Foreclosures Need Not Be Inevitable

Posted in Foreclosure Homes, September 8th, 2008 |

Foreclosures need not necessarily be inevitable. There are many escape avenues and options before the patient and persevering borrowing who is determined not to give up the house. The important fact is time. The earlier the action the better will be the chances of getting a reprieve, says Darren Hamm of Neighborhood Hosing Services, Greater Cleveland.

Attorney Timothy Kozlowski and Hamm participated in a seminar focusing on foreclosures at Medina District Library. Thomas Russell, of the planner services of Medina County, joined them. Kozlowski explaining the foreclosure procedure to 50 people attending the conference, stressed the importance of taking prompt measures. He handed out a sheet to all with the headlines “A typical mortgage foreclosure lawsuit time line can play out in less than 180 days! Do not wait! Act now to save your home.”

As soon as the borrower fails to make a monthly mortgage payment the best thing is to contact the lender and or the local counseling group like Neighborhood Housing Services. The MERS or Mortgage Electronic Registration System complicates the matter by drawing in more players – the borrower, the mortgage holder, the lender, the guarantors and the insurance firm.

The securitization process is another hurdle. By it many mortgages had been made into packets and sold to distant investors. These had passed through Federal National Mortgage Association of Fannie Mae and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or Freddie Mac.

When the borrower fails to make payments for 90 days the lender can proceed with foreclosure with the help of the court.

Taking all these into consideration the advice is not to delay. Paperwork should not be ignored. Help must be sought. The best port of call is HUD certified counselor. Talk. The mantra is talk to the banker, talk to the attorney, talk to the mortgage servicer and ask to be linked on to the Loss Mitigation department and specifically not the Loss and Foreclosure Department. After all the aim is to prevent or bring down the loss both parties incur in the case of foreclosures. The lenders will respond. Foreclosures spell loss for them also.

The courts too are lenient towards mediation. Help may be taken of the clause pertaining to Leave to Plead that will allow for 28 days extra grace to thrash out the matter.

The borrower may make a counter allegation of fraud or negligence against the lender. In the foreclosure atmosphere today the dominating mood is that of mediation from all sides.