Cash for Keys Increase?

While I usually write about info that can be of assistance in avoiding foreclosure, today's bit involves a process that usually only pops up immediately before foreclosure or afterwards when the owners/occupants are still living there. It is called Cash for Keys, and means exactly what the term says. It is a way of the lender getting full possession of the property, vacant and empty, without having to wait for an eviction or other drawn out process to empty the home. Usually, CFK can be anywhere from $500 to $5,000, depending on locale, bank, and particular circumstances of the situation. However, according to an article in the Financial Times, there is a move to require the five largest lenders to offer up to a max of $21,000 in CFK. At this stage, it's just a proposal, and final terms and/or agreement from the lenders have not occurred. When/if we hear more, we'll post immediately.

Good luck.

A Few Very Interesting Items

Hello, again! It's been a few days, but we haven't forgotten any of you. Whenever we have something of importance that can help you, we're blogging to get the news out.

Yesterday, the folks at Freddie Mac announced that they have issued new guidelines to servicing companies barring any further foreclosures if Mortgage Electronic Registration Services (the dreaded MERS) is involved. You may recall that MERS is the institution that was heavily involved in the robo-signing scandal of last fall. Fannie Mae had previously made this decision and now Freddie has joined the party. This ruling covers any MERS registered mortgages referred for foreclosure after April 1, 2011. How do you know if your loan is MERS-registered? Pay close attention to any documents relating to notices of default, notices of sale or anything else you receive relative to the potential of your home being foreclosed upon. It should include some reference to MERS or its full name (above). If in doubt, ask your lender if you are MERS-registered.

Separately, last week, after the Republican-led House finished trying to decimate any rules that might help you avoid foreclosure, one of the House members began to circulate a bill draft to possibly replace one of the recommended programs the House wants to cancel. Not enough details are yet available as it's still in committee, but once we learn the details, we'll pass them along.

Keep fighting and good luck!

HOUSE DOES IT AGAIN!

For those of you facing possible foreclosure & loss of your home because you lost a job and thus don't have the money to make your payments, take note & come November 2012, REMEMBER! The program that existed to provide loans for up to 6 months of your mortgage payments came under fire from Republicans who voted on a bill to kill this form of help. If this bill were to pass the Senate and get signed by the President, it would end this very necessary helpful assistance to those of you who are unable to pay your mortgage due to a loss of job. I hate to be political here--I just want to help those of you needing help, but when I see a good program designed to do just that--help those who, through no fault of their own who need the help to pay their mortgages and save their homes--get gutted, I have to do more than just shake my head and say, "Too bad." This is the second vote of this type in two days in the House, and while it is unlikely to pass the Senate, and, if it did, very likely to be vetoed by Pres. Obama, the very fact that your elected reps care so little about your well being DEMANDS that you respond now by writing your elected reps in both houses of Congress, and respond again next year at election time to show them that this game goes BOTH ways!
Get moving NOW!!

House Votes to Kill Help

Well, as discussed here twice recently, the House of Reps voted yesterday on the first of four sources of help for financially troubled homeowners. As expected, the largely party-line vote, led by the Republicans, voted to KILL the FHA's Short Refi Program. Vote was 256-171. Designed to help homeowners whose homes were worth less than the amount owed on the mortgage(s),it allowed homeowners to refi with FHA at a lower loan amount. It has to now clear the Senate before going to the President, so perhaps there is hope that the bill will not become law. Obama has said he'll veto, but why let it get that far? But you must contact your Senators to insure this horrible piece of legislation dies without becoming law. I don't want to jump on a soapbox here, but I fail to see what the problem is with helping people keep their homes--NO MATTER WHAT YOUR POLITICAL AFFILIATION! The House wants to stop this helpful program. Guess none of them are at risk of foreclosure.

Bits & Pieces

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who follows this blog for your visits. Hopefully, you're finding my info of assistance to you in keeping your home. While info can change in some cases almost daily there is a good basic sourcebook to have handy for many different ideas and sources of help in avoiding foreclosure. It's my book, "Save Your House From Foreclosure". Published by iUniverse, it's available from Amazon.com or iUniverse.com . List price is $10.95, although I don't know what, if any discount may be available from Amazon.com . Hope you find it helpful, and keep your browser pointed here to the blog, as I try to give you continuing updates on what's happening out in the world to avoid foreclosure.

Good Luck!

Write Your Congressman & Senators--NOW!!

Very recently, I strongly recommended any of you out there facing foreclosure to immediately write, call, text or email your representatives in Washington to oppose legislation on four bills that would terminate programs designed to help people such as yourselves in avoiding foreclosure. Well, an update: two of those bills, on a totally party line vote, passed House Committee and now go to the full House for consideration. The other two are still in committee.The two bills going to the full House would then go to the Senate if they pass the House. The Democrats, who control the Senate, oppose both bills, so, if the bills get that far, the likelihood is that they'd be defeated. But do you want to take a chance on someone being swayed during negotiations and hearings to vote for the bills? I wouldn't! Protect yourself! Contact your reps NOW & tell them to vote NO on both bills. They are titled HR 830 and HR 836, for your easy reference.
The former targets the existing program that allows a homeowner whose home is worth less than the mortgage to refinance into a new loan that's FHA-insured if the lender will agree to write off at least 10% of the original loan balance.

The latter bill tries to end the program that was created this past summer to help homeowners who've lost their jobs by giving them a "bridge" loan to cover past due loan payments and up to a max of 24 months of loan payments on the mortgage while the homeowner seeks employment. What can be so terrible about a program that helps you save your home?!
Do it NOW!
Good luck!

Foreclosures Suspended At HSBC

Due to cease and desist letters received from both the Controller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve, HSBC has suspended all foreclosures for the time being. These orders were due to regulators discovering "irregularities" in the processing and documentation of their mortgage loans and pending foreclosures. If you have a loan with HSBC, you may want to call them, or call the Office of the Controller in Washington (call information or go online).
Good luck.