Foreclosure help for Miami-Dade families

Miami, Florida, like many other US cities, is suffering from a drastic rise in home foreclosures. According to foreclosure filing statistics from the Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts , county foreclosures in 2009 are up 62% since last year.

Besides Help for Homeowners Program and Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan offered by the Federal Government, the City of Miami's Department of Community Development Foreclosure Program is assisting eligible, low income homeowners that are facing foreclosure within the city limits

The program will supply qualified applicants with $7,500 to assist homeowners pay for late fees and delinquent payments associated with their home mortgages.

The program is only available to property owners that posses one property and, if eligible, are receiving foreclosure prevention counseling from a HUD-certified counseling agency. There are six other qualifiers home owners must meet to be eligible for this program. To view the complete list of requirements visit the City of Miami website .

Applications are currently available at the Department of Community Development, 444 SW 2nd Ave., Second Floor, Miami, FL 33130 and on the web for downloading at:

www.miamigov.com/communitydevelopment

Applications will be accepted at the Department of Community Development. Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-ready, first-served basis. For additional information on the program, please call 305-416-2016 or 311.

Foreclosures Predicted to Soar in California

California is about to get hit by another foreclosure wave.

Pre-foreclosure notices in the state jumped by 80% in the first quarter of 2009 from the previous quarter, according to a new report from DataQuick Information Systems of San Diego, a sign that foreclosures in California will rise sharply in the coming months.

Foreclosure moratoria and a state law that slowed down foreclosures had artificially depressed new foreclosure filings at the beginning of the year. The newest data shows how those foreclosures are wending through the system as lenders play “catch-up.”

Some 135,000 default notices were sent out in the first three months of the year, an 80% increase from the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 19% increase from the previous year period. That’s higher than any quarter DataQuick has measured since its tally began in 1992.

The DataQuick report also found that foreclosure activity was spreading out from the state’s most affordable (and batteredOK?) inland regions, reaching areas that have been less affected to date. Those affordable housing markets, which have 25% of the state’s housing stock, accounted for 47.5% of all default activity during the quarter, down from 52% last year. Notices of default jumped by 40%, for example, in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast. Defaults were up by 38% in Los Angeles County and by 35% in San Francisco.

Mortgages made in 2006 were the most likely to trigger a default notice, and those loans had a 8.5% default rate. Loans made in 2005 had a 4.9% default rate, while those made in 2004 had a default rate of less than 1%.

Texans could get more time for homes in foreclosures

Texans who fall behind on their mortgage payments would get more time to try to save their homes under legislation approved by the Texas Senate.

Under current law, Texas homeowners have just 20 days to cure a loan default before lenders foreclose on them. It is one of the shortest foreclosure notice periods in country.

The bill approved Friday, a top priority of Attorney General Greg Abbott, would extend that period to 45 days. The bill passed unanimously and now moves to the state House.

Foreclosure Bailout Information

The government's foreclosure bailout program, unveiled on Wednesday, February 18th, doesn't start until March Fourth. At that time it's up to the homeowner to contact their lender. And that's when lenders start taking applications for loan modifications.

In the meantime, gather the paper work like you would with any refinancing and do what housing counselors are doing ... learn all you can about the program.

The government program is meant to stop home values in the Tri-State and nationwide from falling. The help is for people behind on their payments and even those who aren't behind but are at risk of that happening.

An offer of an interest rate reduction or even principal reduction could be the catalyst behind making things "better". It could help many two income families that are now one income due to job loss.

In general you qualify if your mortgage payment is greater than 31 percent of your gross monthly income. It's voluntary on the part of lenders but the program also allows for bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage terms and that may be motivation.

This program isn't for homeowners already in foreclosure, "It's likely that if you're already in foreclosure this may have a spillover effect to improve the modifications we can get."

Housing counselors understand the frustration of homeowners who aren't in need of mortgage help and see tax money used on others but point out if your neighbor's home is in foreclosure your home value drops by thousands.

"The government today said $6000, but studies in Hamilton and Clermont say it's $10,000."

This isn't for people who just want a better interest rate. But if you do qualify for the program and haven't been late on your payments, I've been told loan modification should not impact your credit rating.

Finally, if this program might be for you consider having a housing counselor walk you through it. Call 211 for a referral.

Contact Your Lender Immediately

Many people avoid calling lenders about money troubles because we:

1) Feel embarrassed discussing money problems with others.

2) Believe that if lenders know we are in trouble, they will automatically rush to a collection agency or foreclosure (seize property for failure to pay a mortgage debt).


But lenders want to help borrowers keep their homes because:

1) Foreclosure is expensive for lenders, mortgage insurers and investors.

2) HUD and private mortgage insurance companies and investors like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae require lenders to work aggressively to help borrowers facing money problems.


Lenders have workout options (choices) to help you and:

1) These options work best when your loan is only one or two payments behind.

2) The farther behind you are on your payments, the fewer options are available .


Don't assume that your problems will quickly correct themselves:

Don't lose valuable time being overly optimistic.

Contact your mortgage lender to discuss your circumstances as soon as you realize that you're unable to make your payments.

Look forward to your lender being willing to explore many possible solutions, without guaranteeing any one particular solution.


Finding Your Lender

Check the following sources to contact your lender:

Your monthly mortgage billing statement

Your payment coupon book

Information to have ready when you call:

Your loan account number

A brief explanation of your circumstances

Recent income documents:

+ Pay stubs

+ Benefit statements from Social Security, disability, unemployment, retirement, or public assistance

+Tax returns or a year-to-date profit and loss statement, if self-employed

+A list of household expenses

Expect to have more than one phone conversation with your lender. Typically, your lender will mail you a "loan workout" package. This package contains information, forms and instructions. If you want to be considered for assistance you must complete the forms fully and truthfully and return them to your lender quickly. Your lender will review the complete package before talking about a solution with you.

Explore Solutions With Your Lender

First and foremost, if you can keep your mortgage current, do so. But if you find you are unable to make your mortgage payments, you might qualify for a loan workout option. Check with your lender to see which option may be available. Some options may not apply to your loan if it is not insured by FHA.

If your problem is temporary - call your lender to discuss these possibilities:

Reinstatement: Your lender is always willing to discuss accepting the total amount owed in a lump sum by a specific date. Forbearance may accompany this option.

Forbearance: Your lender may allow you to reduce or suspend payments for a short period of time and then agree to another option to bring your loan current. A forbearance option is often combined with a reinstatement when you know you will have enough money to bring the account current at a specific time. The money might come from a hiring bonus, investment, insurance settlement, or tax refund.

Repayment plan: You may be able to get an agreement to resume making your regular monthly payments, plus a portion of the past due payments each month until you are caught up.

If it appears that your situation is long-term or will permanently affect your ability to bring your account current - call your lender to discuss options:

Mortgage modification: If you can make payments on your loan, but don't have enough money to bring your account current or you can't afford your current payment, your lender may be able to change the terms of your original loan to make the payments more affordable. Your loan could be permanently changed in one or more of the following ways:

1) Adding the missed payments to the existing loan balance.

2) Changing the interest rate, including making an adjustable rate into a fixed rate.

3) Extending the number of years you have to repay.

Partial Claim: If your mortgage is insured, your lender might help you get a one-time interest-free loan from your mortgage guarantor to bring your account current. You may be allowed to wait several years before repaying this loan. You qualify for an FHA partial claim if:

1) Your loan is between 4 and 12 months delinquent

2) You are able to begin making full mortgage payments again

When your lender files a partial claim, HUD will pay your lender the amount necessary to bring your mortgage current. You must sign a promissory note, and a lien will be placed on your property until the promissory note is paid in full.

The promissory note is interest-free and is due when you pay off the first mortgage or when you sell the property.