Expert Author: Nick Adama | Category: Finance Homeowners dealing with the threat of foreclosure should know about as many options as possible, if they are attempting to save their homes before time runs out. Some of these options fall under the category of "loss mitigation."
Expert Author: Nick Adama | Category: Finance The number of potential violations of law, court procedures, and common human decency that the owners, managers, and employees of collection agencies have been caught engaging in is almost endless. Homeowners facing foreclosure, consumers considering bankruptcy, and even families attempting to pay back loans but who have fallen on hard times should be aware of these tactics in order to recognize them as the violations they are.
Expert Author: Nick Adama | Category: Finance It should come as no surprise that the vast majority of people who fall behind on debt payments do so for financial hardship reasons -- not because they are simply deadbeats. Despite, this, however debt collection agencies often take steps to inflict the maximum amount of anxiety, fear, and embarrassment on borrowers who fall behind on loans, going so far as harassment and engaging in other illegal acts.
Expert Author: Nick Adama | Category: Finance Seventy-five percent of foreclosure lawsuits that banks initiate are based on wrong documentation. But too few homeowners even appear in court to defend their homes, and the ones do show up to a foreclosure hearing do not know enough about the law and their rights.
Although banks love the lawyers whose services they can buy, either as government legislators, regulators, or law firms who will lie to courts about foreclosure cases, these same lenders rarely enjoy talking to the legal representative of a homeowner.
This weekend on the radio, there was an interesting discussion among a handful of financial and mortgage experts about the banking industry's current fascination with loan modification programs. The participants in the discussion came up with some very good points about the modifications that lenders are currently offering to homeowners in foreclosure trying to lower their monthly bills and how banks use attorneys to pursue foreclosure but do not want to deal with a homeowner's legal representation.
Expert Author: Nick Adama | Category: Finance The Boston Federal Reserve Bank has examined two of the leading causes of foreclosures across the nation, and neither of these causes are the often-cited "unaffordable mortgage payments" due to adjustable rate loans.
The government and the President have a new plan to help homeowners out of foreclosure. We refer to it as the "Obama Plan". Many homeowners are hoping and praying for the best, but if history has shown us anything, we know it's always best to have a back up plan.
Expert Author: Nick Adama | Category: Finance A growing trend during the current depression is squatters moving into bank-owned homes and living in them rent and mortgage free. Although this seems astounding, with the inflated real estate bubble not yet completely burst, banks reluctant to recognize losses on such properties, and so many empty homes available, it was a likely result of the collapse.
One of the mistakes that many homeowners facing a financial setback often make is failing to prioritize their bills. Even after they fall behind on a few monthly bills or debt payments, instead of abandoning the least important ones, they typically try to keep on top or just a little late with all of them. This can often be a mistake.
With the federal government appropriating close to a trillion dollars to spending and stimulus programs and the Federal Reserve private bank system pumping into the markets close to $10 trillion in cash reserves, can there really be a liquidity crisis anymore? And if so, how many more trillions of dollars of liquidity will be needed to solve the problem?
While many homeowners who read this article would ideally want to save their home from foreclosure, this may not always be the best solution to a financial problem. But too often, the emotional attachment that owners have to a property is strong enough that they would like to keep the house, even if the plan they use to save it is not reasonable for the long term.
Many foreclosure specialists and mortgage brokers often find it very difficult to work with the mortgage company, especially when a loan is with the foreclosure or loss mitigation department. Getting a call back in a timely manner is near-impossible, regardless of the fact that these same lenders spend money hiring collection agents to call the homeowners all day at home, work, and on their cell phones.
In a foreclosure situation, the lender spends thousands of dollars on lawyers who will pursue the legal process, and homeowners would be well served with the same type of competent legal advice from their own attorney. In the cases where legal help is absolutely essential, foreclosure victims can hire a lawyer to try and help defend against the foreclosure lawsuit by the bank, or to help file bankruptcy.
Because a gain on the sale of a property can trigger income tax liabilities, unless the gains are invested in another piece of real estate within certain time limits, homeowners assume that any sale of their home, in foreclosure or otherwise, will cause them to owe the IRS money. However, only in certain instances will there be any liability; and there will most likely be no income tax to be paid if the house is sold at a sheriff sale for a loss.
