of Loss Mitigation Department is another common mistake. The collections call you received from the bank are from operators trained in collections only and departments are not in communication with each other. They will ask you things like “Can you borrow money from somewhere else?” Guess what? No, you are already stretched to the last penny, so no, there are no more options! The collectors are only looking at bringing your loan current. If you borrow more to make a payment you can’t afford you’ll only end up that owing more people money you cannot pay back. You need to tell the collectors that you need the number to Loss Mitigation Department, they might be hesitant, but keep politely insisting for the number to Loss Mitigation.

3. NOT RESEARCHING CHOICES BESIDES A FORECLOSURE. DO NOT leave your foreclosure process or workout completely in somebody else hands. There comes a point you might hire a professional to help you with the process. It might be an attorney, real estate agent or some other type professional. This is where your research and study is very important. That real estate agent might tell you they handle short sales, but if you researched and asked the agent a few key questions you will know right away. So research and study, the effort could save you tens of thousands of dollars and up to 300 points on your credit score.

4. DO NOT MOVE FROM YOUR PROPERTY WHEN FACING FORECLOSURE. There are so many houses in foreclosures right now that the mortgage companies cannot keep up with them. The mortgage companies are not landlords, they know how to give out loans, but they are not land owners. When you leave your home the yard overgrows, a sure sign to vandals that the house is empty or if a water pipe burst who going to stop the water. Staying in the house until a solution is found could save you thousands of dollars in monthly mortgage payments. You staying physically on the property is of value to the mortgage, even if you cannot make mortgage payments you are preventing vandalism and providing care and maintenance of the mortgage company’s investment. Sometimes the process of foreclosure could take 12 months saving you $18,000 at $1500 a month payments. In fact one of the first questions two questions mortgage companies ask you almost immediately are: do you plan to keep the property? Are you living in the property?

5. THINKING YOUR HOME IS WORTH WHAT YOU PAID FOR IT. Because your mortgage company paid for the assessment, it undoubtedly came in as worth the asking price or above. But that is not an indication the home is worth what you paid for it two years ago or four years ago. Guess what? The Mortgage lenders and the subprime folks are part of the reason we are in this mess right now. They overinflated the market, handed out money like candy and promised you that a home is your best investment and never goes down. WRONG. The mortgage crisis is not new, the US experienced the same set of problems in the 1980s, resulting in some of the protection methods now in place to protect homeowners in 2008. Take the hit on the value and save your credit so that you can buy an affordable a house in a year or so versus seven years from now when filing bankruptcy or paying 2 to 5 interest points higher after going through foreclosure.

In in nutshell, invest a few dollars now on educational materials to guide you on how to stop foreclosure, to inform you of your rights, and to protect your credit rating from unnecessary damage. Then make a plan. Do you save your home or look at a short sale? Then put your plan in action. Just taking these steps alone will relieve some of the stress your feeling right now. The process will take time, but then the hard part of stopping foreclosure is finished in a day or two, then it’s a waiting game for the bank to process it and keep track of the process.

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HUD Foreclosures

HUD foreclosures are properties in the possession of the government. The owner borrowed from a government organization and was unable to repay the loan, so the property passed into government possession.

VA Foreclosures

VA foreclosures are another type of government foreclosure. Here, the property in possession of the government is sold through auctions. The advantage of this kind of auction over other foreclosed property auctions is that you can set the limit beyond which you won’t bid. Most foreclosure home listings also list VA foreclosures.

Bank Foreclosures

If you are a new investor, maybe this is the type of foreclosure you have come across most often. Banks are prime lenders; therefore, on default of loan, the property goes to the banks. Banks either sell the property or auction them.

Tax Foreclosure

Most of us associate foreclosure with mortgage or other loan defaults. But sometimes homes are seized if the owner fails to pay up tax defaults. The property is sold through auctions held by HUD or VA.

Safe Investment

Government auctions are safe, particularly because you can set the limit beyond which you cannot afford to bid. It saves the agency the trouble of holding an auction again if you fail to pay up after winning a bid and you dont run the risk of paying a penalty or losing your deposit.

Bank auctions are the next best option. Most people purchase foreclosure homes from banks because banks have the most properties to sell and they dont usually have hidden mortgages/liens that you need to clear once you buy the property.

Pre foreclosure property purchase is the most unsafe. If you want to purchase foreclosure homes from the owner before the home passes into the hands of the lender, you need to look out for hidden mortgages and taxes. New investors should stick to reliable sources of information such as government or private foreclosure home listings or ask a trustworthy real estate agent for help.

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When deciding to invest in real estate foreclosure, it’s important to know where to find these properties and how to acquire the right information. You have to decide if you will invest in commercial properties or residential. Either case, you then need to gather information on any liens or other defaults that may be associated with the property. Depending on how you buy these properties, you may end up being responsible for the liens on the property.

Though not known by many, properties that are foreclosed upon are public knowledge. The list of foreclosed properties is available through your local county building. This will only include properties that are already foreclosed. You can usually access this list around the time they hold the auction for the current month. This will give you time to do the research necessary to be prepared for the next month’s auction.

If you want to purchase a property before it goes to public auction, that will take a little footwork on your part. There are websites that offer information on properties that are in pre-foreclosure. Be aware, the information on these sites is not always accurate. We had a property bought, remodeled, and getting ready to close; yet on the website we used to find it, it was still listed as in pre-foreclosure. It’s a good idea to call the lender and make sure that the property is in fact still in pre-foreclosure. If it is you will want to contact the property owner, explain who you are and your interest in their property. This may not start out as a pleasant conversation since the owner does not want to sell the property, yet when you explain to them that this will work in both of your interests, they may change their mind. In buying the property this way, the owner will not have to complete the foreclosure process which means that their credit score will not get a negative rating for this instance. They will pay off their mortgage and you will get the property at a dramatic discount.

Whether it’s pre-foreclosure or in foreclosure, it’s best to be informed about the property that you will attempt to purchase. You can do this by ordering a title search in which a company will research the records dating back a certain time period. This will bring up any liens or back taxes owed on the property. You may end up being responsible for these extra expenses. Therefore you must be aware of them so that you can bid fairly to cover all of the expenses, not just the mortgage owed. If you do not have the money and are willing to spend a little time at your local county building, you can do a search for these records yourself. You will need to visit the tax assessor’s office in order to determine if their taxes are paid in full or delinquent. You will also need to visit the recorder’s office and the county clerk’s office. In these two offices you will research liens on the properties in which money is owed. This type of information is the same that a title search will turn up and you will be able to do it for free.

Once you’ve acquired the information needed, it’s time to prepare yourself to bid a price for the property. If you are dealing directly with the homeowner, you have flexibility. You should have a good idea of what they owe to the bank and any liens at this point. You may want to offer them just enough to cover what they owe or slightly more. If negotiations are successful and you come to an agreement, you must be able to close the sale before the time of the auction. This is the only drawback to this type of sale. The monies owed must be paid before time of auction, otherwise the property is sold at auction, regardless of any agreement you may have entered with the homeowner. If you decide to purchase at auction, you must be prepared to pay the full amount of the agreed on price within a certain time period of being awarded the property.

After the auction or the agreed upon negotiation of the property, you will immediately be able to claim ownership of said property. If you have been negotiating and talking to the people that own said property, they are already expecting this and will probably have already moved out. Be aware, however, that if the owners refuse to leave the property, you may have to go through the eviction process that can take up to three months to complete. We recently decided to walk away from the award of a property at auction exactly for that reason. Our county will not send police to enforce the sale of the property. Therefore, in order to get the people to move out, the eviction process must be used. This wastes valuable time in which you could be fixing up the property and getting it ready for sale. This is one reason why, though it may be difficult, having communication with the property owners before the auction may save you a lot of headaches in the long run.

Once the property is legally yours, you are free to invest in it and make profit from it. It can be a wonderful way to work for yourself and make money while doing it. Our business has successfully invested in many properties and yours can too.

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Foreclosures are at an all time high which presents an outstanding opportunity.

High instant profit margins – for the well trained investor

You can buy at a steep discount in many cases

The future trend for finding good deals is up borrowers are defaulting on their sub-prime loans, ARMs are resetting to higher percentages, falling property values, balloon notes becoming due, unstable money and security markets causing financial losses, and uncertain economy leading to layoffs

Always a steady inventory of new property

Most people dont understand the process minimum good information given to the uninformed public

Some properties can be purchased for little of your own money

Sellers are highly motivated

Banks dont want properties they want to get rid of them as quickly as possible

Why Foreclosures are Growing?

Foreclosures are a fact of life. Anytime a debtor breaches an obligation of a security document; thats like a mortgage, deed, or trust something like that, the lender has the right to foreclose on the property. The grantor most likely doesnt want to acquire the property but they do want repayment of the funds owed. Now in todays market we are seeing lenders lowering interest rates, extending loan terms, and theres even talk of forgiving part of the mortgage amount. Even so there are still tons of foreclosures to work. There is an orderly process to the foreclosure which allows an opportunity to cure the situation. However, some homeowners are not in a position to cure that default. This may happen for a number of reasons:

Loss of job Need for immediate cash Business failure Divorce Death Mortgage resetting Job transfer Out of state owner/out-of-towner

Pre-Foreclosures

Many times you can catch a property before it has gone on to the auction block. This time period is called pre-foreclosure. The property is in default and likely the mortgage payments are several months behind. The property owner may have no means of curing the default. Yet, the time is ticking towards the time that the auction will take place and everything will be lost. Given that a foreclosure on a persons credit record is the single most devastating item preventing any future borrowing for years to come. A homeowner in pre-foreclosure should be very eager and happy to work with you. Without your help they may not only lose their home but their credit might also be destroyed. A fundamental key to making profit in the foreclosure market is understanding why the property went into foreclosure. Perhaps the homeowner had a temporary cash shortage. You may be able to help them and take an equity position in the property in return for rectifying the situation. Or the owner may be financially devastated and just wants to dump the property before their personal credit is destroyed. You could help solve their immediate problem and give them a new start.

Finding Foreclosures

Now when we talk about finding foreclosures there are many sources to aid you in finding foreclosures. Hopefully you can find the foreclosure before it has gone too far into the foreclosure process and all possibility of redemption have passed. Again, in todays market its a lot easier to find property in foreclosure than ever before. The following are a few locations to begin the search:

Classifieds Legal newspapers Attorneys For Sale By Owner Realtors = Short sell/REOs Auction companies IRS auctions Bankruptcies Probate Court County Courthouse/Registrar of Deeds this is where it all starts!

Would you like learn more detail? Check out:

http://www.foreclosureforagrand.com

-Kyle

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