I would imagine this might offend some people but I’m going to express my opinion anyway.

First of all, I feel bad for anyone who losing their home to foreclosure. It’s a shame as it’s always been the American dream to own a house.

Now there has been some government help available to help people keep from losing their homes, but that really doesn’t seemed to have worked.

One of the biggest problems is so many people purchased homes that were well above what they could afford. Using special financing such as ARM’s (adjustable rate mortgage) has become a problem down the line. Now ARM’s has gotten a bad reputation because of the financial situation in the 80′s. They have improved with maximum rate adjustment caps and mandatory rate disclosure regulations to protect and educate borrowers, but that doesn’t change the current foreclosure situation.

I feel more sorry for someone who had a job and purchased a home well within their means. They felt assured they could continue making the payments until their mortgage was eventually paid off. Then, for reasons beyond their control, such as a lay off or unforeseen medical expenses, they now can no longer afford their house.

If anyone deserves help, they are the ones. The persons who bought a home they knew they couldn’t afford for whatever reason, status symbol being one of the big reasons; that’s another story. I feel bad for them but I don’t want my tax money bailing them out.

I bought a old house to start out, sold it and bought my current house, and now have it paid off. Good thing too because my wife’s medical bills have become massive. There were houses we really wanted but knew we couldn’t afford, as is probably the case with many of you reading this.Had we bought one of those houses and lost it because we couldn’t make payments, we would have been devastated but, when the smoke cleared, would have wrote it off to being greedy or over zealous.

My point to all this rambling? If you are considering buying a new home, buy within your means. If you don’t, foreclosure might be in your future.

Estate Foreclosure

If you get to the point where you are thirty days overdue on your mortgage, you might not get a foreclosure default notice right away, but you’re reaching the point where you are making the estate foreclosure real possible.

Ever since the Depression, mortgages have been regulated in an attempt to make the bank’s estate foreclosure really hard to do. The reason is that, in the past, the bank could call in the mortgage even when you weren’t late, which ended up costing millions of people their home when the stock market fell and banks had a run on their money. Kind of sucks, doesn’t it?!

They called in most debts that could be called in, and unfortunately, those people that didn’t own their home outright had the balance of their loans called in, leaving them helpless and homeless. How could they come up with so much money so quickly? That’s why they financed their home in the first place.

This can’t happen today because there are safeguards in place that don’t allow a bank to foreclose unless you meet specific criteria. The government has also set up programs to help those facing foreclosure, although the effects of this program are being debated.

A Typical Time line For Foreclosure Process

In order to know if the estate foreclosure real possibility exists for you, you should be aware that there is a typical time line that most foreclosures follow. It can vary by state and the process can be interrupted at any time that you manage to bring your account current.

The first step is when you are over 90 days late with your mortgage payment. In between the time you are first late with your payment and the 90 day window time frame, you should contact your lender.

This is the best time to make sure that you don’t have an estate foreclosure problem. Working with your lender can buy you some additional time and help you to negotiate a workout of your, particularly if you are suffering a temporary setback. Otherwise, after 90 days late and attempts to contact you with no response can lead your lender to file a foreclosure lawsuit in court.

Foreclosure Getting Close

From there, the clock starts ticking. You will receive a court summons. You have to respond in a set period of time or after that you get into big estate foreclosure real problems. You may end up with a default judgment and the lender is now making plans to sell your house at auction.
The entire process can be in as little as 180 days, although the process in some states can linger for up to 8 to 12 months, depending on your actions. Be sure to check with your state to find out what your time line is if you are facing an estate foreclosure real possibility so you can attempt to stop the foreclosure now.

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Free Foreclosure Report

Foreclosure does not happen overnight. The problem is too many homeowners ignore the warnings and take no action until it is too late. Don’t let that happen to you.

First month missed payment – your lender will contact you by letter or phone.

Second month missed payment – your lender is most likely going to begin calling you to discuss why you have not made your payments. It is important that you take their phone calls. Talk to your lender and explain your situation and what you are trying to do to resolve it. At this time, you still may be able to make one payment to prevent yourself from falling three months behind.

Third month missed payment after the third payment is missed, you will receive a letter from your lender stating the amount you are delinquent, and that you have 30 days to bring your mortgage current. This is called a “Demand Letter” or “Notice to Accelerate.” If you do not pay the specified amount or make some type of arrangements by the given date, the lender may begin foreclosure proceedings. They are unlikely to accept less than the total due without arrangements being made if you receive this letter. You still have time to work something out with your lender.

Fourth month missed payment – Caution – - – You are nearing the end of time allowed in your Demand or Notice to Accelerate Letter. When the 30 days ends, if you have not paid the full amount or worked our arrangements you will be referred to your lender’s attorneys. You will incur all attorney fees as part of your delinquency.

Sheriff’s or Public Trustee’s Sale – the attorney will schedule a Sale. This is the actual day of foreclosure. You may be notified of the date by mail, a notice is taped to your door, and the sale may be advertised in a local paper. The time between the Demand or Notice to Accelerate Letter and the actual Sale varies by state. In some states it can be as quick as 2-3 months. This is not the move-out date, but the end is near. You have until the date of sale to make arrangements with your lender, or pay the total amount owed, including attorney fees.

Redemption Period – after the sale date, you may enter a redemption period. You will be notified of your time frame on the same notice that your state uses for your Sheriff’s or Public Trustee’s Sale.

Important: Stay in contact with your lender, and get assistance as early as possible. All dates are estimated and vary according to your state and your mortgage company.

Watch Out for the Common Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Scams

Unfortunately there are always those people out there looking to prey on people who are going through tough times. Beware of foreclosure scams. This article is well worth your time to read.

Lease-Back or Repurchase Scams -In this scenario, a promise is made to pay off your delinquent mortgage, repair your credit and possibly pay off credit cards and other debt. However, in order to do this, you must “temporarily” sign your deed over to a “third party” investor. You are allowed to stay in the home as a renter with the option to purchase the home back after a certain amount of time has passed or your financial situation improves.

The trouble is once you have signed away your rights in your property, you may not be able to repurchase the property later, even if you can and want to. After the new owner takes ownership of your property, the new owner can evict you. Furthermore, the scammer is under no obligation to sell the house back to you.

Typically, after the deed is signed away, the property changes hands numerous times. The scammer may have taken a new mortgage out on your home for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than your mortgage, making it impossible for you to buy back your home.

Partial Interest Bankruptcy Scams – The scam operator asks you to give a partial interest in your home to one or more persons. You then make mortgage payments to the scam operator in lieu of paying the delinquent mortgage.

However, the scam operator does not pay the existing mortgage or seek new financing. Each holder of a partial interest then files bankruptcy, one after another, without your knowledge. The bankruptcy court will issue a “stay” order each time to stop foreclosure temporarily. However, the stay does not excuse you from making payments or from repaying the full amount of your loan.

This complicates and delays foreclosure, while allowing the scam operator to maintain a stream of income by collecting payments from you, the victim. Bankruptcy laws provide important protections to consumers. This scam can only temporarily delay foreclosure, and may keep you from using bankruptcy laws legitimately to address your financial problems.

Refinance Scams – While there are legitimate refinancing programs available, look out for people posing as mortgage brokers or lenders offering to refinance your loan so you can afford the payments. The scammer presents you with “foreclosure rescue” loan documents to sign. You are told that the documents are for a refinance loan that will bring the mortgage current.

What you don’t realize is that you are surrendering ownership of your home. The “loan” documents are actually deed transfer documents, and the scammer counts on your not actually reading the paperwork. Once the deed transfer is executed, you believe your home has been rescued from foreclosure for months or even years until you receive an eviction notice and discover you no longer own your home. At that point, it is often too late to do anything about the deed transfer.

Internet and Phone Scams – Some scam lenders convince you to apply for a low-interest mortgage loan on the phone or Internet. They then extract vital information, such as your social security and bank account numbers. In this scam, the loan is immediately accepted, after which you start faxing the documents and sending wire transfer payments to the phony company without even meeting the lender.

Unfortunately, this scam will put you in twice as much trouble–your personal details have been stolen or sold, putting you at risk of identity theft, and your home is still at risk of foreclosure.

Phantom Help Scams – The scam operator presents himself as someone who is able to help a homeowner out of foreclosure or qualify for a government loan modification or refinance program. In exchange for his or her “services,” outrageous fees are charged and grand promises are made for robust representation, which never occurs.

The “services” performed entail light paperwork or occasional phone calls that you could easily have made yourself. In the end, you are worse off than before, because you have little or no time to save your home, or seek other assistance.