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

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