Saturday, July 31, 2010

Steps In A Foreclosure

What is Foreclosure?


Don't get it twisted!  Foreclosures don't happen overnight.  You can stop the process and turn the situation.




A judicial proceeding by lender / servicer to obtain judgment against the Borrower for Borrower’s breach of promise to pay, and to take borrower’s interest in the house, which was given as security for the promise.



What Are the Steps?



Before a Foreclosure is Filed



Demand Letter or Notice if required by the Note:

setting out breach of agreement (failure to pay)

requiring a certain amount to be paid

with a certain period of time

If no payment or workout-



Foreclosure Complaint is Filed:



What is the foreclosure complaint?

a legal document

filed with the Court

setting out the agreement to pay (Note)

stating the failure to pay

stating the amount due

asking for judgment against the mortgagor

asking for title to the security (the mortgaged property)

Must be served on mortgagor



Mortgagor has opportunity to Appear and Respond

Usually 30 days



If no Appearance or Response-



Default Judgment





Reinstatement Period – all past due payments are made

90 days from date of service of Foreclosure Complaint

If no reinstatement-



Redemption Period – entire amount of Note plus Interest and Expenses must be paid

Longer of:

7 months from date of service or

4 months from date of Judgment

If no Redemption-



Judicial Sale – sale of mortgaged property to highest bidder





Confirmation of Sale by Court – award of Title and Possession to winning bidder





Mortgagor has 30 days of possession before eviction





Eviction


Call me for information to avoid this catastrophic condition 312-498-1138

Friday, July 2, 2010

Tax Credit Closings Deadline Extended Until September 30, 2010

Here's What The President Has Done For You Lately

After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline,   the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623) . The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet
closed.  The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010.  There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.

NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.

For additional information on the extension visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs

Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010  (H.R. 5569) an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010.  This will allow transactions to move forward.  The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period
from June 1, 2010 to the date of enactment of the extension.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Fannie Mae Has Foreclosures For Sale


Did you know that there were nearly 1 million foreclosures nationwide in the third quarter of 2009?


Fannie Mae owns nearly 1,000 in Cook County alone. You can have one of your very own for 3 percent down with no appraisal, and no mortgage insurance. You can take advantage of this deal with almost no conditions - it doesn't matter whether you own property already or not, no one cares if your credit is slightly dinged, and the down payment can come from personal savings, a gift, a grant, a loan, or money from a not-for profit organization. Check out the website http://www.homepath.com/ and call me when you find a property you want to look at. Call me - 312-498-1138!


Monday, May 3, 2010

The Buyer Bonus Event

Coldwell Banker Hyde Park is offering a "Bonus Buyer Event" to extend the Obama First Time Home Owner Tax Credit for another few months.

Sellers who want to participate can contact me at 312-498-1138 or 773-624-2131 to get details on this very lucrative program.  National TV and cable advertising will go along with it.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Good Thing This is an Election Year

The House overwhelmingly approved Senate Bill 3334 this week on a roll call vote of 105-0-3 marking FINAL legislative action.

This important measure, STRONGLY SUPPORTED by IAR, addresses the issue of foreclosures and short sales in the assessment process. The legislation adds a NEW definition of “compulsory sale” within the Illinois Property Tax Code to cover short sales and foreclosures and makes changes to the Code dealing with boards of review and the State Property Tax Appeal Board to ensure that these transfers are included in reviewing and correcting assessments.

Taxpayers will be authorized to submit such sales in the review process. A board of review can review defined geographic regions if it determines that the number of compulsory sales is at least 25% of all property transfers within that geographic region. The Department of Revenue will also be required to include compulsory sales in its sales ratio studies for sales occurring on or after January 1, 2011 and information compiled on the transfer declaration will include whether the transfer is pursuant to compulsory sale.

It should be noted that this measure does NOT apply to Cook County. Additional sponsors signed on to the bill in the House this week—sponsors now include Representatives Keith Farnham, Linda Chapa LaVia, Jack Franks, Esther Golar, Ed Sullivan, Carol Sente and Randy Ramey. The IAR commends all the sponsors of the legislation and in particular chief sponsor Representative Keith Farnham and co-sponsors Representatives Ed Sullivan and Jack Franks who spoke in support of the bill on the floor this week.

Monday, April 26, 2010

More Info About the Loan Modification Program

Please share this article with anyone you know going through a mortgage crisis!!!!



Cook County program works with lenders on loan modification

April 18, 2010 From the Chicago Tribune

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Staff Reporter

Cook County homeowners facing foreclosure, it's in your interest to read your court summons. There you'll find information about a new free mediation program that could save your home.

Under the program being rolled out in the county, where foreclosures this year spiked 16 percent over the same period last year, homeowners will be able to meet with their lender to try to work out a modification or other agreement.

Here's a look at some Obama administration foreclosure prevention programs:

· Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) offers help to homeowners struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments due to their interest rate increasing, less income or other issues. The program provides the ability to modify mortgages to make them more affordable.

· Second Lien Modification Program offers homeowners a way to modify their second mortgages to make them more affordable when their first mortgage is modified under HAMP.

· Home Affordable Refinance Program gives homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac an opportunity to refinance into more affordable monthly payments.

· Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides opportunities for homeowners who can no longer afford to stay in their homes but want to avoid foreclosure. It allows them to transition to more affordable housing though a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Help for the unemployed. Eligible homeowners receiving unemployment benefits can get their mortgage payments reduced to no more than 31 percent of their monthly income for three to six months and may qualify for a loan modification that would permanently reduce their payments.

For more information, visit http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/.

DO YOU QUALIFY?

Homeowners who want to participate in the Cook County mediation program should appear in court on their case management date. They can participate in the program if:

• They are the owner and occupant of a one- to four-family residential property or condo

• They are the borrower

• The mortgage on their owner-occupied residential property is being foreclosed

• The property being foreclosed is their primary home and is in Cook County

For help, call (877) 895-2444 or visit the Chancery Division Advice Desk at the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Room 1303

It provides homeowners with free legal aid and federally certified housing counselors to review their case and assist them in making proposals to lenders in mediation.

But homeowners must show up for their foreclosure case in Cook County Circuit Court, something most typically don't do, say program advocates.

For Markham resident Debra Beal, who is trying to avoid foreclosure and says she has gotten the runaround from her lender -- a complaint echoed across the country -- the program can be a lifeline, advocates say.

"It provides us with the leverage to get everybody to work in their own self-interest, and there are some mutual self-interests here," said Madeline Talbott, executive director of Action Now, which assists homeowners.

For instance, she noted, banks are often better off with a homeowner in the home making payments rather than a vacant foreclosed home not bringing in any money and losing value. So homeowners with a job or other income have an advantage that can get banks' attention.

"Once we get their attention, we'll get a lot of deals," Talbott said.

A Connecticut mediation program kept 60 percent of participants in their homes. Out of more than 5,600 cases that have completed mediation, 42 percent have landed loan modifications, said Roberta Palmer, program manager.

And a Philadelphia mediation program saved 2,000 homes from sheriff's sales. Another 3,500 cases are in discussions on ways homes might be saved, said Philadelphia County Judge Annette Rizzo.

Brian White, executive director of Chicago-based Lakeside Community Development Corp., which assists homeowners, says the Cook County mediation effort, which received $3.5 million in county funds, will save homes here.

"One of the biggest frustrations that borrowers are facing is just getting direct communication from somebody at the lender who can give you a binding answer," he said. "While they're waiting to get an answer, the foreclosure proceeded, and they ended up losing their home."

Beal, 50, a self-employed interior decorator, said she has been trying to work out a modification for more than a year with no success. She fell behind on her payments when her business dropped because of the recession. But she said her current income would enable her to handle a modified mortgage.

"It's very important that we have a mediator because [homeowners are] working with certain customer service representatives who don't know what they're doing," she said. "They don't have experience. I can call now, and they'll say I didn't receive your paperwork, and call back in five minutes and then someone is giving you a totally different story. That's what happened with me. My stuff kept getting lost in the system."

The mediation program will pressure banks and servicers to get their acts together, advocates say.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Home Sales Bouncing Back In Chicago

(Crain’s) — Chicago-area home sales jumped last month compared with last year, but median prices fell again.



CHICAGO-AREA SALES



Local sales of single-family homes and condo rose in February for the eighth month.



Month                 2010                  2009                     Change

January                3,922                 3,035                     29.2%

February             4,134                 3,133                     32%

March                6,310                  4,339                     45.4%

Month                2009                   2008                     Change

January              3,035                  3,927                       -22.7%

February            3,133                  4,326                        -27.6%

March               4,339                  5,759                        -24.7%

April                  4,747                 6,094                         -22.1%

May                  5,634                 6,927                          -18.7%

June                  7,140                 7,806                           -8.5%

July                   7,427                 7,408                            0.3%

August              7,009                 6,917                            1.3%

September        6,862                 6,477                             5.9%

October            7,286                 5,467                             33.3%

November        6,826                 3,978                             71.6%

December        5,752                 4,320                            33.1%
 
Full year         69,290               69,406                             -0.2%

Source: Illinois Assn. of Realtors

In the nine-county Chicago region, sales of single-family homes and condos rose 45.4% to 6,310, compared with 4,339 in March 2009, according to a release Thursday from the Illinois Assn. of Realtors.

In the city of Chicago, sales rose nearly 50% last month, to 1,814 compared with 1,212 in March 2009, the Realtors said.

Chicago-area sales are up 36.7% so far this year compared with the first quarter of last year, according to the release. City sales rose 41.6% in the first quarter.

A tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for other buyers is available for sales with contracts signed by April 30 and that close by June 30.

"Statewide and in the Chicagoland region we've seen double-digit sales increases for the past six months spurred largely by the tax credit and the strong buyer-market conditions, and the forecast for the next three months indicates this trend should continue," Mike Onorato, president of the Realtors association and broker-owner of Onorato Real Estate in Coal City, said in the release. "Strong sales are working off housing inventories and helping to stabilize the market, although the number of foreclosures remains a concern as these distressed properties continue to affect prices. The declines in median home prices have moderated significantly from last year signaling a regain of consumer confidence about home purchases."

The median price in the Chicago area — at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — fell to $184,000 in March compared with $192,900 in March 2009. But the March median was up from $165,000 in February and $175,000 in January.

In Chicago, the March median price of $209,000 was down from $219,000 in March 2009 but up from $176,400 in February and $195,000 in January.

Statewide, sales rose 32.8% last month and are up 23.5% for the first three months of the year.

The median statewide price has dipped just 0.3% in the first three months compared with the first quarter of 2009, according to the Realtors group. The Illinois Assn. of Realtors’ sales figures include new and existing homes. The nine-county Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.