Website Saves Family Foreclosure!

A family has managed to hold off foreclosure of their home because of donations they received from putting up a website and asking for donations!

So far they have raised over $10,000!

It wasn't just foreclosure that this family was facing. The father was out of work and they needed much needed car repairs! Plus they had a big medical bill as well!

Apparently they have since taken the website down but you can read more about this story by clicking here.

Woman Buys Back Foreclosed Home For Stranger

Here's a very inspirational and inspiring story that I found online!

I should warn you though that the link to this article means that you have to scroll down to be able to see this particular article

Woman Buys Back Foreclosed Home....

I guess it just goes to show you that miracles sometime do happen!

Some Hope And Some Help (at least for a while)....

Here is a link to an online article about some homes managing to hold off being foreclosed on at least for during the holidays.

It seems that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending some scheduled foreclosures until mid January 2009 while they re-evaluate those home loans.

I'm sure that this is a welcomed gesture for the 16,000 homes and the families that live in them!



Here is a link to the article

A Sheriff Takes A Stand Against Evictions!

Here is a link to an interesting online story about a sheriff who has taken a stand against issuing evictions to tenants who are renters!

In an interesting twist of events it seems that the tenants were paying their rent but it was the owner(s) who was not paying the mortgage!

Another Wealthy Person Faces Foreclosure!

I just read another online article about another person who is / was wealthy who is now facing foreclosure on their home.

Personally I don't care if you are wealthy or not, facing foreclosure on your home is a very terrible experience.

People are so quick to judge someone - especially when they are wealthy! We all strive to be wealthy - well at least some of us do - and when someone "makes some people are so quick to put them down!

Here is the link to the article:

Music Mogul Faces Foreclosure!

Even Some Of The "Rich" People Are Facing Foreclosure!

Ed McMahon Faces Foreclosure on Home!

Even the so-called "rich" people are facing foreclosure on their homes!

Now comes the news that "legendary pitchman" Ed McMahon is facing foreclosure on his multi-million dollar home! Just like other people who are facing foreclosure, Mr. McMahon has fallen behind on his mortgage payments and a notice of default has been filed. Because of his illness and injury he has been unable to work for some time now.

He is currently trying to re-negotiate with his mortgage lender so that the foreclosure issue can be solved.

His home has been on the market and is currently listed as being for sale. His home has been listed for sale for two years now.

source
AOL News

Help For Those Facing Foreclosure In Minnesota?

Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday announced initiatives aimed at reducing home foreclosures statewide, including a "pact" that encourages lenders to negotiate with high-risk borrowers.

In addition, the state is sponsoring a series of home foreclosure workshops and has established a hotline for loan counselors. Minnesota also will make third-party mediators available to lenders and homeowners who are renegotiating loan agreements. Mediators will be funded through state grants, Pawlenty said.

The state also has asked lenders to sign the Minnesota Foreclosure Prevention Compact. Participants in the pact agree to work with foreclosure prevention counselors, contact high-risk borrowers and make an effort to modify loans. Members also agree to report progress on loan modifications to the state.

The number of home foreclosures in Minnesota reached 20,573 in 2007, up 84 percent compared to the prior year, Pawlenty reported in a press statement.

Last week, the City of St. Paul stepped up efforts to get lenders to fix and sell foreclosed homes scattered across the city.

The city sent letters to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Bancorp, Deutsche Bank and HSBC Bank USA. It also sent a letter to MERS, which owns an electronic mortgage registry system.

There are roughly 1,700 registered vacant properties in St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman said in a statement.

source
Biz Journals.com

The Spam Blog: Foreclosure101: Be Careful Of Spam!

The Spam Blog: Foreclosure101: Be Careful Of Spam!

Thanks for linking to my blog post.

Be Careful Of Spam!

Here is a copy of a recent email that I got:

We've attempted to contact you about your home loan needs.

Your loan has been pre-approved for a rate as low as 3%

We specialize in getting the lowest monthly payment possible!

Bad Credit is not a problem

Home Equity (New Deck, Basement, Finishing, Remodeling, etc

New Home Purchase

debt Consolidation

Refinance Current Loan

Vacation

A~
Account Manager

60 second form No Obligation Quote - Click here now

First of all this email had a lot of grammer-related errors. There is no mention of the name of the business and I purposely left out the name of the "account manager" that was provided in the email.

Second of all, of course, is the fact that I did not apply for a loan from these people. (I don't even know who "these people" are!)

I wouldn't respond to such a message - except for reasons of research. And quite honestly I thought that with all the problems that the mortgage market is having right now that mortgage-related financing solicitations wouldn't be happening but they still are!

So it seems that there is still a market for those looking for clients, homeowners, etc in regards to mortgage re-financing.

As bad as the whole mortgage market is right now its just best (if you can) to be able to pay your mortgage off so that you won't be under the stress of having a monthly mortgage payment.

More "Talk" About The State Of The Economy....

Here are some excerpts from an online article:

".....but Democrats said they believed the government should be doing much more to help millions of Americans cope with a threatened tidal wave of mortgage foreclosures.........the serious housing slump and a credit crisis triggered by rising defaults in subprime mortgages had greatly strained the economy.......To date, the largest economic effects of the financial turmoil appear to have been on the housing market, which, as you know, has deteriorated significantly over the past two years or so.......”

Tax rebate checks ranging from $300 to $1,200 were sent out without delay starting in May as part of a "stimulus" package to help encourage spending. However not everyone qualifies for this tax rebate check.

"Pressed to say what more the administration plans to do, especially in dealing with a threatened wave of mortgage foreclosures, Paulson said he continued to look for good ideas but at the moment did not see the need to do any more than such current efforts as encouraging the mortgage industry to freeze rates on some subprime mortgages for five years and offering a 30-day reprieve on foreclosures for homeowners seriously behind on their payments to give them time to try to work out a loan modification with their lenders........."

"said that in the final three months of last year, more than 470,000 homeowners got help from companies servicing their mortgages and almost 30 percent of those received a loan modification. He insisted the administration was working hard to help, and called the problems facing some struggling homeowners “heartrending......”

I posted excerpts of this article because for all of its "wording" it still shows that Washington is just "talking" and not doing anything about the crisis of home foreclosures. And that mention of the grant programs still does not address the issue of keeping the homes out of foreclosure in the first place.

Yet again - Washington dissappoints!

source
San Diego.com

Reverse Mortgage?

I was listening to one of my local radio community talk shows and they were talking about reverse mortgages.

The definition of a reverse mortgage is a loan giving a senior homeowner the ability to change home equity into cash. Usually no payments are due until the senior moves, passes away, or the home is sold. The loan is due when the senior dies, moves, or sells. The final payment is calculated to not exceed the home's selling price.

It sounds like a good idea for those seniors that are having trouble with making their mortgage payments BUT before you decide to take advantage of this kind of mortgage please check it out first!

It may help if you listened to the same program that I was listening to. It is a local community talk radio show called "The Empowerment Zone" and it is heard on Saturdays at 4pm to 5pm on WURD-900 am. Since this radio station has an online website you can listen to the radio program via the internet even if you are located outside the Philadelphia area!

Here is more information on this radio station:

900AM WURD
1341 N. Delaware Avenue
Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19125

Office Hours: 9am - 5pm EST
Phone: 215-425-7875
Fax: 215-634-6003

Unfortunately I Do Know Some Sad Stories Of People Who Have Lost Their Homes

For example in my local area there was a neighbor of mine who lived with her older father in a beautiful older home.

They lost their home because of not being able to pay their property taxes.

Now in my area there are two tax bills that owners get during the year. If these tax bills are not paid during the year then one has one additional year to pay them (including any additional fees and/or fines). If they are not paid then the property gets sold!

In this case their home was sold and they moved to somewhere where they are renting now.

I had known her (I won't print her name here) for awhile and never once did she mention that they were having problems with their tax bills. She did mention that there were problems but she didn't say what they were specifically.

The next thing I know I find out from another neighbor that they had moved because their house had been sold. There was a notice that was put on their door notifying everyone of the property's being sold.

A very sad story indeed!

President Bush Signs New "Foreclosure" Laws

I had a chance to read the article (and some of the comments that were included) and needless to say it all seems so complicated! It also seems to benefit the mortgagor and not the mortgagee. There are also a lot of conditions and limitations to these laws most notably that only adjustable rate mortgages (and not fixed 30 year mortgages) apply to these laws.

I do have another blog called Grant Basics 101 and another website called Grant Related Information - so hopefully you will be able to find some information on one of these sites that could help you in case your are in foreclosure "trouble". You might also want to check with your local social services agency to see if there are any financial programs that you can qualify for to help you save your home.

I wonder what happen to that proposed 90 day moratorium on foreclosures. I guess it never saw the light of day!

President Bush Signs Foreclosure Law

Mortgage Company Executive Commits Suicide

Here is a link to a news article about a mortgage company executive who recently committed suicide! Although authorities haven't come right out and said that the man's suicide had anything to do with his mortgage company going bankrupt the case is still new enough not to rule out that possibility.

The current state of the whole foreclosure market is terrible!

Although it's probably a boon time for those that are investing in foreclosed properties, it is certainly not a good time for those that are facing losing their homes to foreclosure.

There has been a lot of talk about there being a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures but so far that is only being talked about. It is not a part of the law yet!