Apache Junction, Arizona Short Sale

Archive for the ‘Foreclosure’ Category

Mortgage refinancing to avoid foreclosure is becoming an increasingly popular option for many homeowners. Whether they have a bad increasing mortgage, are facing financial hardships, or just need a lower monthly home loan payment, the Governments “Making Home Affordable” plan can help.

This plan is part of a $75 billion mortgage bailout program which helps struggling homeowners keep their home and avoid foreclosure, or defaulting on their mortgage. This plan is designed to help the millions of homeowners who need lower monthly payments. This will be done by giving money to mortgage lenders and banks as an incentive to approve struggling homeowners for refinancing or home loan modification. This money, besides covering any closing costs the homeowner may incur, will cover a lot of the financial risks the mortgage lender takes on with a struggling homeowner.

What this means for homeowners is easier, more flexible, and more beneficial refinancing and mortgage modification options than ever before. Homeowners who have been denied, do not have enough equity in their home, or owe more on the mortgage than the homes worth, can get approved for home loan assistance. Before this plan existed, these homeowners were pretty much out of luck and on their own. Now though, with the record foreclosure rates, and people losing their homes everywhere, things have changed for the benefit of the homeowner.

With so many advantages for homeowners, this plan will help millions of people. Besides helping individual homeowners, the overall housing market, and economy, will see a benefit from this. With such a massive number of people losing their homes, no one benefits. Mortgage lenders, banks, and the Government have stepped in to help homeowners, and you need to take advantage.

At my site I will teach you how to properly refinance or modify a home mortgage saving you thousands of dollars, or even your home. A lot of Greedy Mortgage Lenders will try to suck you dry if you let them. Learn the right way to refinance or modify your home loan at my site: http://www.refinancingcondo.com

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For more videos on short sales check out Kevin and Fred on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.

For anyone who might be thinking of whether to file personal bankruptcy, it’s a good idea to think of the long term impact of bankruptcy versus any other way of fixing your credit problem. One of the big issues facing many people today is the threat of foreclosure on their home, compared to bankruptcy. It’s not an apples to apples comparison, but here are some issues to consider.

First, foreclosure is another debt, just like a credit card. If you default on your home loan, the lender can take your house, or foreclose on the note. If you are behind on a car loan, the lender will take back your car. Either of these are major bad credit events, and will result in a drop in your credit score.

Bankruptcy however is a situation where multiple debts are either discharged, or wiped away, by a bankruptcy court, or you instead set up a plan to repay. While credit agencies won’t specify which is worse or by how much, avoiding multiple debts in bankruptcy means that many creditors were left unpaid. For secured creditors, however, like mortgage companies or car financing companies, they did get back a portion of their loan through repossessing your home or car.

If you aren’t sure whether to file bankruptcy or let the bank take your home, there are multiple issues for your to consider. Many times, you can file bankruptcy and lose your home in foreclosure anyway, as a secured mortgage lender can ask the bank to allow them to sell your home and get paid that way. This would happen in Chapter 7 more than Chapter 13 bankruptcies. In Chapter 13 bankruptcies, you will be setting up a repayment schedule, which could help you keep your home and make payments according to the repayment plan you set up with the bankruptcy court. In this case, the bankruptcy court could stop your home fro being sold, if you are making approved payments, thereby avoiding foreclosure.

Whether to file bankruptcy or let your home go to foreclosure will depend on your specific situation, your income, your total debt, and your other expenses. It’s best to make an appointment with an attorney to discuss whether a bankruptcy could actually help you save your home and avoid foreclosure. You might decide that your primary concern is to save your home, and not worry about your credit score. You can rebuild your credit score after bankruptcy, but buying a home or saving the one you have is much tougher. Talk with a credit counseling agency or bankruptcy attorney before you decide whether bankruptcy is worse than foreclosure for you and your family.

Do you need to decide right away whether to go through bankruptcy or foreclosure? You can find more about filing personal bankruptcy at BankruptcyHelpOnline.

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Watch Kevin and Fred, Short Sale Specialists, on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.

As the mortgage foreclosure crisis continues to spread throughout the United States, state legislatures have enacted new laws that are designed to provide homeowners with additional opportunities to save their homes. In Michigan, which ranks sixth in the nation for foreclosure, the state legislature recently enacted the “Lifeline Law,” which provides homeowners with an extra ninety days to work with their banks for solutions. Similarly, in June, 2009, California enacted the California Foreclosure Prevention Act, which includes a ninety-day moratorium on foreclosures.

In many jurisdictions, the court systems have enacted measures intended to provide a homeowner with the chance to stop foreclosure from happening. Efforts by courts include: (a) mandatory mediation; (b) stricter evidentiary requirements, including new rules that require banks to produce original loan documentation as a precondition for obtaining judgments of foreclosure; and (c) counseling and pro se assistance programs for homeowners in distress.

In some jurisdictions, the efforts to stave of foreclosure are aimed specifically at holders of sub-prime mortgages. In New York, borrowers and lenders are now required to meet with judicial hearing officers.

In virtually every jurisdiction, efforts aimed at assisting homeowners in the fight against foreclosure have run against a common roadblock: the reluctance of many homeowners to file the court forms that are required for them to take advantage of the new, anti-foreclosure initiatives. Many homeowners mistakenly believe that filing an answer to a foreclosure complaint, or a complaint to delay a foreclosure sale, is too complicated or expensive. In fact, filing an answer to a bank’s foreclosure complaint is a simple process that involves filling out an easy-to-understand form with the local courthouse. Answers to foreclosure complaints are available from a variety of sources, and can be completed and filed by homeowners without paying high legal fees.

In addition, legal forms required to request mortgage modification and/or bank approval of a short sale are also widely available, affordable, and easy to use. As the mortgage foreclosures crisis intensifies, lenders have shown increasing flexibility in responding to requests for loan modifications or short sales.

There are affordable alternatives for homeowners seeking to stop foreclosure. However, the success of the new foreclosure prevention initiatives homeowners will avail themselves of the various foreclosure defense forms and options that are available to them, and enter their appearances in local courts to save their homes from the tragedy of mortgage foreclosure.

Marc A. Rapaport is an attorney in New York City. He was formerly a Staff Attorney with the United States Department of Justice. He is presently the Managing Member of Rapaport Law Firm, PLLC. Mr. Rapaport is also the founder of http://www.StopForeclosureForms.com, a website that offers downloads of foreclosure defense forms, including answers to foreclosure complaints, designed to help homeowners stop mortgage foreclosure in all fifty states.

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Watch Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver of Group 46:10, Short Sale Specialists, on the daily Short Sale Power Hour.

If you’re a property preservation, real estate services, plumbing or foreclosure cleanup company, winterization is a hot service to offer to banks and other lenders who have foreclosed homes. This is especially true right now.

Winterizing More Than a Hundred Homes

According to the October 2008 KAALTV article, Winterizing Foreclosed Homes, in Austin, MN a local plumbing company winterized more than 100 homes, and expected things to get busier as foreclosures continue to escalate.

Why Banks Like for Foreclosed Homes to be Winterized

When a home is foreclosed on, it can sit vacant for months – even over a year in this economy. When a home sits vacant, especially during the winter season, pipes can burst causing water to flood.

Even if the water is turned off, the water that sits in the pipes can cause floods or damaging leaks. And, what follows floods and/or water damage? Mold.

Now imagine this sitting for weeks or months with no one being aware of it.

This is why lenders pay plumbing companies, property preservation companies, real estate services enterprises and/or foreclosure cleanup companies to winterize properties. In the long run, it costs them less money.

If you’re a foreclosure clean up company, winterization is an easy service to offer. And, it can be quite lucrative because it is one of those services that banks don’t hesitate to pay for, unlike some other services.

So, you may be wondering, exactly . . .

What Is Winterization?

Basically, winterization is protecting a home while it is unoccupied for long periods of times. A lot of this has to do with preventing water from entering a home and pipes from bursting. Another equally important component is dealing with the heating and cooling system.

Following are some things that should be done to a home during the winterization process.

Shut Off Water: This should be done at the main valve or at the inlet to the meter. Once the water is shut off, the meter should be capped – preferably by a professional – so that it can’t be turned back on.

Drain Water Heater: Remember, even if the water is turned off, if something happens, water left in pipes or a water heater can still cause flooding.

Drain Pipes: For the same reason as above, this should be done.

Open Faucets: This allows them to drain completely.

Drain Toilets: Be sure to get rid of any excess water left in the tanks; wipe them dry.

Turn Off Heating System: If you have an electric system, make sure it’s turned off at the circuit breaker. This prevents the burning up of heating elements.

Turn Off Gas & Electric: Call your local electric company to make sure this is done.

Check for Faulty Faucets and Broken Pipes: If damage is found, make sure it’s repaired so that when water is turned back on, there are no leaks.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of what goes into winterizing a home.

HUD Payment Guidelines: Home Much Do Banks Pay for Winterizing a Foreclosed Home

If you’re a foreclosure cleaning company and want to offer this service, what you will be paid depends a lot on what HUD pricing guidelines are in many cases. This is because many bank-owned properties fall under HUD.

For example, in the state of Georgia, HUD will pay anywhere from $100 to $460 for winterizing a foreclosed home, depending on the type of heat it has (ie, dry heat, steam heat, wet/radiant heat).

As you can see, this can be a very lucrative service for any foreclosure cleaning company to offer – and it shouldn’t take more than a few hours (or less) for a skilled professional to do.

May be reprinted with the following, in full: Learn everything you need to know about how to price winterization services — and how to price foreclosure cleaning jobs in general — in The Pricing Guide for Foreclosure Cleaning & Real Estate Service Businesses: How to Price Jobs for Profit, which can be found at Start-a-foreclosure-cleanup-business.com.

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Are you behind on your mortgage or are you facing foreclosure? Does it scare you that you might not have a place to live for very much longer and you might have to find a place that is not what you are used to? There are ways to save your home and avoid foreclosure if you know what you are doing and what to look for. Here are some tips to help you get loan modification to save your home.

First, you need to know what this is and what you can do to use this type of modification to save your home. You have to meet a few requirements that are pretty easy to meet. Your mortgage, taxes, insurance, and any homeowner dues have to be more than 31% of your gross monthly income combined. This is necessary for you to qualify and you also must be in some sort of financial hardship.

Second, when you get loan modification you are actually getting a new loan with a lower payment and rate that will help you make sure you can make your payments without any issue. This is important and they use your current income and budget to help make sure you will be able to handle your new payment without any issues. This will help you save your home and get back to current. This is why you need to get loan modification on your home.

Last, when you are considering modifying your mortgage you can get a free consultation, which is important because some companies want to charge you thousands just for a consultation. You can actually get it done right online for free. You just fill out a simple little form about yourself and your current mortgage. Then, they will call you the next day or within a couple days to discuss with you what they can do to help you keep your home.

Click Here to discover exactly how to Save your Home from Foreclosure by Modifying your Mortgage!

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If you’re a property preservation, real estate services, plumbing or foreclosure cleanup company, winterization is a hot service to offer to banks and other lenders who have foreclosed homes. This is especially true right now.

Winterizing More Than a Hundred Homes

According to the October 2008 KAALTV article, Winterizing Foreclosed Homes, in Austin, MN a local plumbing company winterized more than 100 homes, and expected things to get busier as foreclosures continue to escalate.

Why Banks Like for Foreclosed Homes to be Winterized

When a home is foreclosed on, it can sit vacant for months – even over a year in this economy. When a home sits vacant, especially during the winter season, pipes can burst causing water to flood.

Even if the water is turned off, the water that sits in the pipes can cause floods or damaging leaks. And, what follows floods and/or water damage? Mold.

Now imagine this sitting for weeks or months with no one being aware of it.

This is why lenders pay plumbing companies, property preservation companies, real estate services enterprises and/or foreclosure cleanup companies to winterize properties. In the long run, it costs them less money.

If you’re a foreclosure clean up company, winterization is an easy service to offer. And, it can be quite lucrative because it is one of those services that banks don’t hesitate to pay for, unlike some other services.

So, you may be wondering, exactly . . .

What Is Winterization?

Basically, winterization is protecting a home while it is unoccupied for long periods of times. A lot of this has to do with preventing water from entering a home and pipes from bursting. Another equally important component is dealing with the heating and cooling system.

Following are some things that should be done to a home during the winterization process.

Shut Off Water: This should be done at the main valve or at the inlet to the meter. Once the water is shut off, the meter should be capped – preferably by a professional – so that it can’t be turned back on.

Drain Water Heater: Remember, even if the water is turned off, if something happens, water left in pipes or a water heater can still cause flooding.

Drain Pipes: For the same reason as above, this should be done.

Open Faucets: This allows them to drain completely.

Drain Toilets: Be sure to get rid of any excess water left in the tanks; wipe them dry.

Turn Off Heating System: If you have an electric system, make sure it’s turned off at the circuit breaker. This prevents the burning up of heating elements.

Turn Off Gas & Electric: Call your local electric company to make sure this is done.

Check for Faulty Faucets and Broken Pipes: If damage is found, make sure it’s repaired so that when water is turned back on, there are no leaks.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of what goes into winterizing a home.

HUD Payment Guidelines: Home Much Do Banks Pay for Winterizing a Foreclosed Home

If you’re a foreclosure cleaning company and want to offer this service, what you will be paid depends a lot on what HUD pricing guidelines are in many cases. This is because many bank-owned properties fall under HUD.

For example, in the state of Georgia, HUD will pay anywhere from $100 to $460 for winterizing a foreclosed home, depending on the type of heat it has (ie, dry heat, steam heat, wet/radiant heat).

As you can see, this can be a very lucrative service for any foreclosure cleaning company to offer – and it shouldn’t take more than a few hours (or less) for a skilled professional to do.

May be reprinted with the following, in full: Learn everything you need to know about how to price winterization services — and how to price foreclosure cleaning jobs in general — in The Pricing Guide for Foreclosure Cleaning & Real Estate Service Businesses: How to Price Jobs for Profit, which can be found at Start-a-foreclosure-cleanup-business.com.

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Buying a foreclosure is much easier than you might think. Most people have the notion that dealing with banks will be a hassle, and bank officers are only looking to say “no” when ever they can. Not so. Banks are in the business of lending money for a return. Owning property is not part of their business plan. So don’t be intimidated by dealing with banks.

Here are some things you need to consider as you pursue the purchase of a foreclosure.

First, foreclosed properties will be bought “as is”. That is, what you see is what you get. The bank has not done any upkeep or fixed any parts of the property as, again, that’s not the business they are in. So make sure you hire a reputable property inspector. And here’s a hint: when you have found an inspector who will work for you, tell the bank you are willing to shorten the inspection period you require. Sometimes they will jump on this idea as they are just wanting to get rid of the property as quickly as possible.

Second, know the neighborhood. Even in these times, the standard real estate axiom applies: buy the worst property in the best neighborhood. Unless, of course, you plan on living on the property. But even then, you want to protect your investment by buying in a good neighborhood.

The bank will generally use two tactics when accepting offers. First, they will take offers up to an appointed time then toss out all but the top two. They will then ask you for your best offer and/or your final offer. The bank wants to get as much money from you as possible, like any seller. Second, they might accept the first decent offer they get.

Finally, there are real estate professionals in your town that have represented and sold foreclosed properties. Your agent should be able to get for you some critical information that you will need. Such as: comparable sales, pending sales, and the number of offers on the property. Of course, the number of offers on a property will impact the offer you come in with. And your real estate professional will submit your pre-approval letter to the bank so that they know your offer is legitimate. But, again, when finding a professional that you need to trust, ask around.

If you happen to live in the California’s bay area there are many areas that offer great deals on foreclosed homes. Two of the areas I would recommend are Hollister Ca homes for sale and San Jose Ca homes for sale.

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There are two main components to the average home going into foreclosure: uncertainty and inaction. More times than not when you speak with someone who has lost their home, the most common statements are “I didn’t know what to do” and “I just kept hoping that it would all go away.”

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The first thing to do when facing the possibility of foreclosure is to take an unbiased look at the current financial situation. Is it going to change…really change? Hoping that the problems will go away doesn’t usually help. If you were sick, would you hope you got better or would you see a doctor? If hanging onto a hope is all there is, then it’s time to take some definite actions.

If you need to sell your home, there are two steps to take.

The first is gain knowledge. The homes value and mortgage owed is the first part. Then a plan must be developed whereby the home can be sold fast, days not months. This means an untraditional sale. Lease Options fill that ticket. They are the best method to sell a home fast in a declining economy. They are safe, legal, and done on a daily basis. The only thing to consider is that they must be understood and executed properly. A poorly executed plan of any sort is not advised. So the first thing to do is to go out and learn the proper way to execute a lease option.

The second step is to take action. This is where you put the knowledge gained in the first step to work. Get the word out, market, and let prospective buyers that there is a home on the market and ready to sell. Despite what the banks will tell you, this will work. As a side note, the only reason the banks won’t tell you about lease options, is that you keep the money.

Are you willing to put some effort into learning the proper way to conduct a lease option? Are you willing to put in some minor work? If so, and if you need to sell your home, then please do yourself a favor. Take action today. That home is one of the single most important investments many of us will ever make. Don’t let it be taken away when you stand to make not just money upfront, but a genuine monthly cash flow as well. You can do it!

As a Lease Option expert, Steven Morse is the co-founder of SelfBailout.com where he is the resident real estate expert and the driving force behind the Home Selling Advantage Course. This invaluable course shows how homeowner’s can sell their homes quickly, safely, and profitably…even in today’s tough economy. http://www.selfbailout.com

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Yes, free foreclosure listings are often for real. If you are unsure about whether such information do not hesitate to ask your friends and neighbors what they know about the situation. It never would hurt to ask a true professional within the world of real estate. It is always good to have several eyes on a subject being able to verify the veracity of real estate based information. A real estate professional can also check their documents and sources to see if the information on a site regarding prices is indeed accurate. If they are able to come to the conclusion that the pricing information is inaccurate then the entire list may indeed be a scam.

You want to see reasonable prices on a part of the list at the list. If you do not see anything on the list that is within your price range do not try to stretch your checkbook too much. People such as major economists believe that part of the reason why there was a housing crisis was because of some people buying houses they couldn’t afford. Even though many people believe the foreclosure crisis was also caused by people being damaged by predatory loan practices, that wasn’t the entire story. Even the most liberal and socialistic or sympathetic to poor people as far as economists go admit that people were simply spending too much. The New Times op-ed writer and Princeton professor Paul Krugman even concedes that some of the fault belongs to the small consumers as opposed to the larger corporations. The corporations did tend to gamble with these mortgages and that tends to have houses end up on free listings.

You can also check with groups like consumer affairs to make sure the inexpensive information on these lists is accurate. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader may even have a group or connections to make sure that housing information within a place like Baltimore, Maryland is accurate. There may be state legislators who would be willing to check to make sure such information is accurate.

By the way, by researching and comparing the best free foreclosure listings services in the market, you will be able to determine the one that meets your specific requirements, plus the free or cheaper options. This way you will save time through up to date foreclosure listings and money by getting better results over your investment.

Hector Milla runs the Free Home Foreclosure Listings website, where you can see a review of the best rated free foreclosure listing service.

Read our full reviews, plus hundreds of articles and video training about this subject.

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