Lenders Being More Realistic And Proactive In Avoiding Foreclosures
Lenders are now sitting up to the fact that overeating leads to indigestion. Overwhelmed with a surfeit of white elephants – the vacant foreclosed houses, they are now being more realistic and proactive in avoiding foreclosures. The government measures have also motivated them to be more borrower friendly.
Rosemarie Cino had odd jobs to do – taking dogs for a walk, cleaning pools and driving for companies. But when she suddenly got laid off and fell behind in her mortgage to the tune of $8,000 she was disappointed. They would not even talk to her. Their attitude was high handed to say the least. It was either pay or get out. She said, “They asked about what I spend on food. When I said I had to buy dog food, they suggested I get rid of my dogs.”
This is the story of millions with slight variations here and there since the collapse of the sub-prime mortgages and the forward march of foreclosures. Borrowers are faced with excessive monthly payments because of false escalation of assessments. The lenders have been impervious to the calls from legislators, housing advocates and even government requests to reduce interests to realistic levels. Borrowers have found it difficult to contact their borrowers. The lenders and servicers claim that they are overwhelmed with so many calls that they just cannot manage the volume. Desperate borrowers are seeking out non-profit bodies for help and sometimes falling into the trap of foreclosure rescue scammers. With the real estate nose-diving the prime borrowers are also facing foreclosure. The various conditions attached to government assistance prevent many from getting help. They are just walking out – on to the streets.
The work of the housing advocate is to convince the lender or its servicer to work out fresh contracts that will be affordable and be of long term. Those advocating for the borrowers try to convince the lenders about the hardships the borrowers are facing like illness and unemployment. They also try to find legal loopholes in the foreclosure proceedings. Many try to make use of their previous experiences and contacts in the mortgage world. Requests are also made to lenders for waiving fees and charges.
The mortgage world has within the span of a year or so turned topsy-turvy. Loans were available for peanuts. But now the loan purse strings have been tightened – thanks to the foreclosure crisis.
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