New Bill Should Prevent Foreclosure Attorneys From Taking Advantage of Home Owners

Foreclosure attorneys are drawing a lot of attention in California these days for scamming distressed homeowners. The most common method is to charge a large upfront fee for a loan modification and then to do very little to actually help the beleaguered homeowners. Among the agencies looking into the practice are the State Attorney General, the FBI, the California State Legislature, the State Bar, and the Department of Real Estate.

Last spring the Department of Real Estate in California had received more than 750 complaints of lenders taking advantage of distressed homeowners, and nationally, the FBI is investigating more than 2,100 companies accused of this practice. The California State Bar is currently handling in excess of 800 cases relating to foreclosure practices. A spokesman for the Bar says he has not seen a crisis of this magnitude in his 21 year career.

The State Bar recently identified sixteen lawyers who had received multiple complaints and were under investigation. Nearly two thirds of those attorneys practice in Orange County. The press release noted that it is unusual to release names of those being investigated but not yet convicted, but the organization was dismissing investigation confidentiality in favor of public protection.

The State Legislature has also acted on the situation. The bill AB 764 – Nava noted that under current law, both lenders and attorneys may charge distressed homeowners an upfront fee for negotiating terms of loans. It goes on to say that under these terms, the law has let down the homeowners and allowed them to be taken advantage of. The bill changes the law to disallow upfront fees and requires lenders and lawyers alike to produce a successful result before charging the troubled homeowners. The bill also mandates that the language in any contract for loan negotiation clearly state that it is not required to pay for an attempt at loan re-negotiation. The required statement includes the web address http://www.hud.gov, where homeowners can access a list of free loan counselors. The bill had tremendous support and almost no organized opposition. It has been passed by the legislature and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Ron Parks has been buying Marin real estate for 27 years. Year after year he is one of Marin’s top real estate agents. Ron specializes in all areas of Marin County, including Belvedere and Mill Valley. {Article source}

Do you know how you can Avoid Foreclosure?

A foreclosure is when you use your home as security for mortgage and you fall behind in your mortgage repayments and the financial institution start foreclosure proceedings, repossession, to resell your home and get the outstanding amount of your mortgage repaid.

Quick action by you is first step to Avoid Foreclosure on your property.

What should I do if I am behind on my house payment?
Call your lender. You will find that the majority of lenders will be accommodating in helping you overcome any financial hardships that you are experiencing. A lender is someone who lends you money, they are not real estate agents, they do not want to take your home and sell it.

Don’t ignore letters from your lender because you are scared to tell them that you can’t make a mortgage repayment. They will work with you to help you keep your home and stop it from going into foreclosure.

How Can My Lender Help?
Your lender will have several options available to them to help you save your home from going into foreclosure. They can restructure your mortgage repayments for a period of time to help you overcome a cashflow problem.

What If My Lender Won’t Help Me?
Every individual has a different financial situation. If your lender is not helping you then contact other lenders. There are options available to you including refinancing your loan. You will find more detailed information within this website about your options.

The Foreclosure Process

The Foreclosure Process begins when you receive a Notice of Default. The Notice of Default tells you that you have not made your mortgage repayments and how much of your home loan is outstanding and what you owe in terms of the foreclosure fees.

This is not the end of your property ownership.

You still have 3 months from the date the Notice of Default is recorded to pay the back payments and fees. You can find the date the notice was recorded on the first page next to the words “recorded on.” If you pay the amount on the Notice of Default, the lender cannot sell your home.

When Can A Lender Sell My Home?
The lender can sell your home if you fail to repay the outstanding amount within three months. The lender will forward you a Notice of Sale stating the date, time, and place your home is to be sold. You must be given the notice of sale at least 20 days before the day they plan to sell your home.

Can I Stop The Sale Of My Home?

Yes you can stop the sale of your home. If you repay the outstanding amount due, including fees, up to 15 days before the sale date.

You can still save your home at the “last minute” but you will have to make a full repayment of your loan. Many people find themselves doing this after refinancing their loan.
Once paid, the lender will issue a Notice of Rescission. This proves that that the sale has been canceled.

Beware of Fraud
The foreclosure process is a stressful and trying time for many people. Especially since the subprime mortgage disaster, it seems there are record numbers of foreclosures with each passing week. Be careful that you don’t become a victim of a scam when you try to save your home from foreclosure. There are many who will and do take advantage of people facing desperate situations.

Article source: Discover How You Can Avoid Foreclosure | Articlebase.com

Alternative Ways to Avoid Foreclosure

The type of mortgage loan you have may determine what types of alternatives you may be eligible to pursue. Please contact your lender and a Housing Counseling Agency to discuss which alternatives you are eligible for, and which one is best for your situation.

Options To Retain Your Home:
The following options will result in you retaining ownership of your property.

Repayment Plan: This usually involves establishing a schedule with your Lender to make a full regular monthly payment plus a little extra each month, to repay the delinquent amount over a specified period of time.

Special Forbearance Plan: This option may provide for a temporary reduction or suspension of payments, that will be increased at a later point to repay the delinquent amount over a specified period of time.

Mortgage Modification: This option may allow you to refinance the debt and / or extend the term of your existing mortgage loan.

HUD Partial Claim: If your loan is an FHA insured loan, your lender may be able to obtain a one time payment from the FHA-Insurance Fund to bring your mortgage loan current with payments.

Refinance: This option may allow you to use the equity that you have established in your home to pay the delinquent amount. Depending on the interest rate of your new loan, your monthly payments might be reduced. You can explore refinancing with your existing Lender as well as with any Lender of your choice.

Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance: This option provides special financial assistance to Pennsylvania residents who are facing the possibility of losing their primary residence through foreclosure. Depending on the Homeowner’s situation, they may be eligible to receive a LOAN to bring their mortgage payments current. Homeowners, depending on their circumstances, may also be eligible to receive financial assistance with their monthly mortgage payment for up to 24 months from the date the mortgage became delinquent.

Options To Dispose Of Your Home:

In situations where you do not want to retain ownership of the home, the following disposition options may be available as an alternative to Foreclosure. These options affect your credit rating less than a Foreclosure will.
Sell The Home: If there is sufficient equity in the property, you may be able to receive more for your property than what is due on the mortgage loan.

Assumption: With this option, you would sign over the property to another person. That person would then take possession of your home, and take over making the payments.

Pre-Foreclosure Sale: This option may allow you to sell your property for an amount less than what is necessary to pay off your mortgage loan.

Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure: This option may allow you to voluntarily “give back” the property to your Lender without further damaging your credit.

If you are facing a foreclosure in Austin, Bankruptcy can be an option to prevent you from losing your home.

Filing for bankruptcy of any type generally stops the foreclosure on your home. The automatic stay of bankruptcy goes into effect the moment you file a bankruptcy case which will stop most collection efforts against you. Your mortgage lender, the taxing authority, a homeowners association or whoever is foreclosing on you must cease their foreclosure actions immediately. You will then have some time to decide what to do.

Filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will stop foreclosure, and can allow you to repay your past due payments over 3 to 5 years. Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy stop foreclosure and prevent your home from being sold. Chapter 13 is a debt relief option that can not only stop foreclosure and allow you to save your home, but can also allow you to keep your other property while repaying your debts on your terms. Disposable income from your regular income is what usually funds a Chapter 13 repayment plan. Chapter 13 was designed to help people facing foreclosure and other potential losses of property. Stopping foreclosure is the primary reason people file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. So, if you are eligible, Chapter 13 can stop foreclosure on your Austin home.

If your lender is threatening foreclosure or has initiated foreclosure proceedings, you should contact us right away.

You cannot save your home once the foreclosure sale has begun. Unless you’ve recently filed a previous bankruptcy case, Chapter 13 will most always stop the foreclosure. If you’re like most people in Austin, your home is your biggest investment. So when you are facing a foreclosure and the prospect of losing your home, you risk losing your biggest investment.

Don’t wait until the day before the foreclosure sale to do something or it may be too late.

*This article is originally published at http://austin.rjabankruptcy.com