Stop Michigan Foreclosure

This Bailout Is For Families (Not Banks)!

There is a slight upside to living in a state with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Michigan was one of ten states chosen to receive part of $2.1 billion in order to combat rising foreclosure rates. Our hefty $154.5 million (chump change compared to California’s $699 million and Florida’s $418 million) portion will ideally help about 16,000 struggling families in three different ways according to this article.

1. The state plans to use some of these funds to help unemployed families make their house payments, giving them a subsidy of up to $750 a month for up to a year.

2. For those families who are lucky enough to find a new job, and are able to once again make their payments, they state will dole out up to $5,000 to help them with their back payments.

3. If the lending bank agrees to match the payment, up to $10,000 could go to paying down your mortgage principle.

The downside to this is that while some people facing a Michigan Foreclosure will get the help they need, there will inevitably be many families left struggling to stay afloat. We here at Great Lakes Home Solutions can’t offer you a government bail out, but we may be able to help in other, more permanent ways. If you have a hardship and can no longer afford your payments, give Emily a call. She’ll help you choose the right option for you.

Holly

Watch Oprah Lately?

For those of you who watch the Oprah Winfrey Show, this story may be familiar: A family from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, went on the talk show to discuss their financial struggles and impending foreclosure. Also a guest on the show was Will I. Am, a member of the hip-hop group The Black-Eyed Peas. It seems Will I. Am was so touched by the family’s story that he announced on the show that he was going to pay off the mortgage of the Lee’s Summit family, which was over $240,000 worth of debt.

We should all be so lucky, no?

The fact is, (according to the RealtyTrac® “trend center”), there are over 2 million homeowners all over the United States in the same situation. Unfortunately, there are not enough Will I. Am’s to help them all out, which means they will need to find alternative solutions for themselves. Now, we at Great Lakes Home Solutions don’t promise to pay off your mortgage so you never have to worry about it again, but we will do what we can to help point you in the right direction toward the solution that will be right for you. And if that direction is a short sale, there’s a pretty good chance we can make sure your lender never comes after you again.

Give us a call and let’s see what we can do to help.

Melissa

Clogged Foreclosure Pipeline

At first glance, the housing market coupled with the foreclosure rate may seem to be improving, which initially may appear to be an upswing in the economy. In actuality, that is far from accurate.

The sad truth of the matter is the rate of new foreclosures is only slowing because foreclosing lenders are so swamped with the properties already active in foreclosure that they simply don’t have the time or resources to keep up. It used to be you could estimate that a foreclosure sale would take place in 4-6 months after the loan went into a defaulted status, or in other words, a payment was missed. Now, that timeframe is closer to 8-10 months. I read a statistic the other day that claimed between 20-25% of loans that have been delinquent for a year have not yet entered foreclosure status. A year – pretty crazy, right?

For those of us not in the lending business, this cloud has a silver lining: we have time now. A few years ago, you had to scramble to get your documentation into your lender in the hopes of possibly getting the foreclosure sale postponed so you get the chance to have your voice heard. Now we have more time to secure workouts and to close short sales. This allows for a far greater chance for sellers in financial hardship to find long-term relief. To get started, call Emily today!

Melissa

Married And Never Lived With Spouse

A few days ago I was driving in my car, flipping through the radio stations, and stopped on a talk radio show which caught my attention. The woman on the line was asking the show’s host, Dave Ramsey, for some financial advice. She had been married almost a year, but had never lived with her husband, who had to relocate to a different city, because she could not sell her house. She had purchased the house back in 2007, right before she met her soon-to-be husband, and right before the housing bubble burst. She now found herself to be underwater – her house was worth less than she owed on it. She wanted to know if he thought that she was better off doing a short sale, or trying to get a $10,000 loan to make up for the difference when she sold the house. I found Dave Ramsey’s advice to be obnoxious. “Who cares!” he exclaimed. He went on to hassle the woman about having lost a year of marriage “which you can’t put a price on…” His advice was to do anything, whatever it took, to get rid of the house and move in with her husband.

I really wish that instead of going off on a rant, he would have asked the woman more specific questions about her circumstance. Was the couple able to continue making two house payments (or a house payment and a rent payment)? Would she even qualify for a (more than likely) unsecured loan for the $10,000 difference? Had she consulted REALTORS® to be sure that she was only $10,000 underwater, and not more?

Yes, in certain circumstances, it may be your best option to take out a loan to pay off the difference in the house value and your mortgage amount. In other situations, especially where there is a financial hardship, you may want to explore other options. If you would like to avoid a Michigan foreclosure, give Emily a call. She’s been through this before, and can let you know what your options are. And, if your best option is a short sale, the good news is that we can help!

Holly

Celebrity Foreclosure

I always stress in my blog posts that if you’re going through a Michigan foreclosure, you’re not alone. I’ve realized that saying that doesn’t really help, though, if you don’t actually know anyone else in your shoes. So this post is for those of you who still feel alone in their Michigan foreclosure situation. Foreclosure can happen to anyone – even the rich and famous.

You might think that if you have all the money in the world you could do just about anything – including stopping the bank from foreclosing. This is not always true, though, because the same things that cause you, the average person, to default on your mortgage also happen to celebrities.

Divorce: Victoria Gotti, daughter of mobster John Gotti, purchased her Long Island house in 1989 for $175,000. She now owes $650,000 and reports say that she hasn’t made a payment in quite a while. Apparently, she has not been able to afford the house since her divorce. This is quite common. Two people can afford a mortgage, but when they split, it is often unreasonable for one person to keep the house. The logical answer would be to sell the house, but when you owe more than it’s worth, you’ll have to bring cash to closing (which most people can’t do.)

Gotti Mansion

Job Loss: Adam “Pacman” Jones of NFL fame went into mortgage default when he was suspended from playing without pay. When you bought your house, you probably weren’t expecting a recession (I know I wasn’t!) which means you probably weren’t thinking about job security. Unfortunately, the economic climate got stormy and many people are left without employment.

Adam "Pacman" Jones Humble Abode

Failed Businesses: In 2005, ABC built a brand new, $450,000 house for the Harper Family on their show “Extreme Home Makeover.” The house was given to them at no cost. The family, however, took out all of the equity to fund a construction business that ultimately failed. They were unable to pay back the equity loan, and the house went into foreclosure. We turn again to the financial crisis, which is making it hard for many businesses to stay afloat.

Harper Family’s Extreme Makeover House

Death: Veronica Hearst defaulted on the mortgage of her 52 room mansion after the death of her husband, Randolph Hearst (successor of publishing giant Hearst Corporation.) The death of a loved one is hard enough to deal with without also having to deal with foreclosure.

Villa Venezio – Veronica Hearst’s House

Disability: Ed McMahon defaulted on the loan of his $4.8 million dollar house in 2006, when the 85 year old fell and broke his neck. He was unable to work, and therefore could not come up with the princely payments.

Ed McMahon’s House

If you are facing a hardship, such as the ones listed above, and have realized that you can no longer afford to keep the house, give Emily a call at (269) 685-5921. We help people facing difficult times every day, and are well versed in letting you know what your options are. If your best option is a short sale, we’ll do everything in our power to make it as painless as possible.

Holly

Octomom Facing Foreclosure

Many of us may have heard of the pseudo-celebrity dubbed “Octomom” (her real name is Nadya Suleman). Octomom gained notoriety a year or two ago when she gave birth to octuplets, increasing the number of her children to 14; she had previously given birth to sextuplets.

If you follow celebrity news, you may have heard that Nadya Suleman is facing foreclosure.  Now, in some ways, hers is a very different situation than that of most homeowners – her income is derived mostly from publicity, interviews, and public appearances, whereas the rest of us have far more traditional jobs. Also, her mortgage is reportedly held privately, so she has no huge conglomerate bank to deal with.

In spite of these differences, she is a mother trying to provide for her children, and in that way, she has something in common with many sellers facing a Michigan foreclosure. My point is this: if foreclosure can happen to those who are famous – or infamous – it can happen to anyone. No one is immune to this “Michigan foreclosure epidemic”. If you are facing a Michigan foreclosure, you are certainly not alone. But you do have options. Give us a call to discuss how we can help you get back to better times.

Melissa

Deficiency Judgments

Recently, there was an article posted on a major news website about how mortgage lenders are pursuing homeowners after foreclosure. It seems that with the downturn in the housing market, more and more lenders are choosing to pursue their former customers for additional money after the foreclosure and repossession, most likely in an attempt to recoup their substantial losses amid the recent foreclosure epidemic.

Many homeowners may be under the impression that after a foreclosure, deed-in-lieu, or even a short sale, they’re done – the debt is gone – and the only issue with which they now have to contend is the damage to their credit. On the contrary, it is possible (and entirely probable) that lenders pursue deficiency judgments, which may result in wages being garnished or even time spent in jail if that money is not repaid.

Pretty scary, huh?

Who is looking out and actually reading those short sale approval letters and explaining them to you?  I’m sorry to say that most REALTORS are not because they don’t understnad the difference between a total account settlement and simply a lien release.  It’s certainly not obvious when reading these short sale approval letters.

Our company always fights for a settlement (no deficiency balance), but I’ve been seeing this more frequently, unfortunately. Lenders are refusing to waive their legal right to pursue for any deficiency. We, of course, always want to help our sellers start over with as clean a slate as possible. We can’t promise this will happen – we can’t promise you’ll walk away with no additional debt. We CAN promise, though, that we will do our best to that end, that we’ll exhaust all options to keep you safe from any pursuit by your lender.

If you’re facing foreclosure and the scenario I described may fit your situation, feel free to give us a call. We’ll see what we can do to help you get back to better times.

Melissa

Is There A “Soft” Exit From Foreclosure?

I came across this article which talks about lenders attempting to find softer exits other than foreclosure for distressed borrowers.

I had to ask myself, “softer exit for whom”? My thinking is that a truly soft exit is one where someone lands on their feet and gets moving to better times faster. Who is landing on their feet with these “soft exits”? Although the article does not say it, I have to believe that the lender is looking out for their best interests (don’t they always?) and not necessarily you. I believe it is the lender who is benefiting from the soft exit.

For example, the article discusses how Citigroup will allow a distressed borrowers to stay in the house for up to 6 months before turning over the keys. However, you’d have to:

• Not qualify or be declined for other workout programs
• Keep the property in good condition
• Pay for utilities
• In most cases, pay for taxes, Insurance and HOA fees

This may be a good option for some. However, most of the sellers we talk to who can no longer afford the house, also cannot afford taxes, insurance and making needed repairs. The advantage to the lender is that they get you motivated to take care of the house, making it easier for the lender to resell the house when they eventually get it back. Also consider that in states like Michigan, you already have a redemption period during which you are legally allowed to live in the house after the foreclosures sale so the bank isn’t really granting anything that is not already the your legal right (for Michigan).

It would be a good idea for you to find out how accepting this proposal is going to your credit (assuming that’s part of your goal). It could show as a voluntary foreclosure, not to mention the 6+ months of missed payment all which will only harm your credit. This definitely will not help you land on your feet and able to start over.

I would like to suggest that a “softer” exit for you if you’re facing a Michigan foreclosure – a short sale. This can help to salvage your credit making it much easier to land on your feet. The article mentions common pitfalls when you try to do a short sale yourself or you use an inexperience Realtor or other person to do the short sale. However, when you use an experienced negotiator like us, these so called pitfalls are just issues that we are aware of and have successful plans to deal with or avoid completely.

Put our professional expertise to work and let us help you make a soft exit from a problem situation and get back to better times. Give Emily a call today to discuss your options and for free, confidential advise about your situation.

Ann

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