Feb
28
Free Foreclosure Calculator
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Know About Foreclosure Listings in Your Area
Lenders continue foreclosing at a record pace.
The supply of posted homes increased dramatically over the last several years while demand remains low. This unique situation in the real estate market creates a rich opportunity for buyers.
Hector Milla Editor of the “Free Home Foreclosure Listings” website — http://www.FreeHomeForeclosureListings.net — pointed out;
“…To find potential foreclosures, you could waste hours at the courthouse standing in line. You could waste hundreds of dollars buying a local list of pending foreclosures for each county. You have a much better option. Internet services provide foreclosure listings online for a negligible fee…”
The best online services update daily. They provide a wealth of information, including loan data, lien data, date of sale, valuation, and much more. Photographs are also available to help you decide if you are interested.
The cost of using an online service is about $30 to $50 a month. In return, you gain access to over a million home listings. You can monitor an unlimited number of homes. You can watch all counties that interest you. You may choose to monitor all counties in your state. The best companies offer a free trial for seven days to evaluate the service. During this free trial offer, you receive full access to all service. You may cancel your subscription at anytime.
“…Begin by reviewing the foreclosure listings for your county, and perhaps a few counties within easy driving distance. Work through the list and compare valuations, lien balances, and comparable sales. Evaluate all information you consider important. A photograph should give you a general impression about the condition of the property. At this point, decide which homes you should inspect. After conducting a curbside inspection, calculate your maximum bid if you are still interested…” added H. Milla.
On the day of sale, expect other potential bidders. You already should know your maximum bid based on your review of the list of foreclosures and your onsite inspection. Occasionally, you will be the only bidder. This is payday, and you may purchase a home for an amazing bargain.
Further information and resources to get free home foreclosure listings by visiting http://www.FreeHomeForeclosureListings.net
About the Author
Hector Milla runs his corporate website at http://www.OpsRegs.com where you can see all his articles and press releases.
Feb
28
Stop Foreclosure Loans Lenders
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Stop Foreclosure Loans-How to Obtain One
When you’re having financial troubles, the first thing you need to figure out is to stop foreclosure loans. A foreclosure loan won’t just cause you to lose your home. It will result in a really bad credit score too, which will be hard to repair. Once you’re facing foreclosure, you’re looking at a serious dislocation, and the possibility of never being able to buy your own house for five to seven years.
Talk to your lender
Most people make the mistake of “hiding their tracks” when they lose money. Whether it’s out of guilt or panic, they always do the same thing. Instead of telling the lender the full details of their circumstances, they dodge credit card and mortgage payments completely, thinking that the problem will go away.
Aside from the fact that hiding isn’t a very grown up thing to do, it won’t stop foreclosure loans either. Remember, once that Notice of Default arrives at your doorstep, there’s no turning back. You will have to face the consequences of a foreclosure, which will mean having your home auctioned off for less than the value it’s supposed to have.
Before that Notice of Default comes your way, you should tell your lender that you’re in serious financial trouble. Your lender, whether it’s a bank or a smaller loaning agency, can do two things. They can either give you a longer loan period which spreads the payments into smaller, more manageable portions throughout the term, or they could refer you to a financial counselor.
You’ll be surprised at how many families actually face foreclosure threats when they own more than enough luxury cars and other excessive items in their homes. Who knows, instead of refinancing, you might just need to sell off cars which you don’t need, and settle for items which fit better within your means.
Look at your credit history
Even without a financial counselor, you should be able to pinpoint which things you’re overspending on. For example, if you spend way too much on clothing, maybe it’s time to shift to a more affordable brand. Being in a huge financial trouble is also indicative of the fact that you’re probably not earning enough for the things that your lifestyle demands. You should look at your daily schedule and examine if you’re actually maximizing your efforts to earn money. If you spend ¾ of the time shopping and only ¼ on work, then you should set your priorities straight.
Consider short selling
Instead of having your home auctioned off, you can also consider short selling. This option is ideal if any method of refinancing still doesn’t work for you. When there’s a death in the family, or a serious illness you need to finance, lenders are usually more forgiving. They can choose to “ignore” a portion of your debt so you can catch up on your payments. However, when you have totally no money at hand, selling the property in your own terms is better than having it foreclosed. Short selling also saves you from the trouble of facing bad credit scores in the future.
About the Author
Looking for Stop Foreclosure Loans? We can give you a 100% free consultation to give you the BEST solution for your situation. Stop worrying and visit us today, go to
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Feb
28
Government Foreclosure Help Homeowners Missouri
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Witch Hunt or Consumer Protection? – 178 Loan Mod Companies Pursued by Government
Detroit – Over the last several weeks I’ve noticed a substantial increase in the number of loan modification companies being investigated by various government agencies.
All I can say is that it’s about time.
Now don’t misinterpret that statement – I believe that loan modifications may be part of a viable solution in getting our country out of the current housing crisis, although it’s too soon to determine their actual long-term effectiveness.
I also have nothing against loan modification companies in general nor the people that work at them. I’ve met or connected with many individuals that are intent on really helping people and do their best to do so.
Lastly, many homeowners do need some type of assistance as lenders don’t have their best interests in mind when they do loan modifications and many lenders draw the process out seemingly forever.
On the other hand, I’ve personally heard many stories from homeowners victimized by loan modification companies, have heard the same stories from mortgage associates and have read many more on the internet.
From Subprime to Loan Mods
I predicted over a year ago that loan modification companies would become the new subprime “churn & burn” debacle. This was triggered by my observations that many local subprime loan originators were flocking to do loan modifications. I even heard several stories of these originators approaching the same clients they’d put in subprime loans, with offers to now do loan modifications for them.
There really is no barrier of entry to do loan modifications. All you need is a phone and the ability to find clients. Finding clients is easy with so many homeowners struggling with their mortgage payment.
This should all sound familiar as much of it applied to the mortgage industry in general until recently, when state governments started requiring individual licensing of loan originators and the federal government created a national registration system.
When Michigan enacted its Loan Officer Registration Act, April 1, 2009, the state expected 10,000 to register based on past data. To date only 3141 have met the requirements of 24 hours of class time, passed a multiple choice test and background screening. How many of the unregistered do you think are now using their limited mortgage knowledge to do loan modifications?
Desperate People do Desperate Things
One would think that a homeowner, burned by a bad mortgage, would be a bit more cautious when considering a loan modification.
The number of loan mod companies popping up however, prove otherwise. It’s basic supply and demand – the numbers of these companies wouldn’t be expanding if there weren’t desperate homeowners to support them.
So, how do homeowners get burned by these companies? In no particular order:
- Paying upfront fees for a modification never completed.
- Being told they’ll get a principal balance reduction, when in reality it rarely happens.
- Getting approved for a modification that raises their payment or insignificantly lowers it.
- Following advice to not contact their lenders during the loan mod process, only to get foreclosed on.
- Not being made fully aware of the possible credit damage, legal issues and tax consequences.
It’s all boils down to these companies over-promising and under-delivering.
What Took the Government So Long to Act?
If I saw this problem coming over a year ago, you’d think the smart people in our government would’ve saw it coming also.
In a recent informal poll of mortgage originators by “Think Big Work Small”, 81% responded that over 50% of those doing loan modifications are “rats”.
Unfortunately, just like with the mortgage meltdown and the banking crisis, the government only seems to act after the damage has already been done. Here’s a list of the agencies currently chasing loan mod companies:
- Federal Trade Commission
- United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California
- Arizona Attorney General’s Office
- California Department of Justice
- California Department of Real Estate
- State Bar of California
- Colorado Attorney General’s Office
- Idaho Attorney General’s Office
- Illinois Attorney General’s Office
- Iowa Department of Justice
- Kansas Attorney General’s Office
- Maine Attorney General’s Office
- Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Bureau of Consumer Protection
- Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation
- Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
- Michigan Attorney General’s Office
- Missouri Attorney General’s Office
- New Jersey Attorney General’s Office
- New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance
- New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division
- North Carolina Department of Justice
- Ohio Attorney General’s Office
- Oregon Department of Justice
- Texas Attorney General’s Office
- Washington Attorney General’s Office
Charges are being filed because of deceptive and/or false advertising (Section 5 of the FTC Act), charging upfront for services before rendered, unlicensed activities, mail fraud, attorney misconduct and several others.
Solutions
The Obama administration really needs to step up and address this issue quickly. The crooks and sharks need to be forced out of the industry to protect homeowners. Honest professionals also need protection – from overzealous government agencies. It’d be a real shame if those that were actually doing good things for homeowners were put out of business, fined or jailed.
An easy to implement option would be to allow loan modifications to only be done by licensed mortgage companies and attorneys. The mechanisms are already in place across the country to control this.
A better solution would be for the administration to create a national solution instead of letting all 50 states come up with their individual plans.
For a list of the loan modification companies currently be investigated, click here and then click on “preview”.
About the Author
Drew Sygit writes and speaks about the mortgage & real estate industries. He holds mortgage industry designations CMPS, CMC, CRMS, CMLO, CALO, has an MBA and is an approved industry instructor. He’s presented, spoken and/or written for HUD, Financial Planning Association, Financial Planners Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of CPA’s, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Oakland Real Estate Investors Association, North Oakland County Board of Realtors and numerous industry publications. He also publishes his own blog: http://drewsmortgagenews.blogspot.com. He can be reached at dsygit@TheLendingEdge.com.
Feb
28
Celebrity Foreclosures List Nicolas Cage
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Celebrity Foreclosures: Economic Woes Of The Rich And Famous
Recent economic difficulties have left many homeowners in an untenable situation; housing values have plummeted, leaving them with mortgages that far outweigh the home’s current worth and creating the potential for foreclosure. Average homeowners are not the only ones hit by the economic crisis, however; the rich and famous have seen their share of financial difficulties due to poor management or recent economic downturns as well. As a result, a number of well-known and celebrity foreclosures have taken place in recent years; while these rarely have the same catastrophic effects for stars as for private individuals, they can still create unfavorable publicity and damage the celebrity’s public image.
Nicolas Cage
Despite his high-profile box office status, Academy Award winning actor Nicolas Cage recently lost two homes in New Orleans to foreclosure proceedings. According to public records, Cage owed more than $5 million in past due mortgage payments and back taxes. Cage’s financial woes had made headlines earlier in 2009 when he filed suit against Samuel Levin, his longtime business manager, for financial mismanagement, misrepresentation and incompetence that cost Cage millions while allowing Levin to pocket substantial fees.
Stephen Baldwin
This follows on the heels of Stephen Baldwin’s much-publicized foreclosure proceedings earlier in the year. Baldwin’s home on Old Mountain Road in Nyack, New York, was listed at $3.4 million at one point, but after it failed to sell, two separate mortgages fell into default and required tax payments became delinquent, necessitating the foreclosure and auction of the property.
Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon was among the first celebrities in recent years to feel the sting of public foreclosure; his Beverly Hills home was in default with almost $5 million in outstanding loans. McMahon was ultimately saved from foreclosure by Donald Trump, who purchased the home and leased it back to the actor in order to prevent the loss of the home in which McMahon had resided for the past eighteen years. At the time of purchase, the home had been on the market for about two years.
Evander Holyfield
Heavyweight boxing legend Evander Holyfield narrowly avoided the loss of his Fayetteville, Georgia home to foreclosure. The 54,000-square-foot home included a bowling alley, seventeen bathrooms, and three kitchens. Holyfield’s mansion was scheduled to be sold at auction in 2008, but the sale was cancelled after Holyfield managed to pay off a portion of his outstanding mortgage and to catch up on outstanding child support payments.
Jose Canseco
Some celebrities allow foreclosure proceedings in order to unload a home that has lost significant value while avoiding the inconvenience of selling the property themselves; famed baseball player Jose Canseco’s $2.5 million home was surrendered voluntarily because he felt it was an undue expense considering the loss in value the property had experienced in recent years. “It didn’t make financial sense,†Conseco announced at the time of the foreclosure.
Celebrities typically have at least one major advantage over more typical homeowners; the property foreclosed upon is usually only one of several homes the star owns, and they are usually not financially ruined by the foreclosure process. For most celebrities, foreclosure is an inconvenience that damages their public image, but does not seriously impact their future earnings or financial situation. As the housing market continues to improve, the foreclosure rate is expected to slow down, allowing average homeowners and the rich and famous to remain in their homes and avoid the stress and stigma of foreclosure.
About the Author
Joe Cline writes articles for Central Austin neighborhoods. Other articles written by the author related to West austin real estate and Austin realtors can be found on the net.