Foreclosure Options For Homeowners
Saturday, June 5th, 2010There are few things more stressful than finding out that you’re about to lose your house. Cash flow is tight, bill collectors are blowing up your phone, unhappy family members might be pointing fingers, and you’re in enough hot water without having to find a new place to live, too. All you can think about is making the problem go away.
If you know someone who has been through foreclosure, you might already know what could happen. Did you know there are several options available when you get a notice of default? It might seem easier to just move out, but you have to think about your financial future. For instance, when you move out, will you be losing your ability to ever own another home?
No matter whether you’re the homeowner or someone who works with homeowners in foreclosure, you should be aware of all the options in this situation. If you’re the homeowner, it is best to understand everything you can about the foreclosure process. If you’re someone who works with homeowners, it’s your job to help that homeowner understand their options during this difficult time. It helps if everyone has a realistic view of what could happen and why.
Two of the options have been covered frequently in the media lately: deed-in-lieu and loan modifications.
When homeowners agree to a deed-in-lieu, they voluntarily give up their home. The bank is spared the time and cost of going through with the foreclosure, but the homeowner’s credit is damaged just the same.
Are mortgage loan modifications the answer? We have all heard about the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) initiated by the government to make more loan modifications a reality for homeowners in default. Unfortunately, only 4 percent of all homeowners that apply for modification actually result in their loan’s permanent modification. For instance, in one recent quarter, California had about 140,000 mortgage loans begin the trial modification process. Based on the current success rate, only 5,600 of those loans will actually be modified to avoid foreclosure. At that rate, modification programs are simply not helping enough people.
There are four more successful options.
1) The homeowner can stay in the house and file for bankruptcy, allowing the courts to stall the foreclosure as long as possible. It doesn’t mean the foreclosure won’t happen, but it does mean that the homeowner can refuse to pay for a place to live until the auction date.
2) List the house for the amount of the debt and hope someone comes along who loves the house so much that they will pay your asking price before the auction date. You can dream all you want, but the odds are that nobody will pay more than the house is worth, and you’ll end up going back to option one.
3) List the house as a short sale, find a buyer, and make the buyer wait out the short sale process in order to buy the house at a discount. Many real estate agents recommend this solution because it sounds like the easiest thing to do while still earning their commission, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
One complication arises when the agent has to convince the buyer to not only sign the purchase agreement, but to wait at least 60 to 90 days to take possession. The typical buyer needs something that is already available.
Several roadblocks can come up during the process of negotiating a short sale if the seller and/or his agent don’t completely understand how to manage those negotiations. Lenders are very careful to train their loss mitigation department in debt collection, so sellers and agents who aren’t as well-trained in short sale negotiation skills can be easily sidelined.
For instance, sometimes promissory notes and deficiency judgments can be avoided after a short sale. Did you know that? It can be worth a great deal to a homeowner when you not only learn how the system works, but also how to work the system.
4) The real estate agent could list the house as a short sale, while arranging the purchase by a short sale investor who doesn’t mind handling the paperwork, negotiating a successful short sale on the seller’s behalf, and waiting for the lender’s approval before closing on the house. The homeowner would avoid a foreclosure, the agent would still get the commission, and the buyer would get the home as an investment property to sell or rent.
There are many reasons why a homeowner in default would be better off letting an experienced short sale investor handle their negotiations. One reason has to do with the broker price opinion, or BPO. A professional short sale negotiator will know how to use the BPO to the homeowner’s advantage.
The four main options for homeowners in default should be made evident to everyone involved. They can stay in the home and use the bankruptcy process, they can sell the home for what they owe the bank, they can ask a potential buyer to wait out the short sale negotiation process, or they can outsource the negotiations to a short sale investor who will buy the house from them.
If you’re interested in finding out how the short sale approval process really works, sign up for free downloadable reports on the Silver Membership page of the Strategic Real Estate Coach website. You’ll also learn about the foreclosure process, and you can gain access to networking opportunities with other people who are interested in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.
To get more in-depth coverage of the legal issues you might face, take a look at the blog on topshortsalelawyer.com. Attorney Jeff Watson is great at explaining the issues for short sale investors.
Give people the best and most up-to-date information possible. Help people understand what they’re up against, and what could happen with each choice. When homeowners make an informed decision about their future, they have a chance to stop feeling beaten down and walk away feeling relieved.
Need to know more about foreclosure options? Get free online training from our real estate coaching website!
