With mortgage delinquencies across the nation at an all time high, many desperate homeowners are seeking to avoid foreclosure at any cost.  The problem is, there are plenty of scam artists out to take advantage of that fact.  For scam artists, this high level of foreclosures is seen as an opportunity to profit off of others’ misfortunes.  Between October 2009 to April 2010, community development groups handled over 10,000 reports of foreclosure-prevention scams.  

Here in College Station, there have not been many reports regarding foreclosure-prevention scams.  But if you are a homeowner, it is still a good idea to make yourself aware of the possibility.  Alert consumers can identify fraud from legitimate help if they learn these three basic signs.

1. Avoid anyone who asks for a fee in advance.  If you pay these fees (which can range from $1,000 to $5,000) you will likely never hear from them again.
2. Avoid anyone who tells you they can guarantee foreclosure will stop.  Nobody can do this, especially before they find out about your individual circumstance.
3. Avoid anyone who urges you to stop paying your mortgage and pay them instead.  They are keeping up the pretense of helping you, while adding to the money they are stealing from you.

If you are having issues with foreclosure and don’t know where to turn, please call me.  I am here to help and can explain the many options that are open to you.  We can discuss negotiating a short sale, a loan modification, or even quick sales to avoid the potential harm to your credit.  Call (979) 255-1839 anytime.

Clay Lee – Realtor

Century 21 Beal, Inc.

(979) 255-1839

clay@century21bcs.com

Timeless Service, Quality, and Experience Guaranteed

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Behind in your home mortgage payments in College Station or Bryan? Why do people wait to let a Realtor help?

I find it difficult to understand why home owners who find themselves behind in the home mortgage payments wait and don’t contact a Realtor for help before they lose their homes to foreclosure. We see if over and over and I find it terribly sad.

If a home owner will contact a Realtor when they find they are getting behind on their mortgage payments a Realtor can help. There are options!

• Traditional home sale
• Short sale (if you owe more than you can sell the house for)
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure (give the house back to the bank)
•  Work with you lender and the Hope Now Alliance

So, if you are behind in your payments CALL ME!  Let us help you save your credit!

Other articles you will find interesting -

How Do You Avoid Foreclosure in College Station Tx?

Behind in Your House Payments?

Foreclosure – Short Sale – Is There Really a Difference to Me?

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal

Want to Search the Bryan College Station MLS? CLICK HERE!!!

View Susan Hilton’s profile

Every homeowner should know the basics of avoiding foreclosure. Whether you purchased real estate in College Station Texas or Denver Colorado – foreclosure is NOT what you want!

When you purchased your home you never thought you’d get behind on your payments. You never thought you’d have the bank sending you letters about late payments or past due payments. Below are a few ideas on how to prevent it from happening and what to do if it does occur.

Be careful of what you buy -

Can you buy more than you should? Yes, sometimes that is possible.

Can you buy more than you can take care of? Yes, but please don’t.

Talk with your lender and your agent before you start home shopping and stay in that price range. Even though it is more fun to buy a little more, something a little nicer, something a little prettier, don’t over extend yourself. If you can’t pay for it today – don’t buy it! Don’t borrow money with the plan of getting a raise. You never know what the future holds.

Be careful about your loan -

Before you sign, understand what you are signing and what you are agreeing to. Make sure you know what you are committing to. Does your loan have a prepayment penalty? Does your loan have a low payment for the first year and then it increases? Is your loan a fixed rate or variable rate or is it interest only? Make sure you know what you are agreeing to and what your responsibilities are. Know what you are signing BEFORE you sign!

If you get behind on your payments -

Life is hard sometimes but hiding from your problems is never the answer. If you are behind on your mortgage payments contact your lender right away. In fact, if you think you are going to be late on your payment go ahead and call them NOW. If you ignore the lender or pretend it isn’t happening or act like you are uninterested in what happens to your home, your lender will not be as quick or willing to help you. Also, you may contact a HUD approved counseling agency 800-596-4287 or the Hope Now Alliance at 888-995-HOPE.

To participate in the new bill beginning October 1, 2008 and lasting until September 30, 2011 Hope for Homeowner’s rules require that the participants be owner occupants and meet the following criteria.

• Their mortgage must have originated on or before January 1, 2008;

• Their mortgage debt-to-income must be at least 31 percent;

• They cannot afford their current loan;

• They did not intentionally miss mortgage payments; and

• They do not own second homes.

These loans will be 30 year fixed rate mortgages, a maximum 90% Loan to Value ratio, $550,440 maximum loan amount, no prepayment penalties, extinguishment of any subordinate liens and have a new appraisal from an FHA approved appraiser.

Don’t wait. If you are struggling CALL someone! Call your lender if you want to stay in your home. Call your College Station/Bryan/Brazos County Realtor if you are ready to sell and move on. Call Century 21!

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal

Search the Bryan/College Station MLS FREE!!!!!! CLICK HERE!!!

View Susan Hilton’s profile

What do you do if you fall behind in your home loan payments? DON’T WAIT!!!! TALK WITH YOUR LENDER NOW!!!

FHA Loans -

If you are in a home with an FHA loan contact a HUD approved housing counseling agency (1-800-569-4287 or TDD: 1-800-483-2209) and work with them to help you out of this mess. They are there to help you! FHA loans have a few options -

1. Special Forbearance – This is where your lender arranges for you to arrange for a repayment plan which could include temporary reduction in payments or a suspension of your payments. An involuntary reduction in your income or a significant increase in your living expenses may assist in qualification.

2. Mortgage Modification – A mortgage modification is when your debt is refinanced or extended so that the monthly payment is reduced. To qualify you will need to have recovered from your financial problems but your net income is now less than before.

3. Partial Claim – Sometimes a lender can help you obtain an interest free loan from HUD so you can bring your loan current. This would still need to be repaid.

4. Pre-foreclosure Sale – You may sell your property and pay off your loan and avoid a foreclosure.

5. Deed-in lieu of Foreclosure – This allows you to “give back” your property to the lender. You won’t be able to keep your house but this will help keep your costs down and will keep a foreclosure off your record.

FHA Loss Mitigation Center is available to help you at 1-888-297-8685 if your lender is not working with you the way you feel they should.

Conventional Loans:

With conventional loans you’ll need to speak with the loss mitigation department with your specific lender. Be sure to request a negotiator or counselor and a “workout package”. If your loan has been purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac there are guidelines the lender should follow to determine options. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae don’t work with borrowers directly – they work through the lender, also known as the loan servicer.

If your lender will not work with you or you receive poor service (and your loan is now owned by Freddie Mac) you may call their customer service at 1-800-373-3343.

Remember, anytime you are working through a loss mitigation, refinance, mortgage modification or any other option be careful of scams. HUD says to watch out for:

- Equity skimming – when a buyer says they will repay your mortgage or sell your property if you will just sign over the deed and move out.

- Phony counseling agencies – counseling for a fee when there is someone you can go to and get the counseling for free.

- Don’t sign anything if you don’t understand it!

If you are behind in your mortgage payments or think you are going to be behind very soon – CALL YOUR LENDER and CALL CENTURY 21! We are here to help you!

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal

As we see more and more on the national news about foreclosures I am asked more and more questions about the difference between a foreclosure and short sale. Agents, buyers and sellers are forming opinions of how things work in Bryan/College Station based on what they heard…. Believe me, the foreclosure laws are NOT the same in Texas and Michigan! The process is very very different! But, with our unhealthy desire to watch cable news (yes, it is on my television as I type – I’m listening to another story about IndyMac’s takeover by the FDIC) we often take pieces of information and assume that it will apply to us in Bryan/College Station.

How do you know what is fact and what is fiction? Talk with a Realtor that specializes in foreclosures. An agent that has sold 2-3 foreclosures in the last couple years is NOT a specialist! Yes, they can research the market and let you know what the property is worth but they are not specialists. How do you find a foreclosure specialist in Bryan/College Station? Call Century 21!

No, we don’t have many foreclosure specialists but we have a few and they are willing to share their experiences and expertise with the other agents for YOUR benefit! I work with great agents who work together as a group sharing ideas and encouraging each other.

I’m often asked something like, “does it matter on my credit if I have a foreclosure or a short sale?” YES!!! A short sale will always be better than a foreclosure. Sure you may have late mortgage payments reported on your credit but there is a good chance that the loan will be reported as “Paid as Agreed” and the late payments over time will roll off. Your credit score is set by an algoithm that uses many different pieces of information about you but a foreclosure will hurt it much more.

In the past lenders did not hurry to help anyone with a short sale if they were current on their mortgage but it does happen. The main things to do if you are not going to be able to continue making your mortgage payments is 1) contact a Realtor who specializes in foreclosures in YOUR market and 2) start working with your lender. Call your lender and ask for the loss mitigation department and ask for someone to help you through the process of a short sale. The people who have that job are often called “Negotiators” or “Loss Mitigation Specialists”.

Get started right away – it may take weeks just to get assigned to someone to begin the process. If you are struggling and need to get out from under the house payments please do not wait! Call us NOW so we can help. Don’t wait until you are getting foreclosure notices. Call CENTURY 21 Beal (979-764-2100) now and let us help you with the process ahead. We know how to help – we’ve done it many times before.

Want to read more post about this topic?

Are You Drowning? Are You Behind in Your House Payments? Don’t Wait!!!

Selling Your Home Pre-Foreclosure: The Hardship Letter

Foreclosures Across the Country Still on the RISE!!!

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal

Search the ENTIRE Bryan/College Station MLS? CLICK HERE!!!

View Susan Hilton’s profile

Foreclosures and strange things seem to go to together. Bryan-College Station has significantly less foreclosures than many other parts of the country. We are not in a struggling enconomy. We are not seeing entire neighborhoods boarded up and standing vacant. We also didn’t see the huge rise in values that many makets experienced. We didn’t see “investors” purchasing properties before they were built with plans to sell before the properties were complete.

As the community and as real estate agents in Bryan-College Station, we didn’t make a fortune in the real estate market like others did but we have had a nice steady increase in values. Remember slow and steady wins the race and certainly keeps us all sane!

Even though we have not had the huge rise in foreclosures, we do have a number of foreclosure properties and most sell very very quickly. Lenders are interested in putting these properties on the market as close to market value as possible yet sell them within the first 60 days. The holding costs for these properties are significant to the lender.

Now for the strange in the forclosure market…

• How about walking into a vacant home that has a room where your cell phone immediately stops working and there are shotgun shells on the floor. Then when you check a little further you find laser sensors for lighting and hidden rooms in the slab which are found only when the carpet is removed. The hidden rooms are large tubes built into the slab that will hold several people plus food and water for weeks. We found 2 rooms and the new buyer found a third.
• We walked into one home to find a notice on the cabinet telling us that the house contained a bomb. The bomb squad had to do a complete search. That was exciting!
• Or walking into a mobile home that someone had left their dogs when they moved away. The property was covered with animal feces and dead animals. Shoveling it out was the only way.
• How about the woman who was viewing a property, fell into a hole waist deep of water and rotten eggs.
• The house that a local gang decided was the best hangout in town. They “tagged” (spray painted) the inside and repeatedly used it as a hangout.
• A property with chicken feet left in the back room. Lots of chicken feet!
• A property where the old owner takes EVERYTHING – I mean everything from the counters, sinks, wall plugs, light fixtures, light switches, toilets, faucets…
• House where people used a white toilet in the living room for an end table.
• Property that has so much “stuff” in it that you can’t even walk inside. When you carry all the stuff outside to the front yard the pile is so high and so think you can’t even see the house from the street.
• Or the family that moves into a house because they wrote an offer on it and they want it – they didn’t buy it – they just wanted it.

Yes, life as a Realtor is odd dealing with the public yet when you add in the strange things that happen with a foreclosure, life is NEVER boring!

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal

#1 in Real Estate in Bryan and College Station Home Sales

Bryan College Station Real Estate & Community Blog

View Susan Hilton’s profile

In order to help ease some of the foreclosure inventory, the Bush administration is temporarily suspending the 5 year rule making it more difficult to purchase and resell FHA foreclosures right away.

The Federal Housing Administration will no longer impose the 90 day waiting period before the foreclosed property can be sold and receive a government backed loan.

The “no flipping” rule was put in place in 2003 to stop “flipping” schemes where the second buyer is overcharged for the foreclosure but with all the vacant foreclosed properties, FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery said that the new policy “will allow home buyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes.”

How do you know what foreclosures are available? Contact me!!!

So what are your thoughts? Is this a good thing? Will we really see any difference? How will this help homeowners buy homes? Or, will it just make it a little easier for investors?

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal

#1 Real Estate Expert in Bryan and College Station Home Sales

Bryan College Station Real Estate & Community Blog

L.A. Times had a great article about whether “jingle mail” is real or not – what are your thoughts? Is “jingle mail” true?‘Walking away’: A real trend or suburban myth?

Both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times are out with lengthy stories questioning whether the much-discussed “walking away” trend – you might also call it voluntary foreclosure – is a real event or a suburban myth. Both stories conclude that there is no good evidence to support the notion that more and more homeowners are making an economic decision to give up on their homes without a fight.

The L.A. Times’ Michael Hiltzik: “At Fannie Mae, the government-chartered company that owns or guarantees billions of dollars in home mortgages, Senior Vice President Marianne Sullivan conceded that there was growing ‘folklore’ about residential walkaways but said that the phenomenon was more likely connected to investors than people who live in their homes, or ‘owner-occupants.’ … ‘The vast majority of borrowers we find have been acting in good faith,’ she said. ‘If they get behind, they are interested in working with their lender.’ ”

The New York Times’ Vikas Bajaj: “The blogosphere is full of tales of homeowners who supposedly are choosing to mail the house keys to their lenders rather than keep their depreciating homes. And yet ‘jingle mail,’ the term for those tinkling packages of keys, appears to be far rarer than many seem to think. Freddie Mac, the big government-sponsored mortgage company, estimates that just 0.14 percent of the defaulted mortgages in its portfolio involved properties that were abandoned by borrowers.”

Analysis: Agreed, there are no good data indicating that walking away is a real trend. But: Banks and lenders have established that they are clueless when it comes to understanding the people they lent money to, the true economic condition of those borrowers and the real reasons some of them stop paying their mortgages. In many cases, borrowers go into foreclosure without ever having a conversation with their lender. In those cases, the borrower’s financial condition, and calculations, are a mystery. In short, it’s not clear that lenders are a particularly reliable source on the issue of why some homeowners go into foreclosure.

Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal, Inc.

#1 in Real Estate in Bryan and College Station Home Sales

Are you drowning in debt? Are you getting behind in your house payments? Are you thinking you may be faced with a foreclosure? LET ME KNOW!!!

If you are behind in your house payments please don’t wait. You have options if you act early.

A few options you may have -

1. Take the past due payments and attach them to the end of your loan and stay in the house.
2. Sell outright.
3. Sell for less than you owe and the bank forgives the debt.
4. Refinance

But, if you wait until you are several payments behind and you have not looked into your options, your choices get narrower and narrower.

New Federal Laws allow you more options than you have had in the past. Don’t wait! Call if you need help!

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal, Inc. #1 in Real Estate in Bryan and College Station Home Sales – Bryan College Station Real Estate & Community Blog

Even though the Bryan College Station Real Estate Home Sales Market is doing quite well we are still seeing that nationwide new foreclosure filings rose 4% in April and were nearly 65% higher than the level recorded a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac.

The company’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report indicates that foreclosure filings, default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions were reported on 243,353 properties in April.

“The total number of U.S. properties with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total we’ve seen since we began issuing the report in January 2005,” said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s chief executive officer. “Although only about 2% of households nationwide are in foreclosure, these properties contribute to already-bloated inventories of homes for sale and put downward pressure on home values.”

The company noted California, Florida, and Ohio recorded the highest foreclosure rates in April.

Thank goodness we live in Brazos County with Texas A&M University. Homes for sale in Bryan, College Station, Hearne, Caldwell, Navasota, Franklin, Anderson and beyond are still holding firm.

Susan Hilton – Realtor & Sales Trainer for Century 21 Beal, Inc. #1 in Real Estate in Bryan and College Station Home Sales – Bryan College Station Real Estate & Community Blog