Well,
as soon as you get served by a foreclosure complaint, you need to go and see an
attorney because you have 20 days to file or response to the complaint. If you
do not file a response, they will get a default judgement against you.
Basically, when they serve you with the lawsuit, they have started a war and
you have the option of doing something and fighting back or not doing anything
at all. I suggest to people that they fight back because even if nothing
happens in their foreclosure case and even if they never win their case, you
can get anywhere from a year or two years in that house without having to make
a mortgage payment. We have defenses that we can legally file in your case that
will keep you in your house for a long, long time. The one thing I always
suggest to people is “Don’t sleep on your rights, fight for them and don’t ever
leave your home. Stay in the home until the last day, until the sheriff actually comes and says..man, you have to leave
your house now.”
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What happens after you file bankruptcy? How long will it take someone to get back on their feet?
Usually,
chapter 7 takes about 3 to 4 months to complete. The way you’ll know it is
completed is you get an order from the court. It is called Discharge of Debtor. A discharge
means a complete forgiveness of all your debts. Certain debts like recent
taxes, student loans, restitution, and many other never get discharged. Immediately
after that, you can contact me and I can start
credit restoration for you. I can give you more than 100 different ways
on things that yo9u can do to restore your credit and improve your credit score
while I do my thing trying to remove the bad things from your credit report.
Within 12 to 18 months it is not uncommon for you to have a score of 650 or
above. Sometimes within a few months of you getting a discharge, you get offers
from credit card companies offering you credit cards. Some people are very shy.
They don’t want to take credit cards. I say take every credit card that they
offer you. Just use them wisely. Don’t do it like the last time. That’s all
because you will need these credit cards to build credit. In a chapter 13, you
can actually start fixing your credit the moment you file your bankruptcy. You
don’t have to wait for 5 years until the bankruptcy is over. I have plenty of
clients that I’m working on right now who are in an active bankruptcy and they
already have scores of 650 and above.
Should people be fearful of losing their home if they file bankruptcy?
Not
necessarily. You don’t have to ever worry about losing your home just because
you file bankruptcy. In a chapter 13, you have the option of making your back
payments and your current payments and catching up so you can keep your home.
Many people have this impression that if I file a chapter 7, they’re going to
take my home away and that is not true at all. The only way a bank can take
your home is when they go through the foreclosure procedure and sell your home
at the foreclosure sale. Nobody can make you leave your home even a day before
the foreclosure sale. The mortgage
company cannot just come and lock you out of your house. It doesn’t happen that
way. Give me a call and I will explain to you step by step how that works.
Chapter 13 like I said is a reorganization and you have the option if you have
the ability to come current on your mortgage payments and keep your house. If
your house is underwater, we can also try to get you a loan modification
through a chapter 13 bankruptcy. There is a better than 50 percent chance of
success that you may get a loan modification through a chapter 13. If you do
not like the loan modification you get in the Chapter 13 case, you can reject
it, and convert your case to a Chapter 7 if you qualify. There are various
options that are available to you. But the one thing is for sure and that is
you will not lose your home just because you filed a bankruptcy. I do offer a
Free Initial Consultation where I will explain in detail your rights, remedies
and obligations. I guarantee you that you will leave my office much wiser than
when you came in.
What are the factors that you should consider when you’re doing either chapter 7 or chapter 13?
Chapter
7 is usually done by people who have a lot of debt especially credit card
debts, hospital debts, defaulted leases, rent, and other kinds of debts that
you cannot afford to pay anymore because of health or employment issues. Most
people who file a Chapter 7 do not have too many non-exempt assets. For
example, in bankruptcy, you’re allowed to keep certain amount of assets.
Anything more than that, you actually have to give it to a trustee so that he
can sell it and pay your creditors even though the creditors may get pennies on
the dollar. That’s the purpose of bankruptcy.
To be fair to you and to your creditors. Most people, unless they have a
large monthly income from some source, are qualified for chapter 7. If not,
with proper planning, we can qualify them in a few months or down the road
whereas chapter 13 is filed by people who want to keep some of their assets.
For example you may have a car worth $20,000 which is completely paid off. If
you filed a chapter 7, the Trustee will take your car, liquidate it, and pay
the money to your creditors. Whereas if you file a chapter 13, you can keep the
car and just pay the value of that car without interest, without penalties over
a period of 36 months up to 60 months to your creditors. So that’s the big
difference is if you have assets, you need to file a chapter 13. If you don’t
have assets, a chapter 7 would be perfect for you.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Strategic Mortgage Defaults. Plan them well or face the consequences. www.DsouzaLegal.com
Survey Suggests More Homeowners Are Open to Strategic Default
03/21/2012 By: Carrie Bay 
Alarming number of homeowners see strategic default as a viable option should their home continue to depreciate. Almost half of the homeowners participating in an online poll from Housing Predictor say they will walk away from their mortgage obligation if falling home values persist.
Five years into the housing downturn, and Housing Predictor found that 47 percent of those surveyed would intentionally stop making their mortgage payments even if they could afford to in order to get out from under the sinking investment of home-sweet-home.
The number of mortgage borrowers open to strategic default has risen sharply since Housing Predictor last surveyed public opinion on the issue roughly a year-and-a-half ago. In October 2010, 36 percent of homeowners participating in the poll said they would throw in the towel should housing prices continue to drop.
Housing Predictor says the foreclosure crisis, falling home prices, and lingering doubts that the value of homes will increase over most homeowners’ lifetimes are contributing to the increase in mortgage holders who say they will walk away.
Five years into the housing downturn, and Housing Predictor found that 47 percent of those surveyed would intentionally stop making their mortgage payments even if they could afford to in order to get out from under the sinking investment of home-sweet-home.
The number of mortgage borrowers open to strategic default has risen sharply since Housing Predictor last surveyed public opinion on the issue roughly a year-and-a-half ago. In October 2010, 36 percent of homeowners participating in the poll said they would throw in the towel should housing prices continue to drop.
Housing Predictor says the foreclosure crisis, falling home prices, and lingering doubts that the value of homes will increase over most homeowners’ lifetimes are contributing to the increase in mortgage holders who say they will walk away.
Housing Predictor’s results are based on responses provided by 1,000 visitors to the company’s website.
A recent study commissioned by the Mortgage Bankers Association called attention to the fact that the vast amount of media coverage dedicated to the financial crisis and the persistent woes of the housing market has made homeowners take note of their equity position.
For those who owe a great deal more on the mortgage than the home is now worth, the idea of simply walking away before the situation worsens has its allure. A market report issued by Moody’s Analytics last July warned of the growing risk of strategic default among loans that have always performed, meaning the borrower has remained current since taking out the loan.
Moody’s analysts explained that as home prices fell over the previous year, the loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) of these always-performing loans began to approach, and in many cases surpass, average LTVs for loans that have defaulted since 2009. They point out that this is a departure from what they’d seen up until the middle of 2010, during which LTVs for always-performing loans had stayed flat or even decreased slightly.
Back in July, Moody’s analysts identified between 12 percent and 24 percent (depending on the asset type) of always-performing loans with LTVs that were higher and had risen more steeply than those of defaulted loans.
“Rapid rates of LTV increases may themselves be a factor in a borrower’s decision to strategically default, since they may quickly erode any remaining confidence in borrowers that they could ever restore positive equity in their property,” Moody’s said in its report.
FICO estimates strategic defaults to be more than a $20 billion problem annually.
A recent study commissioned by the Mortgage Bankers Association called attention to the fact that the vast amount of media coverage dedicated to the financial crisis and the persistent woes of the housing market has made homeowners take note of their equity position.
For those who owe a great deal more on the mortgage than the home is now worth, the idea of simply walking away before the situation worsens has its allure. A market report issued by Moody’s Analytics last July warned of the growing risk of strategic default among loans that have always performed, meaning the borrower has remained current since taking out the loan.
Moody’s analysts explained that as home prices fell over the previous year, the loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) of these always-performing loans began to approach, and in many cases surpass, average LTVs for loans that have defaulted since 2009. They point out that this is a departure from what they’d seen up until the middle of 2010, during which LTVs for always-performing loans had stayed flat or even decreased slightly.
Back in July, Moody’s analysts identified between 12 percent and 24 percent (depending on the asset type) of always-performing loans with LTVs that were higher and had risen more steeply than those of defaulted loans.
“Rapid rates of LTV increases may themselves be a factor in a borrower’s decision to strategically default, since they may quickly erode any remaining confidence in borrowers that they could ever restore positive equity in their property,” Moody’s said in its report.
FICO estimates strategic defaults to be more than a $20 billion problem annually.
Monday, February 6, 2012
$30 B in mortgages written off each monthy by banks. www.DsouzaLegal.com
Welcome to DSNews.com—delivering stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry. Mon Feb 06, 2012
Outstanding Mortgage Balances Declined $30B Each Month in 2011
02/03/2012 By: Krista Franks
Each month of 2011, outstanding mortgage balances in the U.S. declined by an average of $30 billion, according to a recently released report from Moody’s Analytics and Equifax.
The report, authored by Christian deRitis, director of consumer credit economics at Moody’s, attributes the decline to defaulted loans being written off.
The report, authored by Christian deRitis, director of consumer credit economics at Moody’s, attributes the decline to defaulted loans being written off.
Aggregate delinquency rose by 6 basis points in December to 6.12 percent, according to the companies’ joint study. The rate remains in line with rates seen since April but has declined since a January high of 8.25 percent. Delinquency rate by dollar amount rose 14 basis points in December.
Delinquency rates, however, vary by state with higher delinquencies in the West and parts of the South, while Oregon and parts of the Northeast are seeing the lowest delinquency rates.
Overall, delinquencies “remain extremely high by prerecession standards as servicers struggle to cope with the overhang of distressed properties,” deRitis says.
While defaulted loans are written off, they are not being replaced with newly originated loans. “Outside of existing borrowers taking advantage of record low interest rates to refinance, few new mortgages are being originated,” deRitis says.
Potential homebuyers continue to stall while prices keep falling and underwriting standards remain tight, according to deRitis.
Delinquency rates, however, vary by state with higher delinquencies in the West and parts of the South, while Oregon and parts of the Northeast are seeing the lowest delinquency rates.
Overall, delinquencies “remain extremely high by prerecession standards as servicers struggle to cope with the overhang of distressed properties,” deRitis says.
While defaulted loans are written off, they are not being replaced with newly originated loans. “Outside of existing borrowers taking advantage of record low interest rates to refinance, few new mortgages are being originated,” deRitis says.
Potential homebuyers continue to stall while prices keep falling and underwriting standards remain tight, according to deRitis.
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Outstanding Mortgage Balances Declined $30B Each Month in 2011
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Mortgage and Foreclosure Complaints Quadruple in Massachusetts
Author: Krista Franks • Date: 02/03/2012 • Tags: Delinquency Rate, Foreclosure, Mortgage Debt, Refinance, Equifax, Moody's • Category: Foreclosure, Loss Mitigation, Market Studies • Users: Agents & Brokers, Attorneys & Title Companies, Investors, Lenders & Servicers, Service Providers
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