If you are considering or are currently working with your bank in an attempt for a loan modification, here are some things you need to know before, during and after you apply:

Do NOT wait until you are behind- In the past, banks would only work with homeowners who were at least 30 days behind on their mortgage. Under The Making Home Affordable Program (HAMP), homeowners do not need to be in default to apply for a loan modification. The program guidelines clearly states that the homeowner needs to have a financial hardship and is either delinquent OR in danger of falling behind.
Submit All of Your documents at the same time-As a homeowner, it can be extremely trying to keep up with the endless documentation that your bank will be asking for, but if you submit all of your up-to-date documents in one packet the process will be much smoother.
Call your lender- After you have submitted your packet call your lender to make sure they have received your documents. Often times, homeowners make the mistake of waiting for the lender to get in touch with them. Understand that banks are overwhelmed with modifications. Call 48 hours after you submit all of your documents to make sure they have received them.
Keep Calling-call at least once a week for a loan modification status update. Remember in this process, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Document Everything- Always write down who you spoke with on what date and what the conversation entailed. As a homeowner having a paper trail will be more impactful than you know.
Speak to A Supervisor-Let’s be honest, most front-line loss mitigation representatives receive little training on the loan modification process, and their supervisor can be much more helpful. Do not be afraid to ask to speak to a supervisor, be ready to hold for a while, but it will be well worth the wait.
Don’t take “NO” for an answer- Even though you may not be approved for the HAMP program, most banks have in-house modification programs to keep you in your home. Do not hesitate to reapply for all programs that could be available to you.
In all reality the loan modification process is not guaranteed, but if you have patience and are persistent your odds at getting your loan modified are much better than if you sit back and wait for the banks to reach out to you.

About The Author: Julie Maeda spearheads The Haven Group, a company that helps homeowners with free loan modifications and provides options to struggling homeowners. For more information about the Haven Group visit us at www.thehaventeam.com or call 720-295-HOPE(4673)

(ok, now everyone SEGWAY!)

Who’s the Boss? Who’s in Charge? Why can’t I get anyone to answer any question?

Homeowners were thought to believe that they had some ownership in the home process. When homeowners become delinquent on payments they have started to grant the decision making over to the “guardian” of the home. The bank..

Who’s the Boss? The bank. Who’s in Charge? The bank. Who runs our government and stands behind the DEBIT CARD PURCHASE at Starbucks…………??The Bank…

Ok, enough overly emphasized question marks. Let’s answer some questions.

What can you do when the bank is unreasonable and doesn’t seem to care.?

1) First thing to do. – understand the game and change your state of mind.
2) The banks care but only as far as their “bottom line”.
the banks don’t care if you lost your job, your family, your dog. They want their money and if they can’t get it they want to be able to write it off.
3) Repercussions for the bank – there are NONE. Whatever loss the bank incur will simply be written off as a loss and turned over to the IRS as phantom income for you, the homeowner.

I wish this was a long term problem that would get people rallied together to form a revolution.

thanks,

Brandon Allen
cell 303 956 5247
fax 303 800 8287

Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

• Unemployement is 9.5% (9.7% in colorado)
• The median home price dropped 5.2 percent in February from a year earlier to $156,100, the lowest since April 2002.
• And try to get a decent rate with average credit. Another way for the bank to hold you hostage with unfortunate times.

There is still no land in sight to beach this drifting vessel called the housing industry. Hope and pray that you have enough rations and that the scornful gods of the economy smile down upon you and your family just long enough to beach this ghost ship.

TheHavenTeam.com
MyCompassTeam.com

Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

This new epidemic I have seen 4 times in the last two months with new listings is that the homeowner haven’t wrapped their head around the idea of selling their home. The homeowners are waiting for the white knight to ride in and hand over a new set of keys to the house and everything will go away. I am not trying to be harsh, sinister, or rude but there is ONE WAY to wipe the slate clean with MINIMAL IMPACT and MAXIMUM CONTROL over this period of your life.

Sell your home. Your children took their first steps in that house, you’ve thrown holiday parties in the home, your neighbors are awesome. I understand!! I get it.!

But before you bought this home were you happy, you had other friends, and happy times still happened. That is 100% true. You were happy before and you will be happy again.

Americans survive, Americans adapt and overcome.

To put it another way, trying to sell your home and salvage credit to help your family for the future by completing a short sale ISN’T THE END OF THE WORLD… dying is the end of the world.. And as long as you can claim health and family then you are luckier than a lot of other people.

Always try your hardest to count your blessings because even if the darkest times there are things to be thankful for.

Brandon Allen
Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

But once you can get a buyer and the bank to agree then the road becomes much more clear. The bank’s short sale approval letter will spell out what type of release the 2nd loan is issuing. Is it a “release of lien” meaning they will release the lien on your home? They will often pursue the homeowner for the difference between what the 2nd Loan amount is and what they are being paid at closing from the 1st loan

ie. 2nd loan amount $50,000. The first loan agrees to pay the 2nd loan $5,000. There is a remaining balance of $45,000.

the 2nd loan can then pursue the homeowner for that difference through a judgment, wage garnishment, or collection agency. Good news about going the short sale route is that you can control the outcome by trying to have the bank release that remaining loan balance.

If you walk away they will always typically pursue for the loan balance. You then don’t have a choice.

Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

Simply answer, when it has to do with common sense and taking care of the customer the banks consistently fail in every topic and category. The lose documents over and over, they have lynch men call every night, the don’t relay information in their own systems to other employees, they hold files in limbo until the buyer walks, they tell homeowners they will complete a loan modification and then continue the foreclosure auction..

Horrible Customer Service — How can they pull it off?? Because the ENTIRE WORLD is run by banks and the lending industry. If you bartering bear pelts in the northern region of the Yukon your world might be free of the banking industry. But if you are within the other 99.9999% of the rest of the population is it clear that every purchase from gum to a home is contingent upon bank approval…

Complicated answer, there are so many X’s and O’s that go into banking that the layperson (including myself) has no idea (and never will) of the inner workings of the decisions the that CEO, CFO, or board of directors goes through to come up with protocols for their employees to follow through this foreclosure process. They have balance sheets and stock prices to account for. They DO NOT operate on emotion and or feeling. That is unfortunate for the customer because there are so many heartbreaking stories that I have heard from homeowners that will fall by the wayside.

Follow the Dollar and that will explain to which side the pendulum will lean.. If the stock prices are down the bank will do whatever it has to do to assure its stockholders that they are almost through this crisis. Even if that means writing off a huge amount of losses this quarter but none the next quarter.

thanks,

Brandon Allen
cell 303 956 5247
fax 303 800 8287

Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

Come one come all

SO why not just wait for the ULTIMATE LAST DAY of the housing slump and then buy right before the incline. If you have that ability then you probably wouldn’t have lost 30% in your retirement account in the last 2 years. And if you did see this economic disaster coming you probably won’t be taking my advice on buying a home in this market. You are probably actively seeking out investment properties and boosting your portfolio.

Can you buy a home now????? If you don’t have a job, then the answer is no. But if you have a stable job with marginal equity in your home you may be able to use your 401K or IRA to purchase a home. Look into it.

Go to http://www.irs.gov/faqs/ to check out the IRS FAQ’s on the subject.

thanks,

Brandon Allen

Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

The moral of the story is this.
1) Foreclosure are NOT going away.
2) There are alot of people that are going through this.

What do to do and what to expect.

1) Find someone you can trust.
2) Expect a long long process of dealing with the bank INABILITY TO USE COMMON SENSE

Brandon

Compass Realty Services
Foreclosure Assistance 720 295 HOPE

For the hardest hit areas (cali., fla., nevada) home prices and foreclosures are still on the rise. Which in turn is causing values to fall. The midwest has seen meager declines. Check out MSNBC’s interactive map to how your value and unemployment rates are. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29976394/ns/business-stocks_and_economy

Next question, WHY?
1) shadow inventory – this is the housing inventory that the bank has taken back but has yet to put back on the market.
2) unemployment – until this number improves housing values will stay very flat.
3) foreclosures – all of these are intertwined. People losing jobs might lose their homes which might create more shadow inventory
thank you

Brandon Allen

720 295 HOPE for foreclosure assistance

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