New jersey State foreclosures at 16%, South Jersey Falls

by Nancy Woodward

Foreclosures in the south jersey area in the third quarter declined seven percent. Unfortunately forclosures in Cape May County rose thirteen percent during the same period.

These numbers are still below the state average of sixteen percent and the national average of thirty percent.

Realty Trac Inc. calculated the numbers. They are a tracking firm based in Irvine, California with a major presence on the internet.

I have used the site to find foreclosures in the New Jersey area.

Pre-foreclosure Homeowners

Contacting Homeowners in Pre-Foreclosure Situations
By Nancy Woodward

I try to put myself in their place. Homeowners who have received legal documents leading to Foreclosure are in a very stressful situation. They are grasping at anything they can to make this situation go away. Some homeowners remain in denial for a long time.

Situations beyond their control can cause a financial drain resulting in default such as:

1. Medical problems
2. Divorce
3. Death
4. Loss of a job
5. Natural disasters


I have considered this issue many times. I have never been in this position and have trouble imaging how the homeowner feels.

I created a list of questions to review before contacting a homeowner for the first time:

1. How would I feel if I had defaulted on my mortgage loan?
2. How would I feel if I were receiving a ton of mail offering to abate my foreclosure?
3. Can I trust the people sending this mail to me to help me and treat me respectfully?
4. How will my family and friends perceive this situation I am in?
5. Will I ever be able to buy Real Estate again?
6. Will I be forced to file bankruptcy?
7. Can I sell this house myself?

I find if I spend a moment reviewing my list before I knock on the homeowners door, I have more compassion and listen well before I speak. I bring homeowners my Foreclosure Assistance Guide. I make suggestion they can pursue on their own.

I explain the reasons they should stop the foreclosure and some of the misconceptions related to this process. I provide a list of questions they can review with their mortgage broker, attorney and realtor, and the foreclosure agent in the Loss Mitigation Department.

Foreclsures

What should I do to Avoid Real Estate Foreclosure?
By Nancy Woodward

If you are in this position, you have certainly experienced financial difficulties. You may or may not be behind in your mortgage payments. When you realize you are having problems, you should make a list of your creditors and begin contacting them.

The worst thing you can do is to ignore the situation and assume it will take care of itself. Lenders and creditors do not want to take legal action. They are willing to work with sincere people who are experiencing temporary problems.

So, you should:

1. Write a complete list of your creditors
2. Find documentation of your loans to obtain the following information -
a. Your loan number
b. Payment amount
c. Due date
3. Calculate your current living expenses.
4. Determine if you need to decrease expenses and/or payments of liabilities and for who long.
5. Call your lenders

While this sounds simple in theory, you may experience problems reaching persons in authority who can help you. You need to find the right department and person who are handling your account.

Create a spread sheet. Track all calls you make and the conversations you have with lenders. You should know the name of the person you are talking to and what their position is in the company. You need to follow up yourself.

Ask your mortgage lender for help and information. Perhaps they will allow you to refinance your mortgage, take out an equity loan, or pursue forbearance. Once you make it clear that you are willing to work with them, you will stand a better chance of avoiding foreclosure.

Foreclosures

Foreclosure is now a sad reality of life for many homeowners
By Nancy Woodward

Foreclosures in general have been on the rise for over a year. At this time, sub prime borrowers are scrambling to refinance their loans. They payments have now skyrocketed and homeowners realize they must find a way to reduce the loan payment now. Tighter lending standards put into place by Federal Regulators in recent months are making it more difficult to refinance subprime loans.

According to Brett Warren, president of Buyer’s Home Mortgage Inc., as recently as six months ago, most requests to refinance were from homeowners wanting to reduce their interest rates or take equity from their property. Today, most requests are coming from subprime borrowers trying to reduce payments.

Many of these homeowners obtained loans with teaser rates and high fees. Some now find themselves in a position where the equity in their home is negative. As the number of resetting loans increase, so will the foreclosure rate.

Philadelphia and New Jersey have a majority of mortgages in the prime rate area. These seem to have a lower foreclosure rate according to Mortgage Bankers Association. The highest increases in foreclosures last month were in California and Florida, followed by Ohio and Michigan. The firing of employees in the automotive industry had a direct impact on this.

While this number will continue to increase, homeowners should seek help before they reach the foreclosure point. There are ways to solve the problem.