Stop Michigan Foreclosure

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

Well, it’s a new year, which means that there is bound to be tons of reflection on the year past. There will be lists abound – Best movies of 2009, best dressed of 2009, and of course, highest foreclosure rates of 2009! Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of cnbc.com:

10. Hawaii – 1 in 330

9.   Georgia – 1 in 305

8.   Illinois – 1 in 294

7.   Michigan – 1 in 225

6.   Utah – 1 in 200

5.   California – 1 in 165

4.   Idaho – 1 in 159

3.   Florida – 1 in 158

2.   Arizona – 1 in 132

1.   Nevada – 1 in 94

Put down those cards, ladies and gentlemen – I think Las Vegas has run out of luck!  I wouldn’t press my luck at Michigan’s casinos, either… we’re sitting (not so) pretty at number seven with 1 in 255 households losing their houses to foreclosure. And even more homeowners are facing foreclosure or heading that way by being behind on their mortgage payments. One piece of good news for the New Year is that if you’re facing foreclosure, we may have a permanent solution for you in the form of a short sale. If you know that you can no longer afford the house, and are ready to sell it, give Emily a call or email now.  If you wait much longer, we may have to tell you we can’t help.

Holly

Due to the overwhelming number of homeowners out in need of short sales, and the success rate of said short sales being extremely low, the government has stepped in to attempt to help out. The new “Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative” program has been created in order to give mortgage companies an incentive to close these deals. But is a HAFA short sale right for you? Answer this little questionnaire, and we’ll find out.

1. During the short sale process (which can take several months) are you able to make mortgage payments at a minimum rate of 31% of your gross (before tax) income?
2. Are you currently living at the property?
3. Do you have a second mortgage that is willing to accept only 3% of the balance of that loan as payment in full?
4. Are you willing and able to keep paying utilities, assessments, association dues, and interior and exterior maintenance costs?
5. Is your property in good condition, or are you willing to bring it up to a good condition (and keep it there)?
6. Are you willing to take the chance that the short sale may be denied, in which case you will be forced to accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure? (turning the house over to the bank – yikes!)
7. Will you agree to let the bank decide how much your house is worth, instead of you deciding on a value with your REALTOR®?

If you answered no to one or more of these questions (there are a few more stipulations, by the way) then you will be denied for a HAFA short sale. The good news is that you can still do a short sale the old fashioned way. And the better news is that we can take all of the stress out of it by doing it for you. You won’t have to make any repairs to your house, and you will never have to give us (or anyone involved) any money. Give Emily a call at (269) 685-5921 today and find out what we can do for you!

Joel

“More Homeowners Fall Behind on Mortgages” was the headline of a recent Wall Street Journal article.  This article states that 1 in 7 owners are now behind in their mortgage. What I found most interesting in this article is the observation that the reason people are getting behind has changed.

According to the article, 2 years ago it was 1 in 14 homeowners that were behind in their mortgages. The main reason was the fallout from the loose lending practices during the housing boom when people were simply getting bad loans that they couldn’t afford long term. Now, the main reason for being delinquent on house payments is unemployment and loss of income.

Michigan continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the nation according to this New York Times article.  It is no coincidence, then, that Michigan continues to have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

Of course, here in our office, we don’t need to read these articles and statistics to know they are true – we deal with this reality every day as we help families facing a Michigan Foreclosure. The number one reason people need our help is loss of income. However, we also help people who are behind on their mortgages for other reasons.

If you are behind on your mortgage because of loss of income or any other reason, give us a call and let us put our many years of expertise to work for you. You don’t have to become another statistic. Let us help you get back to better times – call us today.

Ann

I was reading this article titled “325,917 more Foreclosures Expected in Michigan by 2012” that would indicate the foreclosure crisis in Michigan is far from over. There were some amazing statistics given in the article for the number of foreclosures. What especially stood out to me is the article points out that it is not just the families losing their houses to a Michigan foreclosure who suffer, it is anyone who owns a house near a foreclosed property that also suffers loss of value in their house as foreclosed houses drive the market price down.

Articles like this are helpful I think to remind us that foreclosure is not just the problem of the family in foreclosure. Probably all of us living in Michigan have been touched by foreclosure either directly or indirectly because if we are not in foreclosure, someone who lives near us is. There are things you can do to get out from under the burden that a house facing a Michigan foreclosure can cause on a family. There are things you can help family, friends and neighbors do.

Working together, we can change this reality in Michigan. Tell everyone you know facing a Michigan foreclosure that they do have options. Have them call us to discuss those options. We are trained professionals who have been working with distressed families since 2002. We can get the distressed family back to better times, which will mean better times for all of us.

Ann

Recently, there was an article on a popular website that postulated there are 10 cities in the US which are experiencing housing price rebounds. I’m not an expert on the national real estate climate, and I can’t speak to the state of other markets, but here in Michigan, I can safely say that housing prices are not rising.

The author of the article theorized that when prices hit their lowest, the only place they can go is up. I understand his point completely, but I would argue there is an alternative: stagnancy.

Due to the vast amount of variable rate mortgages and bad loans written in the last decade, coupled with the recession, people are still losing houses to Michigan foreclosures. This means that there are a lot of bank-owned properties priced low to sell quickly. This is affecting and lowering property values in all types of neighborhoods and areas.

The good news is that houses are still being purchased, due to low interest rates and first time home buyer tax credits. These are positives, but the negatives remain, and probably will continue to do so for several years.

Property values are low, and many people owe more than the house is actually worth. For some people, it’s an inconvenience if they can still afford to make their payments, and it is always advised that they do so. For those who cannot make their payments, there’s a lot of information on this website about the options available; or you may give us a call.

Melissa

You’ve probably been hearing a lot of talk about President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Plan, but aren’t sure if you qualify or not. Unfortunately, chances are high that you don’t – rigid restrictions set in place and the newness of it all (coupled with bad communication and poor customer service – just my opinion) are making it hard to people to get the help they need. I’ve been mulling around the Making Home Affordable website for a few days, and here’s what I’ve found.

If you are current on your loan, you could qualify for a Home Affordable Refinance. By current, they don’t mean that you are caught up with your payments. If you have been over 30 days late in the last year, you are not considered current (crazy, I know). So let’s say you are current by their standards. In order to refinance, your loan must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This very quickly makes about half of all families ineligible. Another stipulation is that your first mortgage cannot be more than 125% of the value of your house. For example, if your mortgage is $150,000 your house cannot be worth less than $120,000. This is a huge problem for most families in Michigan due to the rapid decline in house values. Sill eligible? Let’s keep going. While refinancing from an adjustable rate or balloon payment to a fixed rate is definitely an improvement in the long run, the problem lies in the fact that your mortgage payment may not go down with a Home Affordable Refinance. This means that if after the refinance, you still do not have the ability to make your payments, a refinance is not for you.

If your mortgage is not backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, there is another option out there – the Home Affordable Modification. With this option, if you are behind on your payments may qualify for the program. The main problem with the modification is that only the first mortgage can be modified. In order to qualify, your first mortgage payment has to be more than 31% of your gross monthly income. That is, if your family is making $35,000 a year, your first mortgage payment must exceed $904 a month. That seems extremely high to me. Push that income up to $50,000 and your payment has to exceed $1,290! Many times it is not the first mortgage that is causing problems for individuals – it’s the pesky equity loan or second mortgage. Remember, that 31% rule isn’t taking these into consideration. Add another $250 onto that, and your $1,290 payment goes up to a whopping $1,540. Another reason many people have fallen behind on their mortgages is because they have income properties that didn’t quite work out, or were affected by the housing crisis. If you don’t live in the house, you are not eligible for a Home Affordable Modification.

So, you meet the stringent requirements for either a the Refinance or Modification programs? Now comes the fun part! You get to call your mortgage company and ask for one of these options. The Making Home Affordable website tells you to “be patient” because these programs are newly implemented, and it might be a while before all applications can be processed. According to CNN.com, only 6% of eligible families have actually been helped so far. I’ll give you another reason to be patient: Most Banks Are Slow. I know – I’ve been working for them and with them for the last two and a half years. They lose your paperwork, they don’t contact you (except to collect money), and there is poor communication within. You’ll get customer service representatives giving you the wrong information or passing you off to someone else. Be prepared for some serious aggravation and time loss.

If you are one of the majority of people who don’t qualify for these programs or simply don’t have the patients required, and want to avoid a Michigan foreclosure, give us a call. We will never ask you for any money, or to do any repairs to the house. We promise that we will never put you in a worse situation, and that we will work harder than anyone else to give you a permanent foreclosure solution. We also promise to keep everything confidential. Give Emily a call at 269-385-5921 – we look forward to hearing from you!

Holly

This article “Meltdown 101: What is a Short Sale of a Home?” does a pretty good job of answering commonly asked questions about short sales. If you are facing a Michigan foreclosure or know someone who is, this information will help educate you on “short sales” which are one of the most useful, and often misunderstood tools available to help get a homeowner back to better times.

I want to zero in on the last 2 questions in the article.

Why is the process so complicated and why does it take so long? The writer does a good job of naming the common pitfalls with short sales. These errors are made by inexperienced homeowners and REALTORS® trying to do a short sale with no training. Trust me, with more than 10years experience and 100s of short sale approvals, our negotiators know the right paperwork to submit and who to submit it to so your short sale gets attention and is not kicked back or neglected. Plus, they follow up unrelentlessly.

And talk about being educated about short sales.  Joel, our President and lead negotiator/closer as the only State of Michigan Approved continuing education course for REALTORS® that’s taught by a full time short sale negotiator.  REALTORS® are coming to him to learn from “The Master” on how to get close to our 80% success rate (vs. the 10% national average).

What should I do if I am interested in a short sale? That’s easy – call us. We do nothing but short sales. We have a trained and dedicated staff waiting to help you evaluate your options and negotiate your short sale if that is the right answer for you.

While this article gave you the 101 basics of short sales, our team has a graduate degree in short sales and we are ready to work for you. Give us a call today.

Ann

Okay, so from around 2003 to 2005, houses were increasing in value. Income, however, was staying about the same, or rising at a much lower rate. In the past, individuals or families were buying houses that cost around 2 or 3 times their annual income. During this time, however, people were buying houses around 4 times their annual income. To put it into perspective, families with an $80,000 income that were buying $160,000 houses were now buying $320,000 houses – and paying a mortgage payment twice as high. Income being the same, where did they get the money to make their mortgage payment, you ask? Well… due to the increase in the value of these houses, people were able to take the equity in their houses and borrow against it, in the form of an equity loan or equity line of credit. They could then take this money and use it to make their mortgage payment. Crazy vicious cycle, huh?

Obviously, this wasn’t going to last forever, and housing values started decreasing around October of 2006 – the bubble had burst. People were no longer able to borrow against their houses to make their payments, and they started defaulting on their loans. As more people defaulted, more houses came on the market. With no buyers for these houses, prices were forced down even further, and people began to see themselves upside down – owing more money than their house was worth.

The investors, who before couldn’t get enough of the mortgage backed securities (see Part 1 of my blog), no matter how risky, quickly tightened their restrictions. Now they wanted safe investments. The problem was that the small mortgage companies had already made quite a few high-risk loans that they now could not sell – and they made them with money borrowed from large banks. Since they could not sell these mortgages, they had no choice but to default on their own loan, causing the company to go out of business, and people to lose jobs. So now… everyone was losing. The large banks were losing the money that the mortgage company had borrowed, the investment companies were losing their returns, the mortgage company lost, well, everything, and the families lost their houses. Even the government was losing money – they had to lend it to the large banks in order to keep the economy afloat.

If you, like many others, are facing a Michigan foreclosure due to the bubble bursting, or because of a hardship, give us a call. We will never ask you for any money, we will keep everything confidential, we will never ask you to make any repairs on your house, and we will absolutely never put you in a worse position than a foreclosure.

Holly

If you have an FHA loan that is in default, you may have heard that the federal government launched a program in August to help you since other government programs excluded FHA loans.

Before you get your hopes up, read this article.  It boldly says this program will only help 45,000 of the approx. 850,000 FHA loans that are in default. Those odds are not very good that the program can help you (about 5%). This “success rate” is about the same as lenders helping borrowers on their own (without the government’s help) through the lenders’ own “loan modification” programs.

Fortunately for you, the odds that we can help you if you are facing a Michigan Foreclosure (regardless of the type of loan) are much higher. Still, we cannot help everyone and the earlier you call us in the foreclosure process, the better the chances we can help you. Give our team a call and see what we can do to help you get back to better times.

Ann