How to Buy a Home After a Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Or Short Sale
Having a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale on your credit report creates great challenges when it comes to buying a home, but with time and hard work, it still is possible. Here's how to overcome these challenges:
1. Mark your calendar accordingly:
A. If you filed Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you may pursue owning a home 1 year after filing.
B. If you filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you may pursue owning a home 2 years after your discharge date.
C. If you had a foreclosure or short sale, you may pursue home ownership 3 years from the date of the sheriff's sale/auction or short sale on your previous property. The only exception to the three year rule is if you had what are called "documented extenuating circumstances" such as death, disability, or job loss. Even then, lenders determine your fate on a case by case basis. In my experience, the most time I've seen cut off is a year.
D. If you have a bankruptcy and a foreclosure, lenders will require you to wait until your sheriff's sale/auction date is 3 years old.
2. Reestablish PERFECT credit. A. Pay ALL your bills on time. B. Understand there is no margin for error in the current credit environment. C. Check, clean up, and raise your credit scores to 620+ preferably 740+.
1. Go to annualcreditreport.com and see what is on your credit report.
2. Dispute errors and any accounts included in bankruptcy.
3. Fax in your bankruptcy schedules and discharge to the credit bureaus.
4. If information about your foreclosure or short sale is inaccurate, fax in your foreclosure documentation.
3. Evaluate your economic situation:
A. Is your employment situation stable or unstable?
B. How much house can you afford to buy (including taxes and insurance) and still keep your total debt to income ratio below 40%?
C. How much money do you need to save for a 3.5-5%+ downpayment?
4. Prepare 6-12 Months Prior to Purchasing a Home.
A. Monitor interest rates.
B. Choose a mortgage lender who does FHA or VA loans because these programs give you a great low fixed interest rate even with a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale 2-3 years old.
C. Get pre-approved 1-3 months prior to purchasing.
D. Provide your bankruptcy paperwork, foreclosure, and short sale documents.
E. If you filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, provide your pay history to the trustee.
F. Write a letter of explanation and provide documentation why your bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale occurred.
G. Pick at least 2 areas to look for homes.
H. Determine what your housing needs are i.e. number of bedrooms and baths, yard and garage size, fixer upper, etc.
I. Decide if you're going to work with a realtor or pursue "for sale by owner."
5. Find the Right Home for You!
A. Negotiate a fair purchase price.
B. Set a closing date after consulting with the sellers and your lender.
C. Provide your lender current paystubs and bank statements.
D. Have a home inspection done and be there when it's done.
E. After closing, notify your creditors, family and friends about your new address.
F. Move in and enjoy your new home!
Paul Storm has facilitated the credit recovery of thousands of consumers during his decade in the finance industry, through his radio program "Credit 911", national seminars/workshops, and as the author of "Finding Your Way Back: The Credit Recovery Road Map." To learn more about Paul Storm go to http://www.credit911live.com
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For more videos on short sales check out Kevin and Fred on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.
Loan Modifications Not Worth The Hype
We wanted to take some time to speak with you regarding loan modifications. One of the more popular questions we hear from property owners is "What should we do regarding our house?" The home owners do not want to leave their houses. Nonetheless, they are either behind on their payments or upsidedown with their mortgage. They generally contemplate doing a loan mod.
We merely want to let you know that the government and the media talk regarding loan modifications regularly. Nonetheless, they are not nearly as useful as the government or media would have you think. There are some good loan modifications that occur. Nonetheless, less than one in ten truly get approved. Some of you watching this may have by now found this out by applying for a loan mod yourselves.
You should know that there are two kinds of loan modifications, principal reduction and change to rate or payment. A principal reduction is almost non-existent. Possibly one in 500 get approved. The principal reduction is where the lender says that your mortgage is worth $200,000, but your property is worth $150,000. So the lender redoes your loan for $150,000. Nonetheless, be aware that if you get a principal reduction you are responsible for the taxes on that $50,000 gift from the lender.
Payment reductions are seen occasionally. When they occur, they are good short-term fixes. Nonetheless, most people learn that there comes a certain time when they choose to default it. It still does not address the fact that your property is not worth the value of your loan. We are not saying that the loan mod alternative isn't for you. Nonetheless, most people typically end up going to the short sale process. The short sale enables you to get a new start and qualify to purchase a property in as little as two years.
Nearly all people realize that the loan mod did not help them after the first couple months. We would love to have the chance to speak with you. A short sale is the best option for most property owners looking for relief.
If you have questions, get them answered here Mesa - Short Sale Experts
Watch Kevin and Fred, Short Sale Specialists, on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.
What Is A MORTGAGE SHORT SALE
MORTGAGE SHORT SALE refers to property that is sold for less than is currently owed on the mortgage. When used properly, a mortgage short sale isbeneficial to all parties involved. Property owners can sell their home for less than they owe at the bank. Banks are able to recover the majority of their investment. Buyers can purchase a piece of real estate that is in good condition for less than market value.
Getting mortgage short sale approval in Phoenix, Arizona can be a difficult task. In the past, the vast majority of mortgage short sale requests were denied. However, with the help of a real estate expert familiar with the mortgage short sale process, your approval rating can be nearly 100 percent possible.
Using the mortgage short sale process in Phoenix, AZ is similar other financial problems. Borrowers need to provide many documents showing why the need to use the mortgage short sale process. Lenders usually request a list of income sources and expenses, tax returns from several years, pay stubs and employment records, credit card statements and bank statements.
Mortgage short sales are commonly handled by a bank's loss mitigation department. This department is assigned to help the home owner work through the process. Their primary job is to make things go smoothly for the buyer, the lender and the seller.
Loss Mitigation Departments do not get to approve the mortgage short sale of a property. However, their opinions can be very important in the decision to approve a mortgage short sale. The loss mitigation department is more apt to support your need for a mortgage short sale if you have a real estate agent working with you to help you out with the details.
The home owner considering a mortgage short sale should compile all of the necessary information and contact a real estate agent before they inform their lender that they are considering a mortgage short sale. The loss mitigation department will appreciate working with a real estate agent and home owner that understand the process of a mortgage short sale.
The home owner will need to provide a hardship letter. This letter can determine whether you get approval or not. It should clearly define why you need to use a mortgage short sale to save yourself.
A mortgage short sale is a great alternative to foreclosure. Be sure to obtain a Payment in Full agreement from the lender when using the mortgage short sale. When banks accept payment in full, forgive any remaining balance that you owe on your mortgage.
Some lenders will require you to pay the difference between the sale amount and the payoff amount of your mortgage. When the home owner is unable to pay this amount it can leave a black mark on their credit report which will stay there until the difference is paid off.
If the home owner can overcome their current financial problems, they can go about purchasing another home in a relatively short period of time.
If you can't make your mortgage payments, talk to your bank about the possibility of a mortgage short sale. Get educated about the process and find a real estate agent that has experience in such dealings.
Watch Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver of Group 46:10, Short Sale Specialists, on the daily Short Sale Power Hour.
Stop Mortgage Foreclosure – Role of the Mortgagee and a CRITICAL Factor to Your Success Or Failure
Foreclosure is the legal process in which you may lose your rights to a mortgaged property, say your home or usually some kind of real estate, after you have made the mortgage in order to borrow money. That makes you the mortgagor, while the mortgage represents the security for the money you have loaned from some credit company. Besides actually allowing you to be able to get your hands on the money you want to borrow, the mortgage also gets you a shot at a reduced interest rate from the lender.
When you take a mortgage loan, you retain possession of your home, and foreclosure is affected only if you fail to make payment of the debt at the proper time or to meet other obligations specified in the agreement terms of the bond.
Now here's the catch; to effect a foreclosure, the lender usually has to apply to a court for authority to sell the property or to proceed with the sale under a power that has been provided within the mortgage itself. If you are going to stop the foreclosure proceedings, you are going to have to do it either before the lender makes it to court in the first place, or before the court gets to pass the injunction that allows them to kick you out and sell your home.
The lender here is the mortgagee because they hold your mortgage - which they could do personally, or by a trustee on their behalf. Their plan, when they foreclose on your property, is to apply the money received from its sale to all debts that you owe on the property, including - no, especially - payments due to the mortgagee. Either way, you get to lose if the process is complete, so the best way to stop foreclosure on that account is to see to it that they actually never start the process.
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Timing is Everything: STOP FORECLOSURE SALE
To best prepare yourself to stop foreclosure sale of your home in Gilbert, Arizona, you need to be aware of several different things that are important regarding the foreclosure sale date. The first thing that you may not be aware if you are trying to stop foreclosure sale, is that the sale date is not chosen by your mortgage company. The court decides when the sale date is. Often times, despite the fact that you are trying to stop foreclosure sale of your home, the state law determines when the sale date will be. State websites and local county courthouses are a good place to start if you are looking for information on how to stop foreclosure sale. Either the internet, the phone book (look under government listings), or the courthouse should be able to give you a phone number that will lead to some answers as to how you can stop foreclosure sale of your home, how much time you have, and what needs to be done.
The second thing to consider and is important to know is that the mortgage lender or bank lender can have their lawyer request that the sale date be delayed by requesting a continuance. This is not a stop foreclosure sale, just a small set back to the sale of your home. The mortgage lender will often file for a continuance if you show that you will try to work on a solution to the problem with them. Remember, all they want is the money. So, sometimes, you will be able to find an amicable solution. That would be the best way to stop foreclosure sale, by working with the lender to find a solution that fits both your needs and their needs. Several people have successfully delayed the sale multiple times by having the lender file for a continuance. This delay helped those people in Gilbert, AZ to stop foreclosure sale completely eventually.
Now that you have a little more insight as to how the foreclosure process works and who is determining the sale, you might be able to successfully delay the sale, but how can you stop foreclosure sale completely? Often times, once the process has started, it is tough to stop foreclosure sale. The mortgage company can withdraw from the foreclosure, but that isn't likely. So, consider this alternative when you can not pay your mortgage.....the SHORT SALE!
The short sale is a great way to stop foreclosure sale. You can get the entire mortgage paid off buy a new buyer. If the home sells for less than the mortgage, the lender may forgive the remainder of the loan. So, while you stop foreclosure sale, you don't get to keep the home. However, you do get out of a giant piece of dept and you keep your credit in tact.
Your First Step To FORECLOSURE PREVENTION
It does not matter how bad you believe your situation is. There are many foreclosure prevention options available to you in Phoenix, Arizona. You can stop the bank taking legal action and still keep your family in its home.
Finding a foreclosure prevention expert in Phoenix, AZ is the first step in avoiding foreclosure. A foreclosure prevention expert can keep the bank from taking your property and help you get those payments back to current. There are real estate companies that specialize in foreclosure prevention. They have the ability to negotiate with your bank in ways that you may have never dreamed possible. Options for foreclosure prevention include such things as loan modifications or even better, short sales.
While you could apply for a loan modification on your own, it is important that you have a foreclosure prevention expert to understand the laws and details that are known by a foreclosure prevention expert. You may not know the steps to foreclosure prevention that are needed to convince the bank's loss mitigation department to go ahead with your loan modification or short sale. This is where a foreclosure prevention expert can be a big help to you and your family.
Instead of sitting around worrying about your lack of knowledge regarding foreclosure prevention, work on taking steps to get informed about foreclosure prevention to help yourself out of this situation. The first step is find a foreclosure prevention expert to act on your behalf in a short sale or loan modification plan. A foreclosure prevention expert can sometimes even get the bank to waive all the penalty fees that they have tacked on to your original balance making it easier for you to bring your mortgage current.
Establishing a clear line of communication with your lender is important. This is just one more thing that a foreclosure prevention expert can do. Your lender is more likely to deal with a foreclosure prevention expert because they know what they are talking about. Avoiding your bank will lead them to believe that you don't want to pay your bills. And contacting them yourself can leave you vulnerable to all of the things that you don't know and a foreclosure prevention expert does know.
Any home owner staring at an impending foreclosure knows how much stress it can cause in your life. It is important to remember that you are not alone in this process. Find a foreclosure prevention expert to help you deal with it. When you find that expert in foreclosure prevention, be sure to ask them about a short sale. It is not a widely known process, but has been proven very effective in this area. Foreclosure prevention can take on many different forms. The short sale is considered by most to be the best option to foreclosure prevention.
Short Sell Your Home During PRE FORECLOSURE
It is sad but true. With the desperate economic times in Phoenix, Arizona, more Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure. Lenders are partially to blame with sub prime mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages. Also, there are many unforeseen circumstances that lead home owners to desperate times. Unemployment is a major factor in many foreclosures.
No matter what the reason is for a person falling behind on their mortgage payments, the focus from this point forward, the pre foreclosure period, need to be on finding a way to avoid foreclosure. Your lender in Phoenix, AZ may file a default notice, and when that happens, the foreclosure process has started. You are now officially in pre foreclosure.
Pre foreclosure is basically like a warning period. The property owner is put on notice that they are in default and should do something about it. The lender can not reclaim the property yet during the pre foreclosure period to sell it and get their money back. The length of the pre foreclosure period varies by state with some states granting as much as six months of pre foreclosure.
When you have entered pre foreclosure, there are numerous ways to avoid foreclosure of your home and watching it be sold by the lender.
You can pay off the default amount. If the home owner can some how scrounge up enough money to pay the missed payments, your home will be removed from pre foreclosure. Sometimes, a small disruption in your finances can cause you to miss a couple of payments. So, a small default payment might be manageable to you. However, with a larger default pay off, this option just won't work for you.
Short sell the home. While this may seem like a drastic pre foreclosure option, during pre foreclosure you are just a few steps away from losing your home, your credit, and in turn, the ability to rent, get a loan, or buy a new home. So, the short sale of your home during the pre foreclosure period is the best option. By short selling the home during the pre foreclosure period, the bank can also come out better off than if the home is foreclosed on. The sale price that you will get from a short sale is more than likely a lot more than the lender will get if they sell the home at a foreclosure sale after the pre foreclosure period. The lender is in favor of you selling the home so that they do not have to take care of the property, put the property up for sale and then sell the property. Also, the lender would prefer to not deal with the legal hassles that come with foreclosure. So, during the pre foreclosure period, you should consider the short sale of your home.
The pre foreclosure period is usually a great time to find an investor or another buyer to purchase your home through the short sale process. You can make the most out of your already bad situation because you can sell the home to get out from under the mortgage that is currently burdening you.
Readiness To Use FORECLOSURE SHORT SALE
Readiness is a most important factor that is used all through the world for everything people purchase, sell, crave, create, and invent. Readiness is also known as the key to making a big decision often times. In order for a person to be ready to take action, they must have solid reasoning to do such an action. With respect to your real estate mortgage in Phoenix, Arizona, readiness to move on can mean a move to foreclosure, foreclosure short sale or any other option. Foreclosure short sale has become a popular choice of both the lenders and the home owners in this day and age. What is a foreclosure short sale and why is it so popular these days? When the home owner agrees to sell a mortgage property and Lender also agrees to the sale of that property at a discounted price, that is considered a foreclosure short sale.
In a foreclosure short sale type of sale, readiness of the seller or homeowner and lender (usually a bank or mortgage company) is keenly important. The foreclosure short sale is a popular choice for both seller and lender for many reasons. foreclosure short sale is a good choice for home owner because they are usually behind in mortgage a payment. So, losing a house through foreclosure is never a good option. Foreclosure short sale allows the person to sell the house for less than they currently owe on it. Homeowners in Phoenix, AZ using foreclosure short sale do not need to worry about damaging their credit ratings. They also have little concern about debts and furthermore they avoid foreclosure or worse yet, bankruptcy.
The lender also finds that a foreclosure short sale is a better choice because of the many benefits they enjoy from it. When the lenders have to foreclose, they have to deal with getting rid of the property. Lenders are in the business of making money rather than managing properties. So they don't want to have your property. So, if they have to take possession of your property, they have a big liability that they just don't want. Lenders do think that a foreclosure short sale is a good choice so that they can get money without all of the headaches of a foreclosure.
Foreclosure short sale requires documentation. Find a real estate expert that has experience in foreclosure short sale. They can provide lenders with documentation and you with advice. Lenders are allowing more foreclosure short sale these days. Foreclosure short sale is a great settlement where your rating is not affected as much as with foreclosure.
Foreclosure short sale can be time consuming. It is key to find a foreclosure short sale expert from a local real estate agent to help you in this process. You will find that the foreclosure short sale process can help you and your credit very much.
Foreclosure is not an option. How to stop foreclosure sale
The last option that a home owner in Mesa, Arizona wants to face when they need to give up their house is foreclosure. Many house owners that can not keep up with their payments feel that foreclosure is the only option available to them. They stop talking to the mortgage company and leave the house, or sometimes stay until they are forcibly removed from the premises. Little did they know that foreclosure is not the only option available. There are many different avenues to take in order to stop foreclosure sale.
Mortgage lenders in Mesa, AZ would prefer that you give the house back, so that they do not have to take it. Taking the house from you costs them extra money. So, while they won't help you stop foreclosure sale, they would really prefer that the foreclosure process never gets started. The mortgage company would prefer something better than selling the house at foreclosure sale, giving them only a fraction of the houses value. So, in some respects, the mortgage company wants to stop foreclosure sale before you are ever even considering it. Occasionally, the mortgage company will choose to consider a deed in lieu, but there are better ways to stop foreclosure sale. Some of those ways are not widely known.
The short sale is a great option for people that want to stop foreclosure sale. While it is not good that you are considering a short sale or need to stop foreclosure sale of your house, it is THE BEST OPTION for someone that wants to stop foreclosure sale. Essentially, you are already in a bad situation and the short sale is the best option available to you to stop foreclosure sale. Your chances of buying a home in the future are much greater if you utilize the short sale. This is true for several reasons. First, the short sale does very little or nothing at all to damage your credit. Secondly, most mortgage companies will not want to loan money to someone that has had a house foreclosed previously within the last five to seven years. That is why it is so important to stop foreclosure sale. With a short sale, you will have the opportunity to purchase another home based on the same criteria that you purchased your first home, namely you income and your credit score. This puts you in a great position for the future if you intend to buy a home again.
Basically, a short sale works with two scenarios. The home owner, who can not pay their mortgage anymore, finds a buyer of for the home. The purchase price is not enough to cover paying off the existing mortgage. However, because the bank is going to lose money on the home, they will take the offer because they get more from the short sale than they would if they had to foreclose on the home. The lender reduces the balance of your mortgage to pay it off with the sale of the home.
More Rights of Homeowners in Foreclosure
Many homeowners are not quite clear on how the foreclosure process works in their state, especially due to differences between judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings. State law and federal lending law may also affect how the process moves forward, as HUD-guaranteed loans or those insured by the FHA can complicate the matter even further.
For mortgages owned by HUD (not just insured or guaranteed by the agency), a type of nonjudicial foreclosure may be pursued even if the state in which the property is located requires judicial foreclosure procedures to be used. The statute is called "Single Family Mortgage Foreclosure" and it replaces applicable state law. Even if no power of sale clause is included in the mortgage contract, HUD may use the nonjudicial foreclosure process.
This clause clearly seems to go against the right to contract, as it negates certain aspects of mortgage contracts used by borrowers and lenders. There may also be unlawful taking issues when the federal government affects foreclosure laws and redemption rights. In addition, there is no required pre-foreclosure meeting or hearing for the borrowers.
In order to sue homeowners for foreclosure and obtain a judgment against them, the lender must prove three aspects of its case:
1. There is a valid mortgage between the lender and borrowers 2. The homeowners are in default of the mortgage contract 3. Foreclosure procedures have been followed according to the law
If the bank does not follow the foreclosure procedures for notice or court requirements, even a sheriff sale may later be voided.
One positive aspect of the judicial foreclosure process is that homeowners can raise claims against the lender that would otherwise have been barred by statute of limitations regulations. For instance, even if the statute of limitations for Truth in Lending Act violations has passed, borrowers may still raise these issues in a defense of a foreclosure case. But if the foreclosure is through nonjudicial procedures, these claims may not be allowed by the court.
All states allow homeowners the right to redeem their property by paying off the loan in full (plus interest, costs, and other applicable fees) prior to the sale of the house. Nineteen states give borrowers the right to reinstate their mortgage by curing the default and paying the amount past due plus applicable costs and fees. This must be done before the sheriff sale of the property in order to be accepted by the lender.
When homeowners file bankruptcy to stop foreclosure or delay a sale, they do not give up substantive or procedural defenses to the bank's attempts to take their home.
In many cases, the mortgage company does not strictly follow the pre-foreclosure procedures dictated by state and local laws. In these cases, courts have found that strict compliance is necessary for a foreclosure to go forward. Foreclosure is such a harsh remedy to the problem that these strict requirements are necessary for lenders to follow.
If a lender accepts late payments from a homeowner, it may be waiving its right to accelerate the mortgage later on in the case of default. Courts have found that allow late payments and not insisting on future on-time payments may be a waiver of the right to accelerate. The state of Maine goes even further than this and states that accepting a payment after foreclosure procedures have been started but before the right of redemption ends is considered a waiver of the right to foreclose on the home at all.
Nick writes daily articles specializing in how you can save your home from foreclosure while there is still time left before a trustee sale or eviction. Learn to defend the bank's attempts to take your home, find a reputable lawyer, delay a trustee sale or eviction, qualify for a foreclosure refinance program, and put together a reasonable alternative that will let you keep your property from being auctioned out from under your feet. Visit his site to read more about your options to prevent the loss of a house and understand more about how and why the housing market has been collapsing for several years now: http://www.yousaveforeclosure.com/
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Fred Weaver is a founding co-owner of Group 46:10. He has been working in the financing/real estate business for over 7 years. Fred began his real estate career by working for a large wholesale bank as a processor and rate/lock specialist for home mortgages. After 2 years in the business, Fred transferred from the banking side of home loans to the mortgage side. While on the mortgage side of financing, Fred gained experience originating mortgages and processing files for Morgan Capital of Arizona, Inc.
Kevin is a founding co-owner of Group 46:10. He began working in the real estate business in 2007 after spending 8 years working in the finance industry for companies such as Bank One, Green Tree Financial, & GE Capital.