You had a job yesterday, but don’t today. Your wife got sick. Your car gave up the ghost. And paying your mortgage just got a whole lot harder, maybe even impossible. So what’s next? Do you go hat-in-hand to your lender and beg for help? That’s been the advice of most columnists and bloggers, including this one–speak to your lender as soon as possible, come up with reams of paperwork, and you will get the help you need. Except that method hasn’t been working very well. Continue reading ‘Problems Paying Your Mortgage? Do These Things BEFORE Calling Your Lender’
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Starting today, thousands of borrowers facing foreclosure will be able to stay in their homes and avoid the trauma of being evicted. Fannie Mae’s new “Deed for Lease” program allows impossibly situated borrowers to transfer their home ownership to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that. Yes, you still lose your home–but you avoid explaining to your kids why they have to squeeze into a crummy apartment and change schools, you don’t have to schlepp from landlord to landlord and blush whenever they check your credit, and you don’t have to add the joy of moving to your holiday celebrations. Not a small thing. Continue reading ‘Facing Foreclosure? Stay Home with Fannie’s Deed for Lease Program’
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Yes, rates are low. And if you are paying over 6% on your mortgage, you should probably look into refinancing and saving some money. However, not everyone who could benefit from refinancing will be able to do so. Here are three reasons you may not be able to refinance–and what you can do about them. Continue reading ‘3 Reasons You May Not Be Able to Refinance Now–And What You Should Do’
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The Troubled Asset Relief program (TARP) was originally touted to Congress and the public as a request for funds to purchase troubled home loans, helping lenders get them off the books and loosening up money for deserving mortgage borrowers. However, once passed, that plan was junked in favor of less direct help. Continue reading ‘When Will the Bailout Help Homeowners?’
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List of Lenders Who Are Participating in the HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) Program
HUD officials estimate this program could help about 400,000 homeowners to keep their houses. Today the agency released a still-growing list of lenders voluntarily participating. HUD strongly urges homeowners in trouble to contact the servicing or loss mitigation departments of their lenders as soon as possible.
If they are unable to reach someone who can help or are uncomfortable dealing with their lenders directly, there is help avaible through approved housing counseling services.
The list will be updated on Fridays. If your lender isn’t on it yet keep checking. And stay in contact with its workout department. If you truly want to keep your home and can afford it (with reasonable modifications) then don’t give up.
And check out the recent NINJA post for ideas on retrenching and keeping that roof over your head.
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Outfits have sprung up all over offering desparate homeowners a way out — making promises like the following, which were copied from one firm’s Web site:
Your lender WILL NOT be able to call you in attempt to collect!
Your lender WILL NOT be able to collect any deficiency or loss they may receive by you walking away!
You WILL be able to stay in your home for up to 8 months or more without having to pay anything to your lender!
You CAN have the foreclosure REMOVED from your credit!
The catch for these extravagant claims is, “IF you qualify….” Qualifying to be able to avoid deficiency, for example, means living in one of the only 2 states in the country in which it is illegal to collect deficiency judgments — or having no money, in which case the last thing you want to do is give $1,000 to a company who does nothing you can’t do yourself for free. Time Magazine ran a story in June which stated that by and large these outfits, which charge cash-strapped homeowners about $1,000, perform services that homeowners can get for free elsewhere–and the worst ones may do nothing but “handholding” after taking your money.
And removing the foreclosure from your credit? If it sounds too good to be true….remember all those scams a few years ago involving companies promising to make bad credit histories “disappear?” Too good to be true, but a lot of people lost money, and some even found themselves in hot water for committing fraud.
So ignore the extravagant claims and avoid these sleazy companies. Your best (and cheapest) sources of help don’t cost a thousand dollars. Time suggests you first contact your lender, write a letter documenting your circumstances and asking for help, and turn to non-profit housing counselors for assistance if you need it. And if you are solicited by these companies? Remember the “weasel words” typically found in advertisements for questionable products. “Actually results will vary,” “Results not typical,” or in this case, “If you qualify….”
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