Of course not every program is going to solve the problems of every home owner. The Treasury Department introduced the HAFA program to provide a viable option for homeowners who are unable to keep their homes through the existing Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The HAFA program took  effect on April 5, 2010.

HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. Servicers participating in HAMP are also required to comply with HAFA. A list of servicers participating in HAMP (including HAFA) is available at: www.makinghomeaffordable.com/contact_servicer.html.

What is great about this aspect of the Make Home Affordable program is the fact that

1. The lender can use the same info they already collected from you for a loan modification
2. They are given incentives to work with you regarding a short sale or Deed-In-Lieu-of -Foreclosure.
3. It allows homeowners to get pre-approved short sale terms before the property is even listed. This should help streamline the process and make the home much easier to market.
4. It allows the homeowner to be fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment is allowed). This is a BIG one folks!

They also have allowed for incentives for the home owners:

Provides the following financial incentives:

• $3,000 for borrower relocation assistance;
• $1,500 for servicers to cover administrative and processing costs;
• Up to $2,000 for investors who allow a total of up to $6,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to subordinate lien holders, on a one-for-three matching basis.

So, between the three, you think you’ll be able to make your home affordable?

A new bill is on the floor of the Senate that again is meant to help distressed homeowners in foreclosure.  SB 1275 would help homeowners avoid foreclosure while seeking a loan modification.

Everywhere you turn you hear that lenders don’t want your house, don’t want to foreclose and carry your house on their books, would rather do anything than foreclose because it costs them so much money. Yet as I listen to the every day horror stories, I find it so hard to believe that “banks are more co-operative than ever”.  It seems amazing to me that there is even a need for the bill such as the one above, but these lenders who “don’t want your house” will go right on through with the foreclosure while you are in the process of negotiating with them! Anyone who has tried to get a loan modification or even a short sale with an offer in hand, knows these things take time and persistence. Half the time when it comes to the lender the old saying “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing” is ever so true.

Most of the time until you’ve started missing payments, the lender won’t even talk to you. Once you have their attention because you haven’t paid in a couple of months, then it takes forever to get answers back to your requests for any kind of loan adjustments.

If you want to save your house and you have any chance of doing so, you have to stay vigilant. You cannot drop the ball for a second. We don’t know the fate of this bill that is on the congress floor right now. Many are opposed to it. If you want to save your house, it’s up to you to be very pro-active. Don’t wait for someone to ride in and save you, as you can tell by looking at all the notices still flooding the newspapers, it’s likely not to happen.

If I can be of service and help with any of your questions regarding foreclosure, selling your home, or any other real estate needs, please feel free to contact me at 408-313-3270, or by email through this blog.

Now, getting over myself, if you are in distressed homeowner in trouble, either your mortgage is more than your house is worth, or you’re on the brink of not being able to make your house payments, call me. It doesn’t cost you anything to pick my brain and I’m not the “pushy salesman type”. You either choose to work with me or you don’t. Facts are still facts and I’ll be happy to help you any way I can.

Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me direct.

Lauri Beamish   408-313-3270  or lauribeamish@gmail.com

Get free reports, advice, etc. at my website: http://www.siliconvalleyrealestateonlineinfo.com

One of the things that I thought was a little ironic, is that someone called my phone from my blog here and needed to talk about being in foreclosure. He had a group of Realtors he said, that said they would help him for $1900. downpayment and $700 a month for each month he received help. They told him even though he would pay the $1900 up front, that they would hold his check in escrow until they performed the services they said they would provide.

Listen up, People! In the state of California it is illegal for anyone that is licensed by the Calif. Dept of Real Estate, or anyone working under someone who is licensed by the Calif. Dept. of Real Estate to take any money from you up front what so ever to help with loan modifications, etc. The Dept. even revoked the permissions of the companies who had at one time received approval from them. It is uniform now.  I can’t say for attorneys, as I am not one, but for anyone else, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, anyone else licensed in California, it is not legal any longer.

I thought it ironic also that at a time when people need our help more than ever to work with their lenders, to get approved for short-sales, etc., the DRE revoked a record number of licenses belonging to real estate sales people last year. There were 800, which really isn’t that many considering how many real estate professionals there are, but I’m hoping they are adding to the number all the time. It means they have caught more unscrupulous people who give all of us that are truly trying to help, a bad name.

If you get approached by anyone trying to charge you an up front fee for their services instead of writing a contract to get paid after the services have been performed, you should report them to the Calif. Department of Real Estate right away. You may have been lucky enough to escape a scam, but there are a lot of people in trouble that wouldn’t be so lucky. It’s everyone’s job to help stop these people.

If you have any questions regarding California Real estate or foreclosure, please feel free to contact me either through email or call. If you have anything to share about this kind of thing happening to you, please do so in the comments section so everyone can benefit from your experience.

I’m listening to an attorney talking about renegotiating loans. That’s a good thing, but statistics show most loan modifications are not sustainable, meaning it’s a temporary state that is not going to last for the long term. He’s talking about renegotiating the loan and then still taking your house. I have a hard time with that. Most people renegotiate so they can stay in their home.

If you’re in trouble people, there are a number of resources open to you. Make sure you are getting all the information concerning what all of your options truly are.  If I can help you figure out what your options are, please feel free to call me anytime. If you don’t call me, just make sure you take some kind of action now.  Sitting on it is not going to help you. Time is not on your side.

Feel free to comment below. What situation are you in right now? Is your family safe?

Just a quick update: The attorney I’m listening to says his techniques won’t work with states that have anti-investor laws. Big red flag here in California!

This will be a great opportunity for anyone going into foreclosure, in foreclosure, etc. to get some help. This event is absolutely FREE. There will be a talk by the DA on foreclosure scams, another by an attorney on bankruptcy, and more. I’m really looking forward to it. Just going to the orientation Monday I learned about services available that I knew nothing about.  This event is open to anyone in the Silicon Valley- San Francisco Bay Area and any of the surrounding areas. If you can get there, you are welcome.

There will be representatives from all the major HUD (Housing and Urban Development) certified counseling agencies as well as Legal Aid organizations to provide free and truthful information about the process of foreclosure and what options a homeowner has. There will also be a significant number of counseling agencies and a couple of lenders to meet with their clients.

If you can’t make it, one thing I learned the other day is that this center is open Mon-Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. The Foreclosure Help Center is sponsored by the City of San Jose, and they in conjunction with the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors are putting on the Foreclosure Rescue Event today.

For more information about what documents to bring with you or to make an appointment at the center (no appointments needed for today) just visit their site at Foreclosure Help Center.

Also feel free to contact me direct or leave a comment below if you have any other questions about real estate in California or the Bay Area. If you’re not in our area, you can check with your county or city to see if they have something similar near you.

If you’re needing to sell your home quickly, don’t forget to click the book in the sidebar on selling your home in just 21 days.

Psychology of foreclosure

I’m constantly taking training on what’s happening in the market, how to get things done, and how to get things done so the client comes out the winner, or at least as much as possible. I decided after what had happened to us that I didn’t have the stomach to be an REO agent. These are the agents the bank hires to get people out of the house, clean it up and get it ready to go on the market. The ones that were in charge of the home we were living in, like most, are very nice while they are trying to get you out as fast as possible. Once they have you locked out, it becomes a different story, and they can become ruthless. While I know they were doing their job, there were things they could have done to allow us to retain more of our belongings. As most REO agents they were just too busy to care about us. They had more families than just ours to get out.

While a short sale is not an ideal situation either, as I was taking some training about short sales yesterday something was said that definitely caught my attention. As it was explained in the training, a foreclosure happens to the homeowner. Unless they have enough cash to cure the sale, odds are the bank will proceed all the way to the courthouse steps. With a short sale at least the seller retains a little control over what is happening. This is where the difference in the psychology between a foreclosure vs. a short sale comes in. A short sale is actually a much more pro-active move giving the seller a little less damage to their credit and a little better environment in which to leave their home. A homeowner is a participant in the process from start to finish vs. it just happening with or without him/her.

If I can answer any questions or help in any way, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me directly.