Virginia had the 15th highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the first quarter, according to figures released yesterday by RealtyTrac, an online resource of foreclosed properties.

One in every 246 households in Virginia — or a total of 13,151 — received notices of default, auction sales and bank repossessions from January through March, up 526 percent from the same period a year ago.

The report showed that the Richmond region had the 24th lowest foreclosure rate among 100 cities. Yet, the number of notices here rose 1,341 percent from a year ago to one in every 425 households, or a total 1,182, properties in some phase of foreclosure.

Source: InRich.com

Study says Va. ranked 24th in 2007 foreclosures – News – inRich.com

Hopefully, our ranking will go down with some of the loan modification agreements that the major lenders are working on.

I’ve seen huge surge in people calling us to sell their house to avoid foreclosure. 

From the related in formation file:

Worried about foreclosure? Don’t ignore the problem. The further behind you get, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and the more likely that you will lose your house. Contact your lender as soon as you realize you may be in trouble. Lenders have options to help borrowers through difficult times. Open your mail. The first notices you get from your lender will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options. Later mail may include information about pending legal action. Failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court. Know your mortgage rights. Find your loan documents and read them so you know what your lender may do if you can’t make payments. Learn about the foreclosure laws in your state. Understand foreclosure-prevention options.

If you decide to sell as your solution to falling behind on payments, Get offers from us in 24 hours.

Here are a few quotes:

The number of foreclosures in Virginia is expected to rise to about 14,000 this year, up from 4,354 in 2006, and could hit 20,000 next year, according to Housing Opportunities Made Equal Inc., a housing advocacy group in Richmond.

Virginia has one of the fastest foreclosure processes in the country, said Connie Chamberlin, president and chief executive officer of HOME.

Once a lender notifies a borrower of the intent to foreclose, a person can lose their home in as quickly as two weeks, she said. "For many people, that means they don’t have time to deal with the issue."

Because Virginia’s process is so fast, there is very little time to deal with it.  Selling your house Fast is one quick way to address the foreclosure process.  You can Get offers from us in 24 hours.

At some point, people stopped calculating what they could afford long-term and started chasing what was just (or substantially) beyond reach, made possible by slim downpayments and variable-rate mortgages. On September 2, 2007, the New York Times quoted President Bush’s diagnosis, which was similar; he mentioned “both ‘excesses in the lending industry’ and unduly optimistic homeowners who took out ‘loans larger than they could afford,’ as reasons for the mortgage woes.”

The mistakes indeed do go both ways, with irresponsible lenders and uninformed buyers engaging in the dance of debt. The terrible irony is that now, even people who responsibly make their mortgage payments on time are confronted with declining equity; their neighbors are foreclosing, so their own house value is plummeting so quickly that they can’t resell.

The current foreclosure market, simplified, has two causes: people getting more they can afford, and lenders too willing to lend. 

The result is a decline in home prices. . . . . . .

"They are among the estimated 14,000 Virginia households facing foreclosure this year."

Their payment adjusted from $1,250 to $1,650, making the house no longer affordable.  They are hoping for a loan modification, but there is no guarantee of success.

The only way out is to refinance, but options – as the Lovings discovered – are few.

. . . . . . . .

The Lovings tried repeatedly to get in touch with their lender. "Send more money, send more money," they said they were told.

They got the subprime loan because their credit was damaged years ago when they went on a debt-management plan to pay off $30,000 in credit-card debt.

They were locked into their original mortgage because it carried a hefty prepayment penalty.

As soon as the penalty phase passed, they looked into refinancing. "At least a dozen lenders turned us down," Scott said.

They found one taker. The payoff on the old loan — a combo ARM and fixed-rate mortgage – was $137,000.

They walked away with another ARM. This one was for $161,000, which increased their debt. It included $4,000 in cash. Fees and closing costs totaled $20,000.

"We didn’t feel we had any choice," Scott said.

The new payment is $1,623, not much better than the $1,650 payment on the old loan. "But we had a fresh start," he said.

The initial interest rate on the new loan is 9.8 percent, 0.1 percent better than the old loan. It, too, has a prepayment penalty — 5 percent of the loan amount. It resets next June.

The Lovings kept up with their new payments for a few months. Then one payment was put into escrow and the Lovings were one month behind.

Repeated calls to the lender solved nothing. When the couple received notice of a foreclosure sale, they turned to Housing Opportunities Made Equal.

"You can breathe," they said their HOME counselor told them. She had been able to do what they couldn’t – open a line of communication with the lender.

"We’re in limbo," Scott said, as they wait to find out if their lender will work with them. "We should find out right before Christmas if we can keep our house."

A 60-day extension was secured on the foreclosure so the Lovings could ask the lender to modify the terms of the loan.

"Banks are really stepping up, but for many, it’s a day late and a dollar short," said Ann Estes, vice president for ClearPoint Financial Solutions, a nonprofit consumer credit-counseling agency based in Richmond.

The Lovings hang on to the hope that it isn’t too late – that they can keep their house and make payments they can afford.

For others looking at a loan reset, get into a fixed-rate loan and do it today, Estes said. "Don’t put it off."

Virginia’s foreclosure process is brutally fast.  This is another reason the number appears to be so low.  They are processed much quicker here than in other states.

If your house is falling behind in payments, we can help you sell your house quickly to avoid foreclosure.

Give us a call at 804/915-9475, or get your offers from us in 24 hours.

I’m glad that the State is getting involved in Foreclosure Prevention.  Nearly 4 out of 5 loans in foreclosure in the state were sub-prime.  And there are still many more looming on the horizon.

Virginia’s foreclosure process is brutally fast.  This is another reason the number appears to be so low.  They are processed much quicker here than in other states.

If your house is falling behind in payments, we can help you sell your house quickly to avoid foreclosure.

Give us a call at 804/915-9475, or get your offers from us in 24 hours.

‘Keeping Your Home,’ New Online Course Designed to Help Homeowners Nationwide Avoid Foreclosure, Now Available at CCCSInc.org :

I have not had any experience with this course, but provide it as a resource to help educate you.

Some states have a foreclosure process that is very lengthy, some are up to a year, which gives homeowners time to work something out with the bank.

Virginia’s process is brutally fast.  You may not have the time to delay your action much longer.

If you decide you want to sell your house quickly instead of working with your lender, we are here to help you.  Give us a call at 804/915-9475, or get your offers from us in 24 hours.

In it, there are some possible options that lenders may give you to work out a way to avoid selling your property..  Some typical options:

Depending upon your situation, your mortgage company may be able to provide you with temporary financial relief. Here are a number of alternatives to discuss with your mortgage company.

• Forbearance is an agreement to temporarily let you pay less than the full amount of your mortgage payment, or pay nothing at all, during the forbearance period. Mortgage companies may consider forbearance when you can show that funds from a bonus, tax refund, or other source will let you bring the mortgage current at a specific time in the future.
• A reinstatement occurs when you pay your mortgage company the total amount you are behind, in a lump sum, by a specific date. This is often combined with forbearance.
• A repayment plan is an agreement that gives you a fixed amount of time to repay the amount you are behind by combining a portion of what is past due with your regular monthly payment. At the end of the repayment period you have gradually paid back the amount of your mortgage that was delinquent.
• A loan modification is a written agreement between you and your mortgage company that permanently changes one or more of the original terms of your note to make the payments more affordable. Common loan modifications include
  • Adding missed payments to the existing loan balance
  • Making an adjustable-rate mortgage into a fixed-rate mortgage
  • Extending the number of years you have to repay

No matter what your situation is, it’s important early in the process to try and work with your lender before they send it to an attorney and jack up the late fees thousands of dollars.

If you decide you want to sell your house quickly instead of working with your lender, we are here to help you.  Give us a call at 804/915-9475, or get your offers from us in 24 hours.

1. Don’t ignore the problem
2. Contact the lender as soon as possible
3. Open and respond to mail from your lender.
4. Know your mortgage rights.
5. Understand foreclosure prevention options. (Selling in one of them)
6. Contact a HUD approved housing counselor.
7. Prioritize your spending.
8. Use your assets to recover the debt.
9. Avoid foreclosure prevention companies that charge fees up front.
10. Don’t loose your house to foreclosure recovery Scams.

If you decide to sell your home to avoid foreclosure, you can rest assured that we will treat you fairly and with respect.  There are no upfront fees and we will tell you quickly if we are able to help you.  Give us a call, at 804/915-9475, or Get offers from us in 24 hoursGet offers from us in 24 hours..