Stop Michigan Foreclosure

Instincts Aren’t Always Right!

The other day I was at the lake with my dogs watching them “swim” which is really just them walking around in the water. They only go as deep as they can stand and still keep their heads out of the water. We all know that when a dog gets out of the water, some instinct tells the dog to shake to dry herself off. Well, as I was watching Maggie standing in the lake, up to her belly in water, she apparently decided she didn’t want to be wet because she started to shake. This just made her even more wet because she propelled water up over the top of her, soaking her head and back. The more she got wet, the more she tried to shake herself dry. I had to laugh and I thought to myself, sometimes our instincts are wrong.

Then I started thinking about the families facing a Michigan foreclosure that we talk to every day. Sometimes their instincts are wrong about how to respond. Some people who are behind on their house payments immediately think they need to file bankruptcy. While I am not an attorney (and you should always consult an attorney), I know from watching it over and over that a bankruptcy does not stop the foreclosure and merely postpones it. Other people facing a Michigan foreclosure will do some kind of work out program with their bank hoping to keep the house a little longer. This can be great if their financial hardship is over and they can make their new and future payments. However, for many people still facing a financial hardship, the new payments or terms are just as hard to pay as they were before the work out.

I think the main reason our instincts mislead us is that we lack information and experience. Most people have never experienced or been educated on Michigan foreclosures so when they are facing foreclosure, they have no instincts to guide them through. That’s why we are here! We can give you information and answer your questions and guide you through your options. We do not charge a fee and we will keep all your information confidential. Let us be your instincts and help you find the right course of action for you. Give us a call today.

Ann

A Michigan Foreclosure Does NOT Have to be the Boogie Man

As children, I am sure we all had our different “Boogie Man”, that thing that kept us awake at night with fear. When I was a child, I was afraid that my Dad was going to die when I was in high school because his Dad had died in high school. I knew enough to make myself miserable. I knew that sometimes people died of the same thing that killed a family member. What I failed to realize is that my grandfather died in an accident in a steel mill and since my dad did not work in a steel mill, this would not likely happen to him. When someone pointed this out and put this light on my “Boogie Man” a huge fear was lifted.

Many of our childhood fears are illogical like this based on us not having the full knowledge or experience or misunderstanding something. Sometimes, the same thing happens when we become adults. We get ourselves into a situation we don’t fully understand or were educated on and we don’t know where to turn. Many people facing a Michigan foreclosure end up in this situation. I hear it in the fears they voice when they call:

• If the Michigan foreclosure sale happens, am I out of options? (Answer is no, you have a redemption period with certain rights including the right to live in the house and sell it)
• When will the sheriff come and toss me out of the house? (Answer is not till the end of the redemption period and only after going through a legal eviction.
• Will the Michigan foreclosure auction happen in my yard for all the neighbors to see? (Answer is no)

That is why we are here. We have the experience, knowledge and answers to put your fears to rest. Plus, we will not charge you anything or put you in a worse situation, so no fears there! Give us a call and tell us what is bothering you and let us put the light of day on your “Boogie Man” and drive those fears away so you can get on the road to a better day.

Ann

Find Your Michigan Foreclosure Compass

Stuck in the clouds?

Did you know that when a pilot is learning to fly in clouds, one of the first things he has to learn is to not listen to his body and instead believe the instruments in front of him? That is because when we cannot see where we are going, it is so easy to get disoriented. You may have experienced this if you ever walked in a thick fog or snow storm. Imagine adding the third dimension of height and you can see why a pilot needs to learn to rely on instruments like compasses to keep them flying in the right directions (instead of her “seat of the pants” or “gut feelings”). Instruments also keep pilots from getting disoriented and turning the plane upside down or descending into an obstacle when they can’t see where they are going.

A similar disorientation can happen to us when we are in a stressful situation, such as a job loss, divorce, disability, death of a loved one. This can be amplified if the financial hardship causes someone to get behind on house payments so they are facing a Michigan Foreclosure. People facing a stressful situation tend to react emotionally and by “gut feel” instead of logically about what to do and where to go. They can make bad decisions or no decision at all. They need a “compass” to guide them out of the clouds of despair and into the light, and back to better times.

That is where we can help. We can give you information about your options, educate you about the foreclosure process and help you figure out your goals and plans. We can help you make a logical decision about what is best for you instead of a gut reaction that may be wrong. We never charge a fee for this and we won’t put you in a worse situation. Give Emily a call and let her show you how to get out of the clouds and back to better times.

Ann

If There Was No Such Thing As A Short Sale….

I had a lady call me the other day and say” “I need to do a Short Sale”.

“Ok” I said, “Tell me about your situation”.

She proceeded to tell me her story and ended with “I will be making a payment to the bank this month so they don’t foreclose”.

Wait a minute, I thought, we won’t do a short sale if you are still making payments because we are setting ourselves and you up for failure. Why? Because if you’ve got income to make payments, your income exceeds your expenses, and the chances of your lender agreeing to a short sale are very slim.

So, I had a question for her, and this is the same question you need to ask yourself: “If there was no such thing as a short sale, and the only option was to stay current or have a Michigan foreclosure, which would you do?” If your answer is “keep making payments”, well, then keep making payments.

If you are like a lot of distressed sellers in Michigan who have had a financial hardship (job loss, divorce, disability, death, etc) the obvious answer is you have no choice but to face a Michigan Foreclosure. These are the people we are best equipped to help with a short sale. While we are sorry that you have had a hardship, we are ready to help you focus on a better future. We will do this without charging you anything and we keep everything confidential. Yes, there are such things as short sales and we have the best team in Michigan to help you navigate through them (since 2005). Give us a call today.

Ann

Next Move – Nursing Home!

We recently moved our office because out landlord was selling the building. It was not our choice to move, but he left us with no options since we weren’t willing to stay and pay higher rent. It was a lot of work not only to do the physical move, but to find a new place and coordinate everything that had to happen to move a business with minimal down time. I also think we picked the hottest, most humid day of the year to move! I am happy to say, we got it done. At some point during the day, Emily (who had just moved her personal residences recently) said “I’m never moving again till they move me into a nursing home”

You may share these sentiments about moving. We find that a lot of distressed sellers facing a Michigan foreclosure don’t want to move. They might not know where they will move to, or not want to uproot their children, or have sentimental attachments to the house or not want to go through the pain of moving or many other reasons. It may not be their choice to move. Yet, if you can no longer make the house payments because your income has been cut due to a job loss, divorce, death, disability or some other financial hardship, eventually you need to face the reality that you just can’t stay where you are at either. After all, eventually, the bank will kick you out.

We may not be able to help with the physical aspects of moving but we can help you make a fresh start. We have options to try to salvage your credit and get you back on your feet quicker. We can reduce your stress by answering your questions about timing and options and we will deal with your lender so that you have less to deal with. Give Emily a call and discuss your situation with her. She will listen, make suggestions, and advise. She will never charge you anything or put you in a worse situation and she keeps everything confidential. Let Emily help you move on to better times.

Ann

Postponing the Inevitable

Now that summer is upon us, my dogs love to go swimming in the lake. However, they hate being dried off afterwords. I won’t allow them back in the house until they are semi-dry so it becomes a battle of wills. I pull out the towels and they run away, postponing the inevitable. Sometimes it becomes a game (to them anyway) with me chasing them around the garage jumping over obstacles while they gleefully run away. Eventually, hunger or the search for affection and companionship will pull them inside and they will have to endure the towel drying to get to their food or other goal.

We see a lot of people facing a Michigan Foreclosure go through a similar mental process. They want to avoid the pain of the foreclosure, so they may declare bankruptcy. I am not an attorney, but my experience has been that all the bankruptcy does for them is postpone the inevitable foreclosure. Yes, it makes your lender jump through a few more hoops to proceed with the foreclosure. However, eventually, they will do all the right legal things to be able to proceed. I have never seen a bankruptcy permanently stop a foreclosure.

If you are in a distressed financial situation and are considering bankruptcy, seek competent advice. My experience is that it probably is not worth pursuing the bankruptcy unless you have debt other than the house that a bankruptcy can help you with. If the house is your sole financial burden, give us a call and see what alternatives we can suggest. We can help you define your goals and find the best course of action for your situation. We will never charge you a fee and we promise not to put you in a worse. Give Emily a call today and stop postponing the inevitable and start working toward a permanent solution to your Michigan foreclosure.

Ann

Totally Awesome Team

This week we had to make a video for our coaches about our team and business and it made me realize how fortunate we are to have great people working with us. The best part is they are all here waiting to put their talents and experience to work for you. If you haven’t talked to all of them yet, let me introduce them

Holly assists Melissa with all the paperwork and non-negotiation calls to the bank, plus assisting everyone else in our office. When you first come to our office, she will be the friendly person out in front to greet you. She is a “machine” processing all the paperwork we have to collect and submit to lenders so the negotiations can proceed. She does all the behind the scene stuff that is only noticed when she isn’t here to do it.

Emily (aka Mom) is a more visible part of our team taking most of the incoming calls from distressed sellers facing Michigan foreclosures and helping them sort out their options. Emily will tell it to you straight in an empathetic fashion. She has seen her share of hardships in life and is not kidding when she tells you she knows what you are going through. I don’t believe you could find a more understanding person to help you figure out what to do when you are facing foreclosure.

Melissa is the one persistently calling lender after lender, negotiating all of the short sales and settlements. She is the one who sits on the phone, talks to unfriendly customer service people (sometimes who are in a foreign country), takes abuse from unsympathetic lenders and 85% of the time, succeeds in her quest to resolve a sellers situation. Not many people would be willing to dig in their hills and keep picking up the phone time and time again like she does.

Joel solves all the unusual problems that come up along the way. He is also the one out talking to attorneys, title companies, buyer lenders, REALTORS® and the rest of our extended team that help us help distressed sellers. Joel also is our main link to other companies around the nation helping distressed sellers. Joel does not hesitate to ask others for advice if we come up against something new.

Me, well I am dealing with the REALTORS® daily to help get the houses sold. This involves educating them, filling out their paperwork, making suggestions on their marketing and updating them on our progress. If you ever worked with a REALTOR® buying/selling a house, multiply this by about 50 and you will know what my day is like.

All of these people come together daily to help you. We are passionate about what we do and the people we help. If you are facing a Michigan foreclosure, give us a call and let us put our experience and talents to work for you.

Ann

What Bank Leaders Know That You May Not Know

According to this article from CNBC one of the nation’s biggest banks, Bank of America, is making it easier than ever before to do Short Sales (where the bank accepts a discount on what is owed so the house can sell). Why? According to the article, it is because they see the need for short sales growing and it is less expensive for them to do a Short Sale than to take a house back at the end of the foreclosure process as a bank owned property. Duh! They also point out that few homeowners qualify for the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Duh again!

This is nothing new to us. We have been pointing these things out for years. The good news for sellers facing a Michigan Foreclosure is that what could be one of their best options is becoming more accepted and hopefully easier to do. We still recommend that a short sale be your last option, and it may not be the best option for everyone. Still, we have been able to help a lot of people over the last 5+ years get back to better times through a short sale.

If you are behind on your house payments because of a financial hardship (job loss, divorce, medical situation, death, etc) give us a call and let us see what option is right for you. We never charge a dime, we keep all your information confidential, and we won’t do anything to put you in a worse position. See how the new thinking among bank leaders can help you get back to better times.

Ann

Short Sale Education & Training

Joel & I just got back from a Short Sale training event in Dallas. It was and excellent event. We learned some great information about how to streamline our processes, learned what is working for other people in similar business around the country and came back energized and ready to share the great information with the rest of our team so we can help as many families as possible.

We were telling one of the Elite REALTORS® we work with about it yesterday and he said “I am so glad to be hooked up with a company that puts such high value on training & education”. He is right, we do put a high value on training and education and here is the benefit to you.

1. We stay on the leading edge of developments in the lending and real estate industries. If something is going to change or has changed, we know about it (usually before it happens) and can adjust.
2. We are connected to companies like ours across the country and to mentors who we can learn from and turn to when we have challenges or just want to improve.
3. We wouldn’t keep investing in training and education if we didn’t plan to be around for a long time to help families facing Michigan Foreclosures.

We know there are lots of companies and people (REALTORS®, Attorney’s, Title companies) whom you can turn to when you are in a distressed situation with your house. We hope that you don’t just turn to them because of their title “Attorney” or “REALTOR®”. We hope you are asking them about their training – what kind, how recent, plans for ongoing training? Who will they turn to when challenges they have never faced before arise? How will they know if there is a major change with your lender or in the industry that could affect your future?

While you are checking them out, give us a call and ask us the same questions. Let us tell you how we can help you get back to better times, without ever charging you a fee. We look forward to putting all our training and education to work for you.

Ann

Paralyzed by a Michigan Foreclosure (No More)

When you are facing a hardship, I know that it can be paralyzing. A death of a loved one can fill you with so much sadness and grief that you feel like you can’t deal with anything else. A major sickness for yourself or someone close to you can overwhelm you with choices, decisions, and appointments that you feel like you don’t have time for anything else. A job loss can make you feel depressed, lost and fearful. Your only focus is how you are going to feed yourself and your family. On top of all this, if you are falling behind on the house payments and facing a Michigan foreclosure. Dealing with the house is probably the last thing you want to do.

That’s why we are here. All you need to do is make one phone call to Emily and discuss your situation with her. If we can help, we will take the burden of dealing with the house off your shoulders. We will still need help from you, but we will do all the hard work of dealing with the banks, attorneys, REALTORS® and anyone else who needs to be involved. We will explain what is going on with the foreclosure and what your options are so you aren’t struggling to figure it out for yourself. We have knowledgeable, experienced staff to help. We know what works and aren’t swayed by the media, rumors or what your neighbor might have heard will work. We will do all this without charging you, without asking you to make any repairs to the house and without putting you in a worse situation. We keep everything confidential and will work harder than anyone to get you to a better situation. What else could you possible ask for? Give Emily a call today and feel the relief of moving forward and solving your house problem and feeling paralyzed no more.

Ann