Problems and HOPEFUL solutions with the terrible housing market

[boonedoggle]

As a few of you know, my wife and I purchased our house 3 years ago, and the house has plummeted in value ever since. In an ever increasing need to decrease our mortgage and refinance, we received a letter from http://newamericanfunding.com/ saying they would go to the mortgage company on our behalf to see if they are willing to give up our mortgage (for the value after a new appraisal). So, that would save us hopefully close to $100,000. As it stands now, we will probably never be able to sell the house for what we bought it for, and being in the military, my family and I will be forced to separate and sustain 2 households.

So, got information from New American Funding that the bank was not accepting any type of loan modification right now, so we are, as it stands, back to square one. This company seems to be very good at what they do, and fair. They have offered to refund our invested money if nothing changes in the next week or so. We’re hoping for the best. If you have similar issues, you might want to give them a shout. Highly recommended.

 

[grateful1]

Use caution: <edit - here's a BBB article with some good info.>

Some people want to profit by your misfortune by offering to contact and conduct all work-outs and negotiations with your lender on your behalf – for a fee. View a helpful video Freddie Mac posted YouTube titled "Foreclosure Scams 101."


Here's a linky regarding some of the things below:

Don't forget...you can always call your mortgage company directly to see what options are available. (Short sell).

Find someone to move and and make the payment.

Declare bankruptcy.

Some people are even choosing to walk away from the house.


Good luck with things!

-----edit----I'm not sure, but does the military have an assistance available? I only know there are VA Loans.

 

[Gonz]

Use caution: <edit - here's a BBB article with some good info.>

Some people want to profit by your misfortune by offering to contact and conduct all work-outs and negotiations with your lender on your behalf – for a fee. View a helpful video Freddie Mac posted YouTube titled "Foreclosure Scams 101."


Here's a linky regarding some of the things below:

Don't forget...you can always call your mortgage company directly to see what options are available. (Short sell).

Find someone to move and and make the payment.

Declare bankruptcy.

Some people are even choosing to walk away from the house.


Good luck with things!

-----edit----I'm not sure, but does the military have an assistance available? I only know there are VA Loans.

Just an FYI, short sales and "walking away from the house" are not at all easy, and we, err I mean some guy I know, have been trying to do it since this summer. Tons and tons of paperwork, forms, financial statements, letters explaining your hardship, tax returns, more paperwork, and hours (yes, many hours) on the phone with people who have had terrible training in a short period of time to handle the influx of applications for these actions.

We Those people are at a point on their old house where we can't sell it, and the market value is apparently (since we can't get an offer) below what we owe. We've been trying to "give it back to the bank" for six months now, and instead of making it easy to avoid all of their costs of a foreclosure they have made it nothing but difficult. Fuck Wells Fargo.

I don't mean to make it sound like you're in for a long road, but just be ready and prepared to spend a lot of time filling out forms and sending in paperwork in an attempt at any kind of relief.

 

[grateful1]

Good stuff Gonz....in a informative way of course.

 

[Gregg]

I think I would try to hold on and see what becomes of the bills each Presidential candidate wants to pass. I know that most mortgages are almost impossible for the government to buy, as they have already been sold by the originating lender and broken up into larger investment pools. Walking away in NY or NJ is a viable option, as you obviously are destroying your credit, but you stay for about a year in the home and save your monthly payments for a down payment once you clear your credit up. Thats about as drastic as it gets, and you might not get in a home for 7 years, but in some cases its better then making obscene payments on a house that is upside down + 200K

 

[punk_lawyer]

I see situations like this in my office everyday. I am a financial / insolvency / bankruptcy attorney. Keep a close eye on any agency that agrees to help negotiate with your mortgage holder. Some of the 'for profit' ones are real scams and we just had one get raided by the feds for deceptive business practices. I am not saying yours is bad, I am just saying that you should watch them closely and request documentation of what they are doing.

You have lots of options and speaking with a good attorney (not some bankruptcy mill hack) will probably open your eyes to a number of possibilities that you had not considered. Here are just a few things to consider: Bankruptcy should always be a last option but, in certain situations, it is a good option (chapter 13 to keep the house, chapter 7 to dump it). Short sales are being approved but the bigger the bank, the longer it takes. Loan modification programs, especially available to those in the military, are best addressed with the mortgage company directly and they do work. Deed in lieu of foreclosure, if negotiated shrewdly, can get you out with no strings attached.

There are others but I don't want to get further out there...have a smoke, take a deep breath and remember that every problem has a solution.