THIS is a very interesting inquiry from a caller -- about what happens to someone after a short sale. We have been so busy, worrying about how to deal with the most common problems we are all facing: “Negative Equity,” how to make our next mortgage payments, how to find a way to modify our mortgage payments or how to find someone to fight lenders for us legitimately, not just take our hard-earned money.
We seem to have forgotten about what has happened to those who had these same housing problems. Most of us are still worrying and experiencing them. I believe most of them are going on with their day-to-day living and feel like a huge burden was lifted off their shoulders when they were able to get rid of their mortgage problems -- never mind if they’re renting.
Homeowner I is passe now. You would only want to own a house when its valued at current prices and not when they were inflated ridiculouly.
Let’s talk about our hard-earned money. A lot of people who are in some kind of a financial crisis -- whether over-indebted or over-mortgaged -- are all trying to find a solution to solve this problem. But is there really a solution? Or should we keep trying, even if the risks are larger than the rewards. We just have to hope and pray that we will be one of the lucky ones who would get some kind of relief from lenders.
Sometimes, I feel bad when I talk to my callers because I feel that I am too direct and straightforward with my advice. But, I believe that I am qualified and have earned the right to say my opinion about the subject.
Recently, there have been numerous calls about homeowners joining a class-action suit towards lenders for errors supposedly made with APR’s (Annual Percentage Rate) quote, HUD disclosures and some kind of forensic error. I did, at times, write and request homeowners to come forward with their success stories, in order for me to share them with you.
Instead, I am getting all kinds of calls from a variety of homeowners, complaining about the “Loan Modification” process. These companies now have a different name for the so-called “Loan Modification.” Now, they say it’s a process of suing a lender for forensic errors. You know the federal government passed a law stating that no one can charge a fee for “Loan Modification” right? Could that be why it’s gotten a new twist to it?
Anyway, my frustration is trying to tell homeowners that if there is really nothing the lenders can do to help modify their loans, most likely, no one else can! I really don’t have too many ways of giving that advice -- I just tell it like it is. I apologize and I know that is not the answer you’re looking for, but it’s still the truth.
The hardest-hit victims of these scams are elderly homeowners who are just trying to keep their homes to help their family, but still suffer these problems. But perhaps, they are also the most stubborn ones. I hope family members will realize that their parents are suffering inside and are really just too ashamed to tell their grown children who are still living at home that they can no longer keep the house. Older family members need to share the financial burden and not carry it by themselves, because it won’t help and will just make things worse.
After a short sale
Most of my clients do check with me from time to time and request for a credit check or have some tax questions. Some have started to re-establish their credit and are already looking to buy another house. I have to say that most of them now are “stress-free” and are not burdened with tax payments, home repairs, huge mortgage payments and whatever else that comes with owning a house.
Most of those who requested for a credit check after a short sale have been pretty happy, seeing their mortgage debts being released and showing no balances on them. So far, on my short sales, I have been able to negotiate a zero promissory note (knock on wood) at closing and actually have helped several homeowners get their HAFA approved and receive $3,000 at closing.
I say mostly everyone because about 2 months ago, I closed a short sale with Chase and I thought everything went pretty smoothly. We got what I thought was a bulletproof short sale approval that stated full release of lien and no promissory note anywhere on the contract.
But Chase called and is now pushing a $30,000 promissory note down the seller’s throat, with a letter from the insurance company (actual owners of the loan). I immediately sent both the approval letter and the recent notice, which I received, to our lawyers for immediate review.
I was told that the short sale letter was good and that Chase should not be doing this to us, but they are still calling. I will advise later what the turn out will be. I also went ahead and checked the client’s credit -- sure enough the balance on the mortgage has not been released.
So, this is something I will help my clients hopefully resolve. I have written to a famous columnist of LA Times to get his opinion and will write to the Federal Trade Commission and the credit bureau for them to release the short sale letter. Will update you from time to time.
I would like to hear more from you with regards to how you are doing, especially after a short sale. I have spoken to a few former homeowoners who had foreclosure records and are now suffering credit issues due to lenders not releasing thier debts. If you have had a good or not so good experience, please send me a message so that I could share the information to others, and we can all try to put all these problems behind us. By doing that everyone benefits and we can move on faster.
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Please send your comments, inquiries or thoughts about these topics or anything else that you might want to talk about which might be helpful to others. Please send a message tot This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Ken Go of 1st Innovative Finance at (562) 508-7048. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and inquiries.
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