Stop Foreclosure in Texas – Not An Easy Task!

Texas is a non-judicial foreclosure state, otherwise known as a 21-day state. There are only 6 states with this designation in the U.S. This simply means that when a mortgage company decides they are going to foreclose, they don’t have to use the judicial court system. The requirement in this type of foreclosure, also known as a Notice of Trustee’s Sale, is that the lender post the notice at the County Clerk’s office in the county where the property is located, at least 21 days PRIOR to the sale date. Foreclosure sales in Texas are always on the 1st Tuesday of the month, in good or bad weather, holiday or not, so determining the properties that are ready for auction is just a matter of researching the information at the County Clerk’s office or using the Short Sale Monkey’s Homeowner Search Tool (for Williamson or Travis Counties only).

Even though it may be simple to determine which properties are facing the foreclosure auction, preventing that from occurring is a very different matter. Be mindful of this fact, the foreclosing lenders really don’t want to own the property and sell it as an REO (Real Estate owned property). However, once a property gets to this point, there are only two things that can stop the foreclosure auction, 1) catch up the past-due payments, in-full, or 2) get an offer property that the meets the investor’s guidelines for review as a short sale. Well there are really three things, if you include Bankruptcy, but I won’t be discussing this option here.

The homeowner is in foreclosure because of a particular hardship, so being able to catch up the delinquent payments directly isn’t very likely. Alternatively, the delinquent payments can be paid by a buyer, in what’s called a “subject-to” purchase. Simply put, this is when a buyer, catches up the payments, takes full ownership of the house “subject-to” the existing loan and maintains the payments to the lender in place of the prior owner. The current owner moves and the new owner continues to make on-time payments for the remaining term of the loan, or resells it later, paying off the lender in full at that time. In certain situations, this is a strategy used by investors to obtain property without utilizing a conventional mortgage, and while the payments are being made, can help improve the prior owner’s credit rating.

Our area of expertise is the strategy of utilizing the short sale process to stop foreclosures. The discussion of foreclosures usually includes statements like, “the bank is foreclosing“, or the “bank foreclosed“. Technically, what’s really happening in most cases is the investor that owns the loan is the one initiating the foreclosure, and the lender-servicer is simply acting on their behalf. The investor instructs the servicer to begin foreclosure proceedings through the use of a foreclosing attorney, and the attorney has a Trustee conduct the auction. So, if an offer on a property that has a foreclosure sale date set in Texas is submitted to the servicer, the terms of that offer must meet the investor’s guidelines for a short sale in order to stop the foreclosure. If the offer is accepted as “reviewable” based on those guidelines, then the servicer can request either the postponement of the Trustee’s Sale or that it be put “on hold” to allow for ample time for review.

It’s important to understand, that even if the servicer does postpone the auction, they will very likely re-post another notice of foreclosure for the very next month due to the fact that many short sale offers don’t get approved. By doing this right away, the servicers are preparing themselves for the possibility of the deal falling apart and missing the 21-day deadline to re-post.

Ideally, we are best able to help our clients when they contact us after only missing 3 or 4 payments and a notice of foreclosure hasn’t been posted yet. It becomes very challenging to stop the foreclosure when the homeowner waits until the notice has been posted before contacting us.

About the author:
Aaron Ayotte is the President and Owner of Superior Loss Mitigation, a.k.a. The Short Sale Monkey. His company has negotiated hundreds of short sales throughout Central Texas for both homeowners and Realtors, to the benefit of all involved. Check out the video series on his blog where he tackles the most commonly asked questions and provides information on stopping foreclosure in Texas.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5147784

How to Get Help in Texas to Stop Foreclosure

Like most other states, Texas is experiencing a raise in home foreclosures. Increased foreclosures doesn’t just affect the families losing their homes, it also affects the housing market, assistance programs and much more. States are taking a closer look at what they can do to help families avoid foreclosure and find a long-term solution to their financial problems. Among other things, Texas has formed the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force. The task force is being facilitated by NeighborWorks America, a national program helping families and states find ways to reduce foreclosures.

1 Call the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force for help and information. It is a great starting place when you don’t know where to state. The task force can help you analysis the situation and choose the best path to long-term financial stability. The task force has created a bilingual toll free 24/7 hotline for homeowners. The HOPE hotline number is (888) 995-HOPE.

2 Call your loan provider and let them know you are having problems. Even if you don’t know what the solution is yet, it is important to let your provider know what is going on. Tell them what has caused your financial stress, whether it is job loss, family death, divorce or something else. Your provider may have a short-term solution depending on the problem.

3 Create an “action plan” counselors at the HOPE hotline can help you with this. You need to figure out what you are going to do to avoid a foreclosure. Ideally, you’ll be able to find a solution which involves maintaining possession of your home, but there are also options which will free you from the mortgage but are less drastic than foreclosure.

4 Look into local emergency assistance. If your financial problems are temporary, such as you lost your job, but you are looking for a new one, there are many local agencies that can help you during a bad time. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

5 Visit the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force website. They have great educational information right on their site, which may give you the ideas you need to move forward.

Read more: How to Get Help in Texas to Stop Foreclosure | eHow.com

How to Stop Foreclosure in Texas

Texas law allows lenders to foreclose rather quickly since the nonjudicial method is used. This is when the lender sends a notice of default 20 days after the payment is past due and soon after sends a notice of sale. A homeowner can lose his home to foreclosure within as little as 60 days. Texas doesn’t have the right of redemption where the former owner is allowed to buy his home back after the foreclosure is finalized. To stay in his home, the homeowner must stay out of foreclosure. If payments fall behind and the foreclosure process begins, there are several ways to stop it.

1. Call the mortgage company. The fastest way to stop foreclosure in Texas is to call the lender and work out a payment plan to get you current. If you lost your job, then the lender may consider a forbearance, which is where the payments are suspended for a short amount of time. In few cases, a lender will even lower the interest rate for a certain period of time depending on the income and the loan agreement. Some homeowners are under an adjustable rate loan, which means after several years the mortgage interest rate may go up.

2. Refinance the home. The current lender may approve you for a refinance. Some Texas lenders have tried to work out loans for struggling homeowners. Lenders may look at the debt-to-income ratio and overlook some of the bad credit created by the late mortgage payments to get you refinanced.

3. Talk with a HUD representative. This is one of the best ways to receive assistance and stop foreclosure in Texas. An adviser from HUD will discuss your situation and help you develop a payment plan to coordinate with your lender. Sometimes the HUD adviser will contact the lender for you if you have a difficult time working out a payment plan.

4. Sell the home. A short sale is a way to sell your home quickly without the damage of a foreclosure on your credit report. A short sale is a sale that can take place within 2 weeks. You can also sell the home in a longer period of time as long as you inform your lender, and the lender agrees. Lenders prefer to get their money so they will probably agree with the sale.

5. Pay the money owed. If you figure out a way to pay your mortgage up to date, then the foreclosure will stop. This will require all of the interest and late fees along with the late mortgage payments.

Read more: How to Stop Foreclosure in Texas | eHow.com