I’ve never worked with a client yet who didn’t feel pressured by too much to do and not enough time. This week is National Take Back Your Time Week, an initiative that’s being pushed in both the United States and Canada. Tuesday (January 25th) is Better Business Communications Day, too. Seems to me that these two are related, so this week I thought I’d offer a few tips for entrepreneurs who need to gain control over their time, and how that can be helped by practicing better business communications.

Let’s start with the thorny issue of having too much to do and not enough time. You have exactly two ways to help the issue resolve, and here they are:

1. Quit doing things for yourself, family, friends, and strangers that don’t serve you or them well. This means that you are willing to take a hard look at what you are doing that takes both your time and energy but doesn’t change things for the better. You believe that you must insert yourself into many situations that don’t require you. You may, in fact, be hiding out doing things that don’t serve yourself or others very well but keep you from doing the things you must do to build your business. If you are one of those moms who are still doing the laundry all by yourself and everyone in your household is over 10 years old, you just might need to quit being such a domestic goddess. If the neighbor next door requires half an hour on the phone each day to complain about her husband, you just might need to quit being that listening ear. You get the idea. Sit yourself down and give yourself a talk that includes this sentence. “The world will not stop if I quit serving others inways that waste my time and keep others from building their own capabilities to be independent.”

2. Quit doing everything yourself inside your business and personal life. This means that you are willing to dig around in your psyche and figure out why you think you must attempt to control every single thing in and around you. It also means you must disabuse yourself of the idea that no one else can do it sufficiently. (Notice I did not say perfectly. Sufficient is, well, sufficient.) If you are a business owner who still does your own bookkeeping, this might be where you are creating suffering about time and the lack thereof. If you won’t let go of ordering supplies the same thing applies. Sit yourself down and give yourself a talk that includes this sentence. “I cannot do everything myself and I am being too controlling, unwilling to let go and delegate to others. I do this out of fear of failure, fear of not being perfect, and fear of feeling out of control.” Start believing in yourself and your business so that you come to understand that your time is valuable, and you are wasting it when you do tasks that don’t directly contribute to the growth of your business.

Now, let’s get to the Better Business Communications Day, which is being celebrated on Tuesday this week. Here are two ways to communicate that will bring you less conflict, better understanding, and, in the end, a better chance to increase your business. 1. Watch your tone. People want to be treated with respect. You can tell someone what you want them to do using a friendly, respectful tone and I guarantee you a greater percentage of what you say will be heard and acted upon.

2. Communicate often and let the people you interact with have a glimpse of your big vision. If you communicate only a big to-do list rather than a big vision, the people who work around you won’t be able to support your big vision for your business, because they won’t see where that to-do list is going. So, rather than saying “this week you’ve absolutely got to catch up on the bookkeeping” you can say, respectfully, “Our business bookkeeping has fallen behind by nearly a month. I can’t get a clear idea about our cash flow without up to the minute books, so I don’t know if we can afford to buy that new copier you’ve asked me about. Can you catch the books up by noon on Wednesday? If so, let’s have a brief meeting at 2:00 that day to see what the books say and I’ll decide if we can get the new copier.”

You can take back your time and communicate about your business better all in one fell swoop. That’s getting two things done at once, which seems like a great way to save time to me!

Your Certified OFFICIAL Report

“How To stop foreclosure in it’s Tracks…”

By Allan Hennessey

“PRODUCE THE NOTE”/”DISPUTE THE DEBT”

-Updated for 2009

“Virtually all of the mortgages in the United States today are Invalid, and Unenforceable…” Neil Garfield, Esq.

Today, Americans are faced with the reality of their “American Dream” currently converting to the “American Nightmare.” Many wonder why foreclosures are far above record highs, and what the causes are.

What is causing all of the foreclosures?

The TOP 10 FACTS are plain and simple:

1. Your mortgage currently more than likely does not currently reflect the terms you originally signed and agreed to.

2. The party you pay your payments to MORE THAN LIKELY does NOT Own your Note.

3. Your Original Documents have more than likely been destroyed intentionally or otherwise.

4. Original Documents are REQUIRED for Foreclosure to verify Validity and Authenticity.

5. Every time a Mortgage is transferred, documents are required, same as a car, house, or any other asset.

6. There exists RAMPANT FRAUD in the business of Real Estate, Mortgage, and Wall Street Securities.

7. The courts have upheld that a Deed of Trust and a Mortgage Note CANNOT be traded or sold separately.

8. Most Mortgage Notes, have been sold or traded separately from their Deed of Trust(power of sale).

9. Originating Lenders and Brokers of Mortgages are out of business, leaving no trail of documents to verify.

10. Most banks and parties conducting Foreclosures are NOT Authorized by law to do so, and can be beat!

Countless Homeowners have fought back against these parties conducting unlawful foreclosures and have kept their home! Not by negotiating with a party that does NOT want to negotiate, but by demanding their right to continue to OWN their HOME.

While many “Lenders” claim they do NOT want you home, their actions indicate otherwise.

The more you investigate, the more you will realize this to be true.

In this report we will address many of these issues. It is important to first recognize that this work has been compiled by experts in the Real Estate, Mortgage Finance, Banking, and Legal fields. Nothing in this report is speculation, and all information can and should be confirmed for accuracy by its readers.

Our media currently gives great attention to the problems at hand, but they do not spell it out… There are many theories on how to Stop a Foreclosure… “Produce the Note,” “Dispute the Debt,” to name just a few. While many will not be able to fully comprehend the details we have to offer on the subject, know that it is important for you to have an understanding of the subject, before we offer to refer you to an expert, that has a plan to help you save your home. Lets talk about some history before we get into these strategies.

It is first important for our readers to understand that mortgages changed significantly after 2001 with the advent of Mortgage Securitization. No longer did a Bank make a loan to a Homeowner with the intent to hold that loan as an asset in a “portfolio.” With Mortgage Securitization, loans were pooled together in bundles, and blended together to make a more uniform performance to the pools investors.

For example, if you were to take your mortgage, and that of 1000’s of others, and blend them together in a Blender on “frappe”, you would end up with an unidentifiable mess of assets where you can no longer determine the details of any longer. Instead is a “Mortgage Backed Security” that can be bought and sold separately from the individual mortgage itself. The payments of this milkshake are then assigned to a “servicer” that acts as nothing more than a collection agent. At the same time that the “servicer” accepts this agreement for receivables, they accept a separate agreement to payout liabilities to different parties.

The resulting effect is that the loan can no longer be distinguishable from others, when attempting to ascertain the original terms of the loan, and the “TRUE OWNER IN DUE COURSE” of the Mortgage Note.

Once Securitized, the bits and pieces of the loan can then be traded, sold, insured against, and in the process, making it near impossible for anyone (including the homeowner) to determine who Owns the Debt, and who is authorized to negotiate that debt.

Many folks still remember the “good ol’ days” prior to 2001, when banks would actually work with the Homeowner to continue to keep the Homeowner in that home. The banks would do this because it was in their best interest to keep that debt “performing”(continuing payments). Currently, Servicers claim an inability to re-negotiate the terms of the loan, and allow automated foreclosure processes to continue. The servicers cannot modify the terms of the loan because they do not OWN THE NOTE, and they are not authorized to make modifications to the terms. Homeowners continue to maintain “Hope” in keeping their home, when by design, the Servicers have NO interest in keeping a homeowner in their home.

It is important to note at this point, that many of the unidentifiable “TRUE OWNERS and Holders in Due Course” of the Note are Pension Funds, 401k’s, Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds, IRA’s, etc… These funds are administrated normally by a “trustee”. This is truly just a designation for the person/entity that controls the affairs of the fund. In many cases, this is a nameless, faceless entity, that has no contact information, and in many cases, due to the financial shake-ups in recent years, is OUT-OF-BUSINESS.

In other cases, there were losses already incurred by these parties due to these facts, and in many cases, the security itself has been written off as a complete loss. Many of these instances of loss were made whole by insurance policies in place against these sorts of losses. (Anyone wondering why AIG has been bailed out by the feds to the tune of $200 Billion so far and counting?)

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1. Your mortgage currently does not reflect the terms you originally signed and agreed to.

Due to securitization, the terms of your loan, as being enforced currently, have been modified without your permission. In many cases, homeowners have been charged fees not authorized by original terms of mortgage.

2. The party you pay your payments to MORE THAN LIKELY does NOT Own your Note.

When a loan is securitized, the Note is destroyed and the deed of trust is given to another party. The payments are assigned to a third party(servicer). This is who you make your payments to.

3. Your Original Documents have more than likely been destroyed intentionally or otherwise.

In the Digital Age that we live in, storage fees for 1000’s of physical mortgage documents that can be 1000’s of pages each can expensive, when compared to digital storage. Due to this fact, most mortgage documents are scanned and destroyed by the original lender. Other times, they are lost, or destroyed intentionally where parties have collected on claims of insurance policies in effect to cover against such losses. Most mortgage documents are just not available.

4. Original Documents are REQUIRED in Foreclosure as sole method to verify Validity and Authenticity.

Courts in Federal and State Jurisdictions have upheld that Original Documents must be provided in order to validate and authenticate the claims, when disputed by any of the parties involved.

5. Every time a Mortgage is transferred, documents are required, same as a car, house, or any other asset.

In some cases, Original documents are available to confirm the existence of the debt, however if the debt was sold, transferred, or collateralized with other pools of loans, there must be determined if there are any other claims or parties that may have claims, prior to any Foreclosure being complete. There must be a proper chain of ownership in order to confirm the claims of the parties involved.

6. There exists RAMPANT FRAUD in the bubbles of Real Estate, Mortgage, and Wall Street Securities.

From Real Estate valuation, to the sales terms, mortgage terms, and documentation, to underwriting, there are countless examples of negligence, fraud, deceptive practices, predatory lending and many other crimes that have equally countless victims. Many of these victims are seemingly unaware of these crimes, and are losing their homes en masse. Wall Street has only been the conduit for the Real Estate industry bubble created from 2001-2007.

7. The courts have upheld that a Deed of Trust and a Mortgage Note CANNOT be traded or sold separately.

Federal and State Courts have upheld that the power of sale, cannot be conferred separately from the ownership of the debt itself. Most Foreclosures are conducted by a “trustee,” who has been instructed by to do so by parties that do not own the Note/Debt itself.

8. Most Mortgage Notes, have been sold or traded separately from their Deed of Trust(power of sale).

This is true for a far majority of Mortgage Loans in the United States. If your Mortgage happens to be one of those that has been held as a “Portfolio loan”, and has not been securitized or sold, there are many other claims that you may have to defend against Foreclosure including but not limited to items listed in #6 above.

9. Originating Lenders and Brokers of Mortgages are out of business, leaving no trail of documents to verify.

It is true, as many know, that upon the bursting of this “bubble” in the summer of 2007, more than 300 lenders shut their doors quickly over a 3 month period, destroying their records, documents, and papertrails. In many cases this leaves a cloud of doubt over the title and the true ownership of the debt that should be disputed for clarification.

10. Most banks and parties conducting Foreclosures are NOT Authorized by law to do so,

and can be beat at their own game by disputing the validity of the debt!

It is true! Countless Homeowners are currently disputing their Foreclosures, and are remaining in their homes as a result! It is important to understand… THIS IS NOT A STALL TACTIC. In the process of disputing the foreclosure, many homeowners have ended up with the Title to their property FREE AND CLEAR by Court Order! Not every homeowner results in this outcome, however many Homeowners are able to negotiate with the court acceptable terms that are affordable in the long term, to remain in their homes.

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When a foreclosure is finished and the home is sold or assessed by an appraisal, for the loss on the mortgage, the deficit amount the bank will not get back from the mortgage balance and expenses due, is called a deficiency. In most states, the lender has an option to get a judgment in this amount against the borrower and this is called a “deficiency judgment”. In addition to the loss of the homeowner’s home he also has the potential of having to repay this judgment in the future.

Even if the bank accepts a “deed in lieu of foreclosure” they can still get a deficiency judgment against the borrower. The borrower is the one responsible for the mortgage or deed of trust payments and he may or may not be the homeowner. If the homeowner has a co-signer, the co-signer will be as legally responsible as the borrower to pay back the deficit due. Depending on whether the foreclosure is judicial or non-judicial, and the specific terms of the mortgage, the bank may not be able to seek a deficiency judgment. These laws vary state-by-state and should be reviewed carefully to determine which applies to the reader.

The bank doesn’t just have the amount of the unpaid loan balance due but also legal fees, accelerated interest payments, back principal payments, in some cases pre-payment penalties, and other expenses as part of the judgment amount. This is why a homeowner who has had his mortgage a couple of years could owe more than he borrowed originally. As an example, the homeowner borrowed $200,000 in June of 2006 and in January of 2008 he goes into foreclosure and the final judgment against him could be $218,000! This is because of the additional expenses and the fact that he pays mostly interest in the first 10 years of his mortgage.

The largest loss the lender has is his loss of the ability to loan about 7 – 10 times the unpaid mortgage balance. This is because the Federal Reserve requires the banks to put cash into a non-interest bearing account to cover potential losses. Since the bank can no longer use these funds to get additional loans from the Fed, he is losing tremendous loan power. This loss of revenue to the lender can not be passed on to the homeowner or borrower.

The major factors in deciding whether the lender will pursue a deficiency judgment are whether the lender feels he can collect the judgment and the cost to collect it. In the process of working with the homeowner, the lender pulls his credit and can see what other outstanding bills he has and whether they are being paid timely. The lender can not see what assets the homeowner has but can sometimes see where he works. The homeowner will be asked to fill out a Net Worth Statement (“NWS”) which will disclose these assets to the lender. This document is a major part of the decision to pursue the judgment or not. If the lender has no reason to believe the homeowner has extensive assets, they will issue the IRS Form instead. A note of caution – falsifying the NWS can be bank fraud in some states so be careful if you intend to return the NWS to the lender.

The deficiency judgment is determined by the court-approved “Final Judgment” amount in most states. However, in some states, the property must be sold or an appraisal done to determine the “expected” net loss. If your state does this procedure by appraisal, contest the appraisal and have the judgment lowered if you believe it was not correct.

The lender usually chooses not to get a deficiency judgment and instead report the loan deficiency amount on IRS Form 1099. The result to the homeowner is a “phantom income” requires him to pay income taxes on this amount. In this situation the final cost of the guarantor’s foreclosure is the amount of income taxes he pays the IRS instead of the entire deficiency judgment. This is a substantial savings to the homeowner and the lender also benefits because there is no collection on his books that is counted as a liability. Unless there is suspicion of fraud in the original loan, the lender will issue a 1099. In December of 2007 legislation was enacted that allows a maximum exemption amount a homeowner who resides in his property can write off for this deficiency amount.

Carefully weigh your rights and options when you make a decision to allow your home to be lost to foreclosure, as there are solutions besides foreclosure and deed transfer to the lender. Do not be paralyzed with fear that the lender will follow you forever to collect the deficiency judgment, as you have a number of options to fight this including attacking the validity of the original loan.

As a first time home buyer, you need to understand the mechanics of a good mortgage. If you’ve been looking for an article that helps with this, you have come to the right place.

In this article we’ll discuss the mortgage process and how you can decide which product is best for you. There will be two primary things you will learn. First we will look at how mortgages work and then discuss the pros and cons of fixed rate mortgages versus the adjustable mortgage.

Understanding How Mortgages Work

It’s kind of funny how people look at mortgages. We say “I need to get a mortgage from the bank”. Actually you cannot get a mortgage, you will give a mortgage or pledge a mortgage to a lender. Does this mean you are the bank or what?? Not really, it’s matter of understanding the proper terminology.

When you buy a home, you sign a ton of documents. I often said when I was closing mortgages that a few trees were sacrificed for this since it involves so much paper work. There are two very important documents in this stack of papers. One is the “note” and the other is the “mortgage”.

The note is your IOU which states you owe a debt to the lender and promise to repay. The mortgage is the legal document that secures the note.

So you want to look at it this way: When a bank loans you money to buy a home, you “give” or “pledge” a mortgage to the bank. The bank will hold this mortgage as a legal claim in case you default and stop making payments on the note. It’s kind of a guarantee you will live up to the terms on the note you signed. So in other words, if you don’t pay, you don’t stay. The bank will force a foreclosure on you and take back the house.

Pros and Cons of Fixed Rate Mortgages

In the mortgage industry, the fixed rate loan has been labeled as the “vanilla loan” because there is nothing fancy about it. It has a set rate of interest and you will know what your principal and interest payment will be for the entire term of the mortgage. There are 10, 15, 20 and 30 year fixed rate mortgages out there.

The biggest advantage of the fixed rate loan is the fact you have permanently locked into a mortgage payment that you can count on never changing. This helps to eliminate any surprises for later, like when interest rates go up. If that happens, your payment stays the same.

Personally, I believe the fixed rate mortgage is the best choice for first time home buyers. You can budget your payment this way and plan for your future. Keep in mind I did not talk about taxes and insurance which are the other part of your payment. If you used the minimum down payment (3.5% for FHA) then you will be forced to escrow your taxes and home owners insurance. This part of your payment can fluctuate each year.

Adjustable Rate Mortgages – Are They Right For You?

Unlike their cousin the fixed rate mortgage, the name of this loan product implies that it features a variable interest rate. These rates change or “reset” over time. Because of this, the principal and interest portion of your mortgage will change according to the terms of the note.

There is a whole variety of these ARMS (adjustable rate mortgages) out there. These ARM loans can adjust monthly, semi-annually or yearly. Banks have gotten real creative with these products.

Since the banks know that people like the security of a fixed rate mortgage, they make these ARMS look like one by setting the terms for them to reset the first time say 3, 5, 7 or 10 years after you get the mortgage. So a person could get used to the payment and then 3 years from now it goes up because of the way this loan is calculated.

The adjustable rate mortgage is based on a financial instrument like the 10, 15 or 30 year mortgage bond. In recent years, banks have based the ARM loan on the LIBOR index. This allows for more frequent changes since it moves up and down with market fluctuations. The LIBOR is a matter for a whole different article.

Conclusion of the Matter

The ARM loan works best for people who do not plan to own the house for a long period of time. Maybe you know that that your job may relocate you in 5 years. So an ARM loan with a 5 year period before it resets may be a good idea.

However, most first time home buyers are looking down the road more than 5 years. The fixed rate mortgage is the best idea for budgeting and just having a peace of mind. You can sleep well at night knowing your house payment is constant.

So, now you understand what a mortgage really is, and you have also learned the difference between a fixed rate mortgage and an ARM.

Senior Citizens have been badly hit by the foreclosure rage. Herman Boxerbaun is one of them. He is a septuagenarian residing in Vallejo and just cannot manage to make ends meet. Earlier this month he got a free meal from the local church and does not know anything more about the future.

Another victim is Vicki Conrad. She is 69 years old and has lost a good amount of her retirement funds when the stock markets tumbled. At present she is working in Florence Douglas Center but fears if she will have to go on working without any pause in sight.

Boxerbaun and Conrad are typical of what is happening to the elderly residents in Vallejo as also in the rest of the country.

The social service agencies in the county point to the lingering recession that is harassing the elderly who are hunting around for the very basics ? food and shelter. To make matters worse many are becoming victims of scams and other forms of abuse.

The impact of the housing crisis continues to unfold with new ugly surprises each day targeting the elderly. The slump in the stock market has wiped out retirement funds and now they have nothing but the slim social security cheques to depend on.

There are fears that things will take a turn for the worse when the state budgets will be snipped. Programmes for investigating abuse of elders that aim to see that the elders lead a healthy life in their twilight years will come to a halt. Previous snips in the budget have already told on the services that are becoming more skeletal.

Many of the elders in all probability will not live long enough to see there lost fortunes recoup from the recent stock market fall, commented Donna Fields of Solano County Older & Disabled Adult Services. She bemoaned, ?People work their whole lives and build up nest eggs to retire and this economy has just fooled everybody. People have lost homes and not gotten a good rate of return on (investments). They are struggling out there to make ends meet.?

What is most worrying that more numbers of seniors will become totally reliant on Social Security ? something that is insufficient on which to survive. The social security system itself is under great threat with its expenses becoming more than what it gets. Conrad explained, ?The biggest worry for this age group is their health care and what’s going to be in place for us.?

In today?s volatile real estate market, homeowners struggle to know where to turn for help with their most valuable possession: their home. The economy has left borrowers struggling to make their payments due to reduced or lost incomes, increased expenses, and even increasing monthly mortgage payments. Some have relied on credit cards to survive, others have had to liquidate retirement accounts, and everyone has had to live paycheck to paycheck. There is hope. There are always options available to avoid foreclosure, but whether or not they are affordable depends on your specific situation. All banks offer some type of workout, including reinstatement plans; forbearance plans; repayment plans; traditional loan modifications, and Treasury Department programs. The problem that most borrowers face is getting the bank to offer these to them, and knowing which options are going to be best to pursue.

Get Quick Results
Banks are getting increasingly hard to deal with. Any borrower that has tried to deal with the bank has experienced one or more of the following problems: excessive hold times; conflicting stories; repeated requests for the same documents; denials, and solutions that were more expensive than what the borrower started out with. Knowing what documents are required, knowing what departments to call, and knowing what people to talk to is most of the battle. A well done and complete loan modification packet will help ensure a speedy review process, and good results. Banks have testified to the government that they have trouble getting the necessary documents from the borrower, yet many people have lost their homes even though they complied with every request from the bank. The problem is that everything in the packet needs to be current for the negotiator to be able to work on the file. Knowing what the bank wants before they ask for it is the key to success.

Get Afforbable Payments
Getting approved for a permanent offer is difficult. Most borrowers do not realize it, but they can be denied because of one number being off on their financial statements. Unfortunately, the approval process for a loan modification is just like buying a new home. Underwriters and negotiators have to run waterfall tests and Net Present Value tests that only a few, select borrowers are going to successfully pass. Too much income can leave you with too high of a payment, too little can cause your application to be denied; even expenses need to be itemized a certain way depending on the bank. What borrowers may think is helping them, often ends up hurting them. The loan modification process is a juggling act between getting the payment that you want and getting something offered in the first place. Success in this regard is not always dependent on your financial situation; sometimes how you fill out the financial forms is the bottom line. Knowing what each bank is going to look at, based on their policies and your experience with them can be the difference because almost every bank varies in what they look for.

Stop the Trustee’s Sale
Once you stop making payments it is only a matter of time before the bank starts the foreclosure process. Soon after you stop making payments, the bank will hire a trustee company to handle the process. This hired company will be the one to send you a Notice of Default which is a 90 day opportunity to cure the mortgage default. Usually 3 months after the Notice of Default, you will receive a Notice of Trustee?s Sale. This notice is the 20 day warning that your home will be auctioned off. Working with the bank on a modification is often a strategy for postponing sale dates and buying time. Some borrowers have managed to stay in their home, payment free, for years because they knew how to handle it. Unfortunately, it can also be a way to lose the home accidentally. Many borrowers have had their home sell even though they were in review for a modification. Many have lost their home while on a forbearance plan, a repayment plan, or even on the trial period of the Treasury Department’s HAMP program. The real problem is that the bank may have the sale on hold, but forget to communicate that to the trustee company. It is important to keep tabs on your sale date and to contact the foreclosure attorneys to confirm that they know not to sell the home. Managing the trustee?s sale for your home is an important part of the loan modification process.

Keeping a Foreclosure From Being Recorded
If you are denied for a loan modification, you will want to short sale the property. Short sales are an agreement with the bank to sell the property for less then you owe and have far less effect on your credit then a non-judicial foreclosure. Managing the modification process well will leave you the opportunity to short sell the property before it goes to auction. The sad reality is that a lot of borrowers do not know when they are going to be denied and do not have enough time to work with the bank to avoid a foreclosure on their record. The home can often be sold within days of a denial letter and sometimes they are even sold before the borrower even knows something is wrong. Depending on the bank, there may be an opportunity to short sale the property if you manage it correctly. Beside the credit implications, a short sale can also keep you in the home for a few more months.

Foreclosure procedures are different in all 50 states. If you are concerned about the possibility of missing your loan payments, then you should look into your state’s United States foreclosure laws by state. Some of the many differences include lender notices that must be mailed or posted, redemption periods, and the scheduling and bank notices issued regarding the auctioning of the house. Below is a general understanding of the foreclosure timeline, but keep in mind the state where you reside will have its own laws. Few people think they will fall behind on payments and lose their home, they always think they have more time.Below is a general understanding of the foreclosure timeline. Note: Timelines vary by state.(Day 1 Late)1st mortgage payment missed – your mortgage lender will get hold of you by phone or mail and a late charge will be assessed, usually after the payments been late for more than 15 days. (Day 30 Late)2nd mortgage payment missed – your mortgage lender is going to start calling you to discuss why mortgage payments have not been made. It’s essential that homeowners take these phone calls. Talking to your mortgage lender and explaining your financial situation is absolutely critical to solving the problem. Now that your 1st mortgage payment is more than 30 days late and you will receive one 30 day late on your credit, which will in all honesty will crush your credit score. Even if you have established credit, a mortgage late is to be avoided at all cost. (Day 60 Late)3rd mortgage payment missed – once the 3rd payment is missed, you will receive a letter from you lender stating the amount you are delinquent, and that you have 30 days to bring the mortgage up-to-date. This is usually called either a demand letter or notice to accelerate. If you do not pay the determined amount or make some types of arrangements by the given date, the lender might start foreclosure proceedings. They’re unlikely to accept less than the total due without pre-existing arrangements being made if you receive this certified letter. You do however, still have time to work something out with your mortgage lender before the foreclosure process starts. (Day 90 Late)4th mortgage payment missed – you are now approaching the end of a timeline which was allowed in your demand or notice to accelerate letter. When the 30 days ends, if you still have not paid the full amount or worked our arrangements you’ll be directed to your lender’s attorney. You will also have to pay all attorney fees as part of your delinquency. Depending on where the home is located, the mortgage lender may record a formal notice of foreclosure at the local courthouse, publish details of the debt in the local newspaper, and attend hearings on the case.(Day 150 Late)Public Trustee’s or Sheriff’s Sale – Sale of the property will often be scheduled by the lenders attorney. This would be known as the day of foreclosure. You could be notified of the date by mail, a notice taped to your door, and/or the property sale may be advertised in a local paper. The time frame between the notice to accelerate or demand letter and the actual foreclosure sale vary by state. Some states may be as quick as 2-3 months although states do vary. At this point your move-out date is near. You have until the sale date to make arrangements with your mortgage lender, or pay the total amount owed, including attorney fees. The Redemption Period – Redemption is the period of time after your property has been sold at a Public Trustee’s or Sheriff’s Sale, but you can still reclaim your house. Paying the full outstanding mortgage balance and all costs incurred during the foreclosure process is the only way to reclaim your home during the redemption period. Many states do in fact have some sort of redemption period, availability is often determined by whether the foreclosure is judicial or non-judicial and procedures can vary greatly from state to state.Important: Staying in contact with your mortgage lender is your single best choice to have a chance of staying in your house and be very careful of the many companies promising loan modification for a large fee. All dates are estimated, and vary according to your state and your lending company. Types of ForeclosureThere are 3 types of foreclosures which could be initiated at this time: judicial, strict foreclosure and power of sale. All three types of foreclosure need public notices to be issued and all parties involved to be notified regarding the proceedings. Once homes are sold through an auction, families will only have a small amount of time to move out before the sheriff issues an eviction order.Judicial Foreclosure. Every state in the union permits this type of foreclosure, and some require it. The mortgage lender files suit with the judicial system, and the homeowner should then get a note by mail requiring payment. The borrower then has only 30 days to reply with a payment in order to avoid foreclosure. If the payment is not made after a certain period of time, the mortgaged property is then sold through an auction to the highest bidder, a sheriff’s office or local court will generally carry this out.Strict Foreclosure. A small number of states actually allow this type of foreclosure as it favors the lenders tremendously. In strict foreclosure proceedings, the lender files a lawsuit on borrower who has defaulted. If the borrower isn’t able to pay the mortgage within a specific timeline which is ordered by the court, the home goes directly back to the mortgage holder. Strict foreclosure generally takes place only when the debt amount is greater than the appraised value of the home.Power of Sale. This sort of foreclosure, also known as statutory foreclosure, is allowed by many states if the mortgage includes a power of sale clause. Once a borrower has defaulted on mortgage payments, the lender sends out notifications demanding payments. Once a recognized waiting period has passed, the lender instead of local courts or sheriff’s office carries out the public auction. Non-judicial foreclosure auctions are frequently more expedient, though they might be subject to judicial review to ensure the legality of the proceedings.
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The special refinancing program helps people secure a lower rate of interest in the amount owed whereas the loan modification helps them secure lower rate of interest on the amount owed. The first mortgage loan you take while purchasing a home helps you settle down in your own home and makes you feel super good about the investment. However, the positive situation might change all of a sudden and the home owner might face difficulties in paying off the first mortgage loan as the lesser a person?s ability to manage his funds for daily expenses and investment repayments the more he will go into debt and in the process face foreclosure in the near future. However, since experience teaches everyone a bitter lesson, the real estate market and the lenders learnt a lesson when the home which had undergone foreclosure was to be re-sold in the real estate market and it was a really tough time getting the right value for the particular home.

Since it was very difficult for lenders to sell off the home again in the market, the Government decided to stop the increasing number of foreclosure cases by extending a helping hand to all the debtors who were on the verge of losing their homes and turn it into an opportunity for the home owners to save their homes by paying off the mortgage amount at lower rate of interests or over a extended period of time. The Obama administration introduced two main types of mortgage assistance programs: the first one being the home affordable refinance program and the second being the home affordable modification program.

With the help of home affordable refinancing program home owners were given an option to refinance their mortgage and in the process decrease their monthly payments to an extent which are affordable to them and which can be paid off without any hassles to save ones home. This special refinancing program enabled many home owners to reduce the burden of debt on their shoulders especially the stress of losing their homes by either re-negotiating the interest rates and reducing the existing interest rate to a lower rate to make the monthly repayment amount affordable. However, if anyone wants to refinance their mortgage it is important to find out the value of one?s home as more often than not people whose home value has decreased over a period of time often find it tough to find lenders who will assist them in the home affordable refinance program. The prerequisites for qualifying for special refinancing program are the mortgage loan should be guaranteed by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, the amount owed to the lenders should not be more than 80% of the home’s value, one must not have missed out on loan payments in the past 12 months etc.

The second type of mortgage assistance program which are known as the loan modification is also a secure way to avoid foreclosure. Mortgage loan modification enables an individual to reduce mortgage payments to 31% of their gross total monthly income either by lowering the rate of interest or by extending the term period of repayment to up to 40 years. Under loan modification the amount of principal can also be reduced which is owed to the lenders.

High foreclosure rates across the country as well as a faltering financial sector has dictated government involvement in the mortgage industry. This involvement has facilitated growth in both residential and commercial real estate such as Minnesota real estate and has created more favourable and secure lending situations for financial institutions. All this has been done in order to stimulate economic growth in the United States.

The growth of the federal government’s involvement since the onset of the mortgage crisis has created a situation in which the government has become a substantial pillar to the survival of the mortgage industry. Government has taken on much of the risk formerly assumed by lenders and has essentially become the mortgage market. With the power to set the terms that allow mortgages to be approved and their ability to own a proprietary share of many companies this government involvement now has the taxpayer shouldering a substantial part of the risk associated with lending in an uncertain economy.

The Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation have operated as government sponsored enterprises. These institutions are better known publicly as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although both institutions report to their shareholders they are protected financially and supported by the federal government. These safeguards include a line of credit through the U.S. Treasury, an exemption from state and local income taxes as well as an exemption from the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight. Their history has shaped the mortgage industry since the 1930’s and continued support by the federal government is essential to restabilising the economy and the housing markets across the U.S..

Fannie Mae was created in 1938 as President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. The creation of the Federal National Mortgage Association was to ensure that mortgages were made more available to lower income families and to facilitate liquidity in the mortgage market. In 1968 the federal government converted Fannie Mae to a shareholder owned corporation in order to remove its transaction from the federal balance sheet. In order to create a competing the federal government formed the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association in 1970. The idea was that competition would create a more robust secondary mortgage market.

The way Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae work is that they buy loans from approved mortgage sellers. These loans are traded either for cash or mortgage backed securities which guarantee payment of principal and interest. Mortgage sellers in turn can either sell or keep the securities. These companies also bundle mortgage backed securities from their own portfolios to investors in the secondary mortgage market. In order for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to guarantee their mortgage backed securities they set the lending terms and guidelines that determine which loan applications can be accepted for purchase. To simplify the role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is to say that they provide financial institutions with the money to provide new loans.

The 2007 sub-prime mortgage crisis found a lot of low income borrowers some with poor credit were unable to pay their mortgages. Almost 80% of mortgages issued to the sub-prime borrowers were adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). With home prices peaking in 2006 home prices began to decline. Values continue to decline as these high risk borrowers could no longer afford their homes due to steep increases in the payments of ARM mortgages.

This caused an explosion of foreclosures across the country. Again the situation was compounded by problems with the Auto industry and the failure of economic icons such as Bearr Stearns, The Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup Inc. and even Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Home prices accelerated their descent as foreclosures increases, jobs were lost and the countries financial situation teetered on the brink of disaster.

As a result lenders began to employ much stricter standards for loans. A shell shocked lending industry was not equipped to respond to financial failures of this level and they essentially shut off the flow of money available for loans. The federal government was forced to step in to bolster confidence. The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve were given the authority to grant access to low-interest loans and removed the prohibition on the Federal Reserve to purchase stock in Government Sponsored Enterprises. Despite these efforts the economy continued on its downward trajectory.

Currently government involvement has extended programs to reinvigorate the mortgage industry. There are no longer institutions offering mortgage terms that do not require a down payment. But federal programs are in place that assist with down payments for lower income families as low as 3% of the home’s value. Government backed mortgage insurance has made this possible by insuring that lenders are protected in the event of default on loans with limited equity in the home.

The federally backed Hope For Homeowners program offers a glimmer of hope for struggling homeowners hoping to avoid foreclosure. The program allows homeowners to refinance their home at more favourable terms with a fixed rate mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Lenders have to agree however to take a substantial loss on their original loan but at least are guaranteed a partial pay off and avoid costly foreclosure proceedings.

The federal government has also extend tax credits to home buyers in order to stimulate growth. The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended a valuable income tax credit. This incentive has stimulated the housing industry and brought some hope back to struggling home sellers languishing in struggling markets.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program is designed provide more affordable loans to existing mortgage holders in good standing. By providing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae guaranteed mortgages borrowers can refinance at a more affordable monthly payment. It is hoped that this program will save 3 to 4 million families from avoidable foreclosure.

Federal programs now operate as the only means to provide a stable loan marketplace. Without federal involvement corporate and personal finances would be crippled by the inability to obtain affordable, secure and stable financing. Programs such as Asset Guarantee Program, the Home Affordable Modification Program and the Public-Private Investment Program have bridged a period filled with financial uncertainty and have allowed provided much needed support to an industry crippled by its own practices.

The growth of the federal government’s involvement since the onset of the mortgage crisis has created a situation where the government no longer just supports the mortgage market but rather has become a substantial pillar to the survival of the mortgage industry. The government has taken on much of the risk that was previously assumed by lenders and has essentially become the mortgage market. They have the power to set the terms that allow mortgages to be approved and they own a proprietary share of many companies that are major players in the mortgage industry. This government involvement now has the taxpayer shouldering a substantial part of the risk associated with lending in an uncertain economy.

Someday the federal government will be able to limit its involvement in the mortgage industry. But for the time being their support is necessary to reinvigorate the economy and stimulate growth in both residential and commercial real estate sector. You can know more at www.agentsranking.com

Believe it or not, Attorneys, of all people, are quickly developing a national reputation as champions of homeowners facing foreclosure, and are becoming a serious adversary for those banks attempting to fraudulently take possession of the homes of troubled homeowner?s, and in some cases receiving the homeowner’s property back free & clear, by filing a notice of rescission, and a quiet title action, based on Federal violations pursuant to the Truth In Lending Act (TILA), or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

The new focus on contract law, debt-collection practice, securitized mortgages, the trusts that hold them, and the agreements that govern the trusts, have put foreclosure attorneys at the forefront of the rapidly expanding specialty of foreclosure defense.

Over and over again attorneys have found sloppiness, fraud and outright criminality in the nation?s mortgage lending industry. Regardless of why homeowners have been unable to pay their mortgages, foreclosure attorneys maintain that nobody deserves to lose a home to the unethical and illegal foreclosure procedures that are now being used by many banks and loan servicers.

Recently, some homeowners have staved off foreclosure for more than four years using a newly employed legal strategy, which requires the lender to ?Produce The Promissory Note?.

This legal strategy has been employed because of the way mortgages have been securitized. It?s often unclear who actually owns the debt, and what has been discovered is that systematically, the originating lenders only pledged these loans and didn?t actually transfer them? to the trusts that are supposed to hold them and issue the securities.

But only the true debt owner has the legal standing, or right to be a plaintiff in a foreclosure action. This is a basic first-year law school concept. If you?re Mike and the debt doesn?t belong to you, it belongs to Alice, then Alice better be in court, not Mike. You can?t show up in court as Mike, and tell the court you have the right to be there when you know full well that Alice is the true owner.

Yet, time and again, loan servicers and others have sought plaintiff status in order to foreclose on a homeowner, often by using affidavits stating that the actual notes had been lost, and stating that ?they anticipate a transfer of assignment?? of the debt, but the loan originators can?t appear in court and claim the right to foreclose because they would be in violation of securities laws for not transferring the loan to the trust when they were supposed to.

Although making an issue out of the actual ownership of the securitized title might strike some as a shameless stalling tactic aimed at abetting a debtor who, after all, owes the money, attorneys argue that if such basic legalities aren?t adhered to, a homeowner could pay his or her way out of a foreclosure jam only to wind up in another jam when a new plaintiff emerges claiming to own the debt.

Attorneys describe cases in which homeowners have been sued for foreclosure by two different trusts, each claiming they owned their house, and cases where trusts have been sent documents on the same case by two different servicers. So it is essential for the homeowner to determine who is the rightful owner of the debt, before paying off that debt, in order to be provided the legal fairness, and protection that the law intended. Therefore, this legal approach has been viewed as a completely moral and ethical approach.

Additionally, the Government has a dirty little secrest, which it has been surpressing for months. It is that most adjustable rate mortgages were illegally securitized in the haste to convert toxic loans into fee-generating mortgage backed securities.

Judges across the nation, including Boyko, Rose, Kurtz, Schack, Rosenblatt, Bufford, O’Malley, Shaw, Bryant and Foley have issued orders dismissing foreclosures brought by lenders that have illegally securitized loans and are no longer current holders of the notes.

These “quiet title actions” have forced lenders, including Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Countrywide, Lehman, Shearson, Indymac, Bear Stearns, Wachovia, and Bank of America to unravel their notes’ dizzying journey from the mortgage closing to an investment bank or depositor, then to a series of trustees who pooled and sold the loans and issued shares of mortgage backed securities.

What makes these securitizations illegal is how fraudulently they were conducted, by foregoing proper assignments and transfers required by law to secure an interest in the underlying real estate.

Now, the Obama Administration not only wants to continue this fraud, but is planning to reward the very investment banks and hedge funds that were architects and participants of the securitization that created the global financial crisis we are now experiencing.

While this is devastating news to taxpayers who will be stuck with more debt, it is great news for homeowners’ with securitized loans. Ironically, their mortgage lenders’ haste to securitize their loans has provided a security blanket that protects them from foreclosure. In fact, many homeowners already own their homes free and clear and just don’t know it yet. Consider this reversal of misfortune divine intervention against a greedy global conspiracy aimed at defrauding homeowners and stealing their homes.

So, you can move to stop the foreclosure, and fight for your home by acquiring a ?Forencis Loan Audit? that will identify any possible lender fraud, or Federal violations of the Truth and Lending Act (TILA), or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Expose the fraud, stop the foreclosure, and take your home back by fighting your foreclosure!