DULCIE CRAWFORD

If you're like most homeowners, you probably owe more than what your house is worth. But did you know that YOU HAVE OPTIONS OTHER THAN FORECLOSURE? 

We cannot stress enough that each situation is different, and it isn’t simply Yes-No answers. Take advantage of my expertise, and the valuable FREE  information I have made available for you here.

Recently, there are new government programs that can potentially help you in your individual scenario. Please take advantage of the wealth of information we have made available here.

Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA)

Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program

FHA Program - Becoming Eligible to be a Homeowner Again After a Short Sale

Foreclosure Options Explained

President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program can help struggling homeowners keep their homes by making their mortgage payments affordable. But the program will not help everyone.

We at The Dulcie Crawford Group has helped many of our clients stave off foreclosure by analyzing each unique situation and recommending the best plan of action for your financial situation. Some of the options discussed below may hurt your credit scores but the effect will not be as damaging than if you were foreclosed on. As a certified Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource Specialist, we take the time to listen so we can help you the best way possible.

If you are not eligible for a Making Home Affordable Refinance or Modification, your mortgage company or HUD-approved housing counselor may suggest other options that are available to you. These options may include:

Reinstatement: You pay the loan servicer the entire past-due amount, plus any late fees or penalties, by a date you both agree to. This option may be appropriate if your problem paying your mortgage is temporary.

Forbearance: Under a forbearance agreement with your mortgage company, your mortgage payments are reduced or suspended for a period you and your servicer agree to. At the end of that time, you resume making your regular payments as well as a lump sum payment or additional partial payments for a number of months to bring the loan current. Forbearance may be an option if your income is reduced temporarily (for example, you are on disability leave from a job, and you expect to go back to your full time position shortly). Forbearance isn’t going to help you if you’re in a home you can’t afford.

Repayment Plan: If you have missed payments, your mortgage company may be able to help you catch up by creating a schedule for repaying the past-due amounts. Your servicer gives you a fixed amount of time to repay the amount you are behind by adding a portion of what is past due to your regular payment. This option may be appropriate if you’ve missed a small number of payments.

HomeSaver Advance™: If your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae and your missed payments are due to a temporary financial hardship, you may be eligible for an unsecured personal loan to help you get current with your payments.

However, if you cannot afford your home over the long term, you may need to sell the home and move to housing that you can afford. While this means giving up your home, you may still be able to avoid foreclosure. Discuss these alternatives to foreclosure with your mortgage company:

Pre-foreclosure Sale: If you cannot sell your home for the amount necessary to pay off the mortgage loan, ask about a pre-foreclosure or “short” sale. In certain situations, the servicer may be willing to accept a payoff amount less than what you owe on the mortgage balance. Your servicers may allow you to sell the home yourself before it forecloses on the property, agreeing to forgive any shortfall between the sale price and the mortgage balance. This approach avoids a damaging foreclosure entry on your credit report. Under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, the forgiven debt on your primary residence may be excluded from income when calculating the federal taxes you owe, but it still must be reported on your federal tax return. For more information, see www.irs.gov, and consider consulting a financial advisor, accountant, or attorney.

Deed-in-lieu of Foreclosure: If you cannot sell your home in a reasonable amount of time, your mortgage company may allow you to voluntarily transfer the deed to the property to the mortgage company. You voluntarily transfer your property title to the servicers (with the servicer’s agreement) in exchange for cancellation of the remainder of your debt. Though you lose the home, a deed in lieu of foreclosure can be less damaging to your credit than a foreclosure. You will lose any equity in the property, although under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, the forgiven debt on your primary residence may be excluded from income when calculating the federal taxes you owe. However, it still must be reported on your federal tax return. For more information, see www.irs.gov. A deed in lieu of foreclosure may not be an option for you if other loans or obligations are secured by your home.

Be Alert to Scams

Scam artists follow the headlines, and know there are homeowners falling behind in their mortgage payments or at risk for foreclosure. Their pitches may sound like a way for you to get out from under, but their intentions are as far from honorable as they can be. They mean to take your money. Among the predatory scams that have been reported are:

• The foreclosure prevention specialist: The “specialist” really is a phony counselor who charges high fees in exchange for making a few phone calls or completing some paperwork that a homeowner could easily do for himself. None of the actions results in saving the home. This scam gives homeowners a false sense of hope, delays them from seeking qualified help, and exposes their personal financial information to a fraudster. Some of these companies even use names with the word HOPE or HOPE NOW in them to confuse borrowers who are looking for assistance from the free 888-995-HOPE hotline.
• The lease/buy back: Homeowners are deceived into signing over the deed to their home to a scam artist who tells them they will be able to remain in the house as a renter and eventually buy it back. Usually, the terms of this scheme are so demanding that the buy-back becomes impossible, the homeowner gets evicted, and the “rescuer” walks off with most or all of the equity.
• The bait-and-switch: Homeowners think they are signing documents to bring the mortgage current. Instead, they are signing over the deed to their home. Homeowners usually don’t know they’ve been scammed until they get an eviction notice.