For those who have recently been involved in a bankruptcy, foreclosure or a short sale, know that purchasing a home subsequent to any of these proceedings will take some additional time, patience and more than likely, extra funds! This article is intended to provide insight on what to expect for those homeowners who have lost their homes and are now seeking financing after the fact. Many lenders tightened their general home loan qualification standards partly in response to the steep decline suffered by the mortgage lending markets in late 2008. Below is a brief summary and timeline for obtaining financing after coming out of Bankruptcy, Foreclosure or a Short Sale.

FORECLOSURE TIMELINE

If one has previously experienced foreclosure in the recent

As an attorney representing consumers facing outstanding debts and foreclosure, the primary reason that a consumer would file for bankruptcy is to protect against a deficiency judgment. Many homeowners may or may not have been informed, in discussing foreclosure, that losing their home is the end of the foreclosure road. However, this article is here to serve as confirmation that losing a home to foreclosure is not necessarily the final step, if a home is severely underwater.

In a typical foreclosure setting with homeowners, the proceeds from a foreclosure sale are supposed to satisfy the underlying mortgage debt. The bank will set a foreclosure sale date and sell the home to the highest bidder or may reacquire the home itself. Should the sale price at

The housing market has shown some promising signs of late, but a fresh batch of foreclosure data offers a reminder that any recovery from the housing bust will likely be slow, spotty and painful. RealtyTrac, which publishes the largest database of foreclosure, auction and bank owned homes, recently reported that foreclosure filings rose by 9 percent in May from a month earlier to a nationwide total of 205,990 properties that were subject to default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions.

The reasoning behind this spike, according to insiders in the industry appears to be because lenders are finally getting around to foreclosing on the backlog of homes which were halted as a result of criticism and audits by the several Attorney Generals

Anytime a lender writes off, or "forgives," debt, it can be considered taxable income to the borrower. The larger the loan that is written off, the larger the potential tax bill that a taxpayer/homeowner may incur. Consider that every $10,000 in debt that is forgiven could incur as much as $1,500 to $3,500 in federal taxes depending on your tax bracket. Put another way, if your home is valued at $100,000 less than the existing debt and the debt is forgiven by the Lender, you as taxpayer could be responsible for a federal tax bill of up to $35,000, in addition to any state and local income taxes.

In recent years, most homeowners who have property that is worth less than the debt on the property, or commonly referred to as "underwater" or who lost

In today’s residential real estate market, there is a lot of interest in buying bank owned properties. Some of the information you may read about is convoluted and confusing. Therefore, let this article serve as a breakdown of how purchasing bank owned property typically works.

An REO (Real Estate Owned) is a property that goes back to the mortgage company after an unsuccessful foreclosure auction. These properties are now owned by the bank because the properties failed to result in a bid. In fact, most foreclosure auctions do not even result in bids. When buying a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees which accrued during the foreclosure process.

Foreclosure sales begin with a

On October 24, 2011, the Obama administration rolled out a revamped program to help homeowners stave off foreclosures. This plan is for current borrowers who want to get a lower monthly payment through a lower mortgage rate. Proponents of the program say it would help boost the economy by relieving financial stress on homeowners and reducing their mortgage so that they would have more expendable money.

The new initiative, which involves removing barriers to homeowners qualifying for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), is the latest in a series of steps by the President to defend his mortgage relief efforts and promote his jobs and economic policies.

At its core, the latest initiative would allow homeowners to refinance regardless of how

To Lease, Own, Or Lease-To-Own Your Home

At some time in your life, you may have rented a home or an apartment, so you may have undoubtedly encountered a lease agreement. If you’ve ever bought or sold a house, you’re familiar with a purchase offer. The lease-to-own agreement is a hybrid of the two – a lease agreement combined with a purchase offer. Whether renting is better than buying depends on many factors, particularly how fast prices and rents rise and how long one intends to stay in the home.

A lease-to-own house purchase (also “rent-to-own purchase” or “lease purchase”) is a lease combined with an option to purchase the property within a specified period, usually 3 years or less, at an agreed-upon price. The borrower pays an option fee, which

The typical client is concerned about credit after bankruptcy and how to establish credit again. Rebuilding credit after filing bankruptcy is not difficult, but does take time. It is obviously important to stay current on any new or existing obligations that you have. For example, taking out a new loan, even a small one, and making the monthly payments consistently and on time will cause credit scores to increase. One very important

LENDERS EXPERIENCING BACKLOG JAM BUT CONTINUE TO PRESERVE RIGHTS AGAINST HOMEOWNER

Here's a startling statistic: The average borrower experiencing delinquency on their mortgage hasn't made a mortgage payment in 17 months.  This is up nearly 11 months from just two years ago! The reason for the increase is in large part due to the delays experienced by Banks and mortgage servicers in completing foreclosure packages.  In effect, the large volumes of default mortgages create a significant backlog that cannot be handled in a timely fashion. In addition to the foregoing, other factors include the reviews of loan modifications and possible review of improperly filed foreclosure documents. 

Experts predict that this delay may very well translate into higher

A forensic loan audit is an essential tool for a loan modification attorney. But not all of them are created equal. You can’t make a decision based on price alone. There are some essential elements to an effective loan audit that you should know before you purchase one. It is said that more than 80% of all mortgages contain some kind of lender violation. Therefore, the chances are fairly high that a homeowner could benefit from a loan audit. If a lender violation is uncovered it will provide leverage for the homeowner when seeking out a loan modification, short sale or any other type of residential loan workout.

If a homeowner received a home loan between 2002 and 2008, that homeowner may very well be a prime candidate for a residential loan workout.