Helping Foreclosures

By Melanie Ullman
Homeowner rights on a foreclosure will vary by state, and depend in part on your mortgage or sale agreement. Keep in mind that banks and lenders don’t really want your house. They may have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.

Homeowner rights can often be found by searching your state’s official government website. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, has a website set up called “Homes and Communities” with a section “Avoiding Foreclosure in Your State”.

If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure, the first notices you receive will often offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Be sure to open your mail. Your failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court. Later mail may include important notice of pending legal action.

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With foreclosures at record levels, bankruptcies are rising, mortgages are harder to get, refinancing is more costly, and home loans are more expensive if not impossible to secure.

Helping Foreclosures is aimed at providing information about the steps to avoiding foreclosure, how to stop it, how foreclosures work, the steps involved, refinancing and bailout options, bank loan and mortgage tips, and more.

Under president Obama’s comprehensive HASP or “Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan” you may be eligible for special loan modifications or refinance called “Making Home Affordable” which can reduce your monthly payments and help you keep your home.

While the banks, mortgage companies, and homeowners don’t fare well in foreclosure, there are groups of investors who can profit from a foreclosure and pre-foreclosure. For these investors, it’s also helpful to understand how the foreclosure proces works, what happens before and afterwards, and to understand where loan guarantees, mortgage rates, and other variables affect the value of the home.

Helping Foreclosures will also provide information you need to help understand the “Making Home Affordable” programs, and to help find a counseling agency in your area that will provide you with free foreclosure prevention services. If you are eligible for the loan modification or refinance program, the counselor will work with you to compile an intake package for your loan or mortgage servicer.

Foreclosure prevention counseling services are provided free of charge by nonprofit housing counseling agencies working in partnership with the Federal Government. These agencies are funded, in part, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD and NeighborWorks® America. There is no need to pay a private company for these services.

You’ll also find information to help determine if changes in your financial situation put you at risk of foreclosure, tips on finding affordable housing, and tips & strategies for those interested in investing in real estate and bank foreclosure properties.