SDP Partners LLC

I received an email from Arie Brown this evening from ProActive Lending Solutions.

As you know the real estate market and mortgage lending has experienced some major changes during 2007, and will continue to see changes in the future as well. I want to share some information with you that I feel is important and I think you will too.

Due to recent market condition changes, many homeowners attempting to sell their home have not been successful. Some homeowners then decided to refinance their current mortgage to avoid the increased payments from their Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Others decided to refinance and update their current home verses buying a different home elsewhere. WOW - They where in for a BIG surprise.

Homeowners who had their property on the market For Sale By Owner or listed on the MLS have found it was almost impossible to secure a refinance. The reason being is that virtually every major lending institution implemented guideline changes and would not refinance a borrower’s mortgage if that borrower’s property was currently for sale, or has been offered for sale within the last 6 months.

The good news is that one of the nation wide lenders has just announced that they will do a refinance for owners who have recently had their properties offered for sale (conditions and limitations due apply).

Hopefully, as the market turmoil settles, we should see more lending institutions ease their standards and start offering more of the common sense-liberal mortgage products again. It usually takes one to lead the pack, and the reset slowly follow.

Freddie Mac has published a resource on how to avoid foreclosure: Freddie Mac: Avoiding Foreclosure .

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.