Stop Michigan Foreclosure

Lightning Does the Work

I was out running errands yesterday and heard a song from Chad Brock called “Lightning Does the Work”. I’ve probably heard it at least 40 times, but this time was different. I was singing along off key and it suddenly hit me- this song describes our Great Lakes Home Solutions team.

Having worked in the real estate industry for about 11 years I’ve heard many people claim that they know all about short sales and can get them negotiated without any problem and that they’re even easy. I’m here to say that they’re all wrong. In the lyrics of the song Chad sings “Thunder’s just a noise, boys, lightnin’ does the work”. I like to think of us at GLHS as the lightning. While others are busy talking about how much they know; we’re busy closing short sales (usually 3 to 8 per month). I know I’m tooting our own horn, but I think we deserve it. With an 85% success rate over the last 6 months, how can we not. If you’re looking for a team that is dedicated to helping you sell your house and stop your Michigan Foreclosure, give us a call.

Emily

“They Broke Into The House & Changed The Locks!”

Yes, that’s exactly how the first part of this conversation with one of our new sellers went. The rest of the story is unbelievable, but we managed to turn it into a good ending (so far). But first, a little education for you so you can understand this story…

Redemption period – what’s that? A redemption period is a number of days or months after a foreclosure auction during which time you may redeem the property. At the auction, the house is sold back to your lender (most of the time) – by redeeming, you are claiming the property back so it’s yours again. Michigan is one of only 10 states that boasts a redemption period – ours is generally six months.

Sounds pretty good right? Here’s the catch: the amount owed must be paid in full during those six months (plus interest & attorney fees), so, if you were to receive a large monetary gift, or win the lottery, you might be able to redeem the house.

Or, you could sell it.

Thing is, every seller in Michigan has redemption rights (unless he or she chooses to sign a deed in lieu of foreclosure with the lender which gives up those rights). That is something no business, individual, or entity can take away from you – you are protected by Michigan law.

So our new seller was in this very situation; unfortunately, a local business that wishes to attain her house sooner rather than later (they don’t want to wait out the six months), seems to have aggressively pursued their goal by unethical means. The property was broken into and they tried to bully her – for lack of a better term – into foregoing her right to redeem the house herself. They were likely playing the odds she would not know her rights or contact a third party. Sad to say there are people out there who prey upon those in financial hardship.

The good news (because we taught her how to deal with these bullies) is she’s now exercising those rights and intends to redeem the house.

I just wanted to take a few moments to stress how important it is for you as a seller in foreclosure-ridden Michigan to know your options and more importantly your rights – both in prosperity and hardship.

If you’re faced with a similar situation (or anything else related to Michigan foreclosure for that matter), give us a call – we’re all happy to help!

Melissa

Here is an article that gives number of foreclosure throughout Michigan in 2009 by County.

I am sure no one will be surprised to learn that Wayne County had the most foreclosures in Michigan in 2009. How about the county where you live? Did you ever wonder how many foreclosure filings there were in the last few years? If you are behind on your payments and facing a Michigan foreclosure, you will see you are not alone.

The obvious message is that foreclosure has no geographical boundaries and extends throughout Michigan. This means that there are resources and help available, more so than if this was not such a prevalent problem. We are one such resource that can help people facing a Michigan Foreclosure. We can help you evaluate your options and help you get back to better times.

If you are behind on your payments and facing Michigan foreclosure (or know someone who is) give us a call. We will not put you in a worse position, and will work harder than anyone to improve your situation. Confidential, free, right here in Michigan ready to help you. Call today before it’s too late!

Ann

Last week, we closed on two different houses and my team made $267,000 of debt disappear between both of them. How is this done? This is done with a short sale. Don’t know what a short sale is? Well you can search this blog to learn more, or just give us a call. We’re really good at them though based on all of the testimonials you’ll find here and here. And here’s two more!

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“What can we say about Joel and the people who work with him. They were amazing from the very beginning. We, like many people, were in a bad situation with our mortgage company with the high interest rate which led to a payment we just couldn’t afford. Desperate, we bought into a couple scams which cost us money we didn’t have. So needless to say when I heard from Joel we were a little skeptical. That feeling was completely wrong. From the very beginning they have stayed true to their word. They were always so compassionate about our situation and what we were going through. Even when things didn’t go necessarily as planned, they continued to work hard to get any issues resolved. They were not just negotiators to us, they truly became our friends who we feel sincerely cared. We are so thankful to them for helping us resolve a situation that no one ever wants to go through. I would recommend anyone who has any needs as far as their houses go to get in contact with them. They are great. Just in case you’re wondering our original debt was $197,000. Joel’s team got the mortgage company to settle for $86,000 which was a savings of $111,000. Amazing!!”

Mike and Jen, Hamilton, Michigan

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“I found myself looking for another job after I moved back home to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I did not realize it would take me so long to find employment again and dwindled down my savings to save my house. I called the bank for help and did everything they asked me to do – sent hardship letters and financial statements, they basically said we cannot help you unless you are delinquent. I have never paid a late payment in my life, but I had to. I finally was referred to a realtor Curt Hausser who was so understanding and sympathetic – he referred me to Great lakes, from the day I asked for their help my embarrassment and stress went away. My original debt was $267,000, the house was settled for $110,000, which wiped out $157,000 of debt. This is for real! Thanks all of the staff at Great Lakes.”

Linda, Howard City, Michigan

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Joel

Today I’m going to give all of the blog readers out there a tidbit of useful advice: Don’t trust your Michigan short sale to just anyone. I’ll tell you why…

Short sales are hard to do! They take a lot of frustrating phone calls, countless hours of your time, some serious negotiation ability, and some on-your-toes critical thinking skills. Not everyone has the time, patience, or skill to close a short sale deal.

Today I did a search on the local MLS to see exactly how many active short sale listings there are out there. The answer is a whopping 1,083! Just in the southwest Michigan area! I then did a search to see how many short sales sold in the last six months: a mere 200. Shocking!

I suppose that due to our much higher than average closing success rate (about 80%) it’s easy for us to forget how many people out there are struggling with their short sales. Many sellers are either trying to do them by themselves, or are using a possibly uninformed, unqualified REALTOR®. Sure, there are REALTORS® out there who are seasoned pros at this (many work with us!), but many aren’t very qualified. They try hard to sells houses and most are good at it. If they are working on a short sale, chances are they are trying their hardest to get it to go through. But all the trying in the world cannot make something work if you simply don’t know how or have the refined skills. We work with several great REALTORS® to try to make sure the house not only gets sold, but also gets an approved short sale. Have you watched Joel’s video on how to determine if your REALTOR® is qualified to do a short sale?

So before you trust your short sale to just anyone, give it some thought. Hopefully you’ll realize that our FREE, confidential services may be a great opportunity for you. Remember, Michigan short sales are all we do!

Holly

I recently saw asked a REALTOR® (not one of ours!) how things were going with one of his listings.  it went like this…

“I haven’t talked to the seller in 2 months” he said.

“2 Months? Must be you aren’t getting a lot of showings” I said

“We haven’t had any, it is priced way too high but that is what they need to pay off their debt” he said.

“Sounds like you may need a short sale” I said.

Now I don’t know for sure that this seller is a good candidate for a Michigan short sale or not.. However, I do know that if your house has been listed for more than 2-3 weeks without a showing, then it is priced too high.

I would also say if your REALTOR® has not talked to you in 2 weeks (let alone 2 months, good grief), you need a new REALTOR®. A good REALTOR® will be constantly updating you on progress and suggesting adjustments. If you want to know other ways to judge a how well a REALTOR® will do with your short sale, see this video.

How do you figure out if you need a Michigan short sale, make sure your house is priced correctly and that you have a good REALTOR® ? One way is to talk to us. Especially if you are facing a Michigan foreclosure, selling your house is a time sensitive matter. You don’t have time for trial and error now do you? Give us a call and not only will we help you with your short sale as much as possible, we will put you in touch with our whole team of people, including REALTROS®, who can help you get your house sold and get back to better times.

Ann

Last week, we closed on two different houses and my team made more debt disappear. How is this done? This is done with a short sale. Don’t know what a short sale is? Well you can search this blog to learn more, or just give us a call. We’re really good at them though based on all of the testimonials you’ll find here and here. And here’s two more!

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“Due to my husbands job loss we were unable to pay our mortgage. We found ourselves in default of our mortgage after 8 years of paying on time. The home was in foreclosure when we first heard about Great Lakes Home Solutions, Inc. (GLHS). We didn’t feel like we could do anything to improve our situation besides trying to “short sale” the house. It turned out being a great decision. GLHS ended up wiping out $97,000 of debt, which was a great weight being lifted from us. I would recommend GLHS to anyone that is going through the same situation. It was a great decision.”

Deon & Nicole, Kalamazoo, Michigan

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“After having the house on the market for three years and had several deals fall through due to the rapidly declining market, Great Lakes Home Solutions, Inc. was our last resort. We could not afford to keep putting good money after bad and had hard decisions to make regarding our family’s financial future. Great Lakes assigned Realtor was able to sell our home and Great Lakes negotiated an agreeable arrangement with our mortgage company that allowed us to walk away and begin our lives again, with a much better credit future than a foreclosure would have allowed. At least now we can have hope of someday securing a new home for our children to grow up in, in the future. The fact that we were currently living in a different state due to jobs, did not affect the quality of attention that Great Lakes offered our family, even though it meant more work on their part to put our deal together and still make tight deadlines. We appreciate their hard work.”

Gary & Marci, Greenville, Michigan

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Joel