Lehigh Valley Real Estate - Tips 4 Homeowners, Buyers & Agents

Lehigh Valley Foreclosure  & Real Estate Avoid Foreclosure Scams in PA: What you need to know about Avoiding Foreclosure in the Lehigh Valley - You should not PAY A DIME for getting help to Avoid Foreclosure in the LV

Okay, Here is a Brief List of the things you should look out for when you are trying to get more information about Avoiding Foreclosure. If you would like more details about the information below..just go to my website. www.AvoidForeclosureScams.com

1) If you are hiring a Real Estate Agent to conduct the Short Sale or Pre-Foreclosure on your home and You ask them what is the process for getting a short sale approved with the bank and their answer is "Well, It depends on the Bank every bank does it different" This is proof that the agent you are talking to has not been education about how to handle the short sale process.

2) You DO NOT need to be behind on your Mortgage to conduct a short sale or Pre-Foreclosure on your property.

3) You DO NOT need to pay ANYONE to conduct a Loan Modification, you can get help from CACLV a local non profit organization in the Lehigh Valley. You can also do it yourself by contacting your Mortgage Co...be we know the stress involved in that.

4) If you get a letter in the mail regarding helping you Avoid Foreclosure... Do not listen to anyone that Garantee's helping you avoid foreclosure...because there is no garrantee!  That is a A BUNCH OF BS. We can try our best to help you but there are so many factors that determine if anyone can help or not...that it is impossible to garrantee anything.

5) DO NOT PAY ANY FEE'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Help is here for FREE!

6) Beware, if you are working with a Real Estate Agent who is working with an investor...and NOT charging you a fee! Because this means the investor is making money in a different way...they do not work for free.  So, if you do not know what is going on and how they are making money...there is a problem and it may include fraud. See, FBI site on the 2008 Mortgage Fraud "Year in Review".

7) You can get links and FREE help from www.AvoidForeclosureScams.com - If you are a Lehigh Valley Resident and need help, all I ask is you give me the first opportunity to help you and then tell others what you think about my website and techniques in helping homeowners in the Lehigh Valley, Referrals are my lifeline.

8) Okay...so this is just a FEW pointers...but don't take it from me take it from the President of the United States, & the FBI!

Here Watch President Obama for under 7mins about The Making Home Affordable Program.

Other Helpful Blogs covering this subject
Foreclosure Alternatives
Homeowners guide to Selling by Pre-Foreclosure/Short Sale
9 Reasons to Avoid a Lehigh Valley Foreclosure

* Lehigh Valley Foreclosure & Real Estate Avoid Foreclosure Scams in PA* Moriah Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Lehigh Valley Foreclosure - A Homeowners guide to selling your home Pre-Foreclosure / short sale in the Lehigh Valley, What's is the process and Basics to selling your home to Avoid a Foreclosure on your credit.

The Pre Foreclosure/Short Sale Process can be very confusing, disorganized, not to mention complicated if not impossible to do for someone who has NOT been Trained properly to handle the Details of this important process.

We would like to keep things simple .... and Give you The Basics about How we Handle our Short Sale Process for Lehigh Valley Homeowners.

Our approach to the Short Sale Process is working as a TEAM.
The Short Sale process is almost impossible to be completed efficiently by one Real Estate Agent (in our opinion) Brian Segel handles the Typical Listing and Marketing of your Property and Moriah Martin handles all of the Paperwork, communication, and negotiation with the Bank (s).

1) First Contact with a Homeowner is by Phone. We will ask various questions that will confirm if the Homeowner qualifies for a short sale and if we can help them.

2) If the Homeowner qualifies for a Short Sale,The next step is to schedule a meeting at our office. The homeowner will be requested to bring with them various documents pertaining to their Mortgage & Income. We will provide the homeowner with this information by postal mail or email with the Appointment Confirmation Letter.

3) During the Office Apppointment we will review with you The Short Sale and Foreclosure process, this way you know what to expect and when to expect it. The meeting is for preparing all the documentation we will need to handle the Short Sale process for you. The Listing Agreement will also be signed at this meeting.

4) Within 5 days, we will vist your home to gather all the information needed to prepare the Cost of Repairs Report if needed and Prepare your Home to be listed on the Lehigh Valley MLS. Photos will be taken at this time, a For Sale sign and Lockbox will be installed.

5) Your Home will be listed on the Lehigh Valley MLS within 48 hours.


How the Short Sale Process is handled with YOU and your Mortgage Co. (Just the Basic's)

1) Your Home MUST be listed at or just under current market value - The list price of your property needs to be as close to current market value as possible.  Remember, when we value your home we will compare recent sold and settled properties in your same community and then after preparing a Cost of Repair Report including photo's (if needed) this will be subtracted from the current market value if the homes that have recently sold...where ready to move in and required no repairs.  The listing price is really important as it needs to be exactly where the comps prove it should be.

2) Your Mortgage Company really does not care what anyone wants to sell/purchase the property for, that includes the Real Estate Agents, The seller, and The buyer.  The Mortgage Company needs to get proof of the current market value of the property as everyone knows that the current market value is LESS than what is owned on the property...or a the very least including closing costs and all other sales fee's and costs that the bank will be taking less than agreed for the Loan.  So, LET'S be blunt.  If the property is listed too low then the bank will counter that offer and if it is too high...then the home will not appraise.  So, The key is to list it where it needs to be AND generate multiple offers.  A Multiple offer situation only occurs when a property is list just at or under the current market price.

3) If there are no showings - The List Price needs to be reduced every 2 weeks at the least!  Most Mortgage Companies require that we have a complete short sale package to submit to them and this includes a REAL offer signed by the buyer.  So, even if the offer is a low ball offer...it is an offer signed by a REAL buyer and we are moving the wheels toward approval. We do not submit Fake or unsigned Buyer Offers (Mortgage Companies are not stupid)

4) The Seller Can not make any profit from the sale of the property and they are not required to conduct regular maintenace on the property...because if they had the money to make repairs..they would have the money to make their mortgage payment and homeowner may live in the property during the entire short sale process which is on average 90 days. (if you are working with us)

5) The seller Does not need to be BEHIND on Mortgage Payments to conduct a short sale or Pre-Foreclosure sale on their home in the Lehigh Valley.  Most Financial Hardships can be seen into the future.....Most homeowners use savings and 401K and credit cards to try and keep up with their bills before they just can not make ends meet any longer and the Mortgage Payment then starts falling behind. 

6) The Seller no longer has any contact with the Mortgage company - They will no longer receive phone calls all times of the day.  Moriah handles ALL communication and negotiations with the Bank.

7) We have an online Service Check up site available 24/7 for you to log in with your secure and confidential user name & password to see exactly what we are doing to process your short sale.  We make a committment to update this site NO LATER than every Friday at 5pm. Weekly progress is a must!

8) We will never tell you that it is a "waiting game" - We proactively work toward progress every week as we have a 90 day closing system and if we follow the system and the Mortgage company does not follow our system...we find the people that will help us follow the system and get the answers.  Weekly followup is the key...as changes are made quickly in the Short Sale department with Most Mortgage Companies.

Again this is just the basics and not everything involved with process a Pre-Foreclosure / Short Sale but at least it gives you a bit more information than you might have had before.

We are here to answer all your questions and tell you if this is the best option for you...OUR 1st Priority is to help you stay in your home.

Of course a Video for you too...Who can help me with a Short Sale?

Other Helpful Blogs covering this subject

Foreclosure Alternatives
9 Reasons to Avoid Foreclosure
Lehigh Valley Foreclosure Scams to Avoid

* Lehigh Valley Foreclosure A Homeowners Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure by Pre-Foreclosure/Short Sale* Moriah Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Lehigh Valley Foreclosure & Real Estate 9 Reasons to Avoid Foreclosure in the Lehigh Valley area. Are you facing a foreclosure on your Lehigh Valley Home? Have you heard of a Pre-Foreclosure Sale / Short Sale?

Are you facing facts that you may not have any other choice than to foreclose on your home? Have you been through all your options and there is just no way you will be able to afford to stay in  your home? Well, if that is the case...there still is an option left to TRY.  We say try because NO ONE can guarantee success but, we can tell you that trained to help distressed Lehigh Valley Homeowners with a Financial Hardship, Have you heard of a Pre-Foreclosure Sale/Short Sale?

First, Let me just tell you that it's not your Fault!!! I know what it feels like...I have been through the devistation and stress this causes a family...because I have been through this with my family and I know what you need and how you need to be handled as I felt the pain first
hand.  I will never forget how this felt to my family and we do not need to add to your future all the negative that a foreclosure can have on your future....Let's setup your future to be better.

Why you should Highly Consider Avoiding Foreclosure


You may have heard a few things about a pre-foreclosure sale or short sale...but, maybe you were unable to get details about why it is a better direction to try before letting your home go through the foreclosure process.

1) You will Always have to disclose the fact that you had a foreclosure on any mortgage and/or job applications. This is the only credit item that even after it comes off your credit report still affects your future rates.

2) Credit score can be lowered by 300 points or more. Most devasting credit issue you can have in relation to future credit availability.

3) The one credit report item that is impossible to have "repaired" in most cases even worse than Bankruptcy.

4) You may end up with a Deficiency Jugement 100% of the time on a Foreclosure. In a Short Sale Situation, in most cases we can get the bank to give up their right to a Deficiency Jugement.

5) Many Employers run credit checks - Foreclosure is the number one item they are looking for due to desperate situations and access to financial files. This can affect current employment and future employment. Example: Most Cashiers are let go immediately as this is a High Liability to the employer.

6) Most Security Clearance Positions can be jeopardized and in many cases suspended - This would include but not be limited to - Military, Police, and computer positions.

7) You may be responsible for any deficiencies after foreclosure for an indetermined period of time. PA does allow for deficiency judgements which can land the homeowner into never ending collections.

8) Your Bank will NO Longer be contacting you. As your Short Sale Expert, we will shelter you from the stress of dealing with the bank (s), the phone calls will stop and all communication and negotiations will be handled by us. We will explore every option with you and work towards a resolution on your behalf.

9) While it may not seem like it now, There will come a time when you look back on this situation and will want to know you did everything you could. You are now NOT ALONE, we are here with open arms to help you through.

There is never any charges for the assistance provided to you for our Short Sale services. We are trained and have the experience to help homeowners take advantage of the Pre-Foreclosure/Short Sale option, and proactively help resolve their mortgage situation. The Bank will pay any and ALL FEES associated with the sale and settlement of your property to a
new buyer. This includes, but is not limited to, all closings costs,back taxes due, apprisal Fees, Title Fees, State Transfer Tax and commissions to the Buyer Agent and our services for processing and negotiating with your mortgage company.

You should NEVER Pay any Fee's to get help with any of the above services!

Other Helpful Blogs covering this subject
Foreclosure Alternatives
Homeowners guide to Selling by Pre-Foreclosure/Short Sale
Lehigh Valley Foreclosure Scams to Avoid

* Lehigh Valley Foreclosure & Real Estate 9 Reasons to Avoid Foreclosure in the Lehigh Valley* Moriah Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Lehigh Valley Foreclosure & Real Estate The Alternatives to Foreclosure - What Alternatives are available to you and who can help you in the Lehigh Valley at NO CHARGE?
You Do Have Options to Avoid Foreclosure in the Lehigh Valley

"Success in a Distressed Situation does not mean a closed sale"

We will help you understand what options are available to you as well as let you know how you can work with a Local Non Profit organization in our area to take advantage of these options.

Forbearance: Repayment Plan, If the reason for distress was temporary and resolved, This requires Lender approval, Homeowner allowed to make payments over time (12 month loan), Normally does not reinstate the mortgage until the plan is completed. There's a Catch: Typically a mortgage is not fully reinstated through a forbearance plan until all the payments are made in full. If the homeowner misses just one payment they can end up in the same stage of the Foreclosure process where they were previously.

Reinstatement: If the reason for the distress was temporary and resolved!This can be done up until the Sheriff Sale, Homeowner must pay all missed payments, late fees and legal fee's that are due. Must request reistatement letter and pay exact amount in cleared funds, usually to an attorney.

Sell the Property: If the seller has equity and can sell and pay all costs from the sale of the property. Many sellers and Real Estate Agents believe they have less time than they actually do. Many times if you are working with your bank they will place the foreclosure on hold while the home is being sold. But, communication with the bank is of the most importance here. IF the seller is short by a few thousand dollars at settlement .... one option would be for the seller to come with a check for the difference - if the seller does not qualify for a Short Sale.

Rent the Property: If the payments are low enough for the rent to cover full expenses of the property ownership: Loan, Property Taxes, and Homeowners Insurance.

Refinance: If the homeowner has sufficent equity and strong enough credit score, they may qualify for a Typical Refinance, but if NOT there are other Refinance options with PA State Assistance at PHFA and our Local Non Profit - Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley - CACLV can help you through these options at no cost.

Mortgage Modification: Requires Lender cooperation, modifies the loan and after reduces payments, one lender even has a department called the "MOD Squad," Homeowner must qualify with financial information -- Statistics show that 1 out of 2 fail within the first 12 months. But, this option you can also get help from our Local Non Profit Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley CACLV.

Short Refi: Relatively new situation. Requires Lender approval, Modifies the Loan and reduces the principle balance and often interest rates as well. Lender needs to want to avoid owning the property.

Deed-in-lieu of Foreclosure: If you are unable to bring your loan current or sell your home in a reasonable amount of time, your lender may agree to have you voluntarily transfer the deed to the property to them to help avoid the impact of a foreclosure on your credit rating. Positive: By Voluntarily transferring the deed, you save your lender tens-of-thousands of dollars in foreclosure proceedings. If you are willing to do this, Fannie Mae has reduced the mandatory waiting period to establish credit history to a minimum of 4 years. This mandatory waiting period after a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is lower than the required 5-7 years following a foreclosure. Negative: Although a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure may have less impact than an actual foreclosure on your ability to establish homeownership in the future, if you are going to cooperate with your lender and take a proactive approach, a short sale is generally the better option.

Short Sale: If you cannot bring your loan current, afford to make payments moving forward, or are unable to sell the property for the full amount of the loan and all closing costs your lender may accept less than the amount owed as full payment. Positive: Under, the terms of a short sale your lender may forgive your mortgage debt in its entirety according to the terms outlined in The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. Fannie Mae has announced a reduced mandatory waiting period to establish credit history to 2 years after the completion of a short sale. This mandatory period after a short sale is lower than the required 5 to 7 years following a foreclosure. Negative: You must sell your home.

For a Complete List of PA State and National Links to help you conduct your own research online; go to our website at www.AvoidForeclosureScams.com

Other Helpful Blogs covering this subject
9 Reasons to Avoid Foreclosure in the Lehigh Valley
Homeowners guide to Selling by Pre-Foreclosure/Short Sale
Lehigh Valley Foreclosure Scams to Avoid

* Lehigh Valley Foreclosure & Real Estate Alternatives to Foreclosure in the Lehigh Valley* Moriah Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License