Maryland Deficiency Judgements

This is a HOT TOPIC and wow there is a ton of Mis-information out there in regards to deficiency judgements, short sales and foreclosures in Maryland.

Maryland is a recourse state, so basically a homeowner OWES the money and the banks have the right to pursue a deficiency judgment whether a home goes to foreclosure or is short sold.  Many homeowners believe that if there house goes to foreclosure the homeowner is free of the obligations, NOT TRUE.  If you owe $300,000 on your home and it is sold at a trustee sale for $200,000 the lender has the right to pursue the homeowner for the $100,000 difference.  

Also, if a homeowner Short Sells his/her property for $200,000 and they owe $300,000 the lender has the right to do the same.   So with this being said why would a homeowner pursue a short sale?  We will save this for the next post.  For more information visit http://www.foreclosurelawfirms.com/topics.cfm/anti-deficiency-laws.html

I am not an attorney and this information should not be construed as legal advice, please consult an attorney to discuss specifics about deficiency judgements and how they may apply to your situation.

Are you experiencing financial difficulties and looking for advice on the options available to you?  Contact me today,  I am personally committed to helping 100 Maryland homeowners prevent foreclosure in 2010.

What is HAFA?

Our Government loves acronyms and one of the latest is HAFA, or the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.  I wrote about this in an earlier blog, but wanted to give a quick update.  HAFA was designed for homeowners who did not qualify for a loan modification as another way to avoid foreclosure.  Here are a couple of quick facts:

• Borrowers will receive pre-approved short sale terms from their lender
• Borrowers will be fully released from any future liabilities from their first mortgage
• Financial Incentives will be provided to borrower $1,500 for relocation expenses
• All servicers participating in HAMP will be required to implement HAFA in accordance to their own written policy.

This program does not take effect until April 5th, 2010, but some servicers may implement this sooner.

Need Mortgage Assistance? FHA Changes Guidelines

Effective Friday January 16th HUD released new guidelines for their mortgage assistance programs.  Effective immediately homewoners will no longer need to be behind on their payments to seek mortgage assistance.  If a homeowner can document a hardship, mortgage servicers will review their files prior to the homeowner being delinquent.  Below is a link to an article outlining the changes.

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/fha-to-provide-early-relief-struggling-homeowners-2010-01-22

Are you experiencing financial difficulties and looking for advice on the options available to you?  Contact me today,  I am personally committed to helping 100 Maryland homeowners prevent foreclosure in 2010.

Beautiful Piney Orchard Short Sale

This beautiful townhome in Piney Orchard boasts 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths.  End Unit in pottery barn condition, listed at $347,000

Treasury to Streamline Loan Mod Process

The Treasury Dept. is scheduled to release new guidelines on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) by the end of the month.  Rumors have it that there will be less paperwork needed by the homeowners to expedite the process. I would anticipate this is being done to alleviate the backlog of properties in the Loan Mod process and also streamline the short sale process.

 Below is a link to the article in the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/business/economy/22modify.html

Are you experiencing financial difficulties and looking for advice on the options available to you?  Contact me today,  I am personally committed to helping 100 Maryland homeowners prevent foreclosure in 2010.

Millersville Colonial Bank Owned $400,000

This Colonial in Millersville boasts 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths.  Perfect for 1st time homebuyers.

Gorgeous Rancher in Crofton $375,000 Now Available

Gorgeous Levitt Rancher Off Crofton Parkway. 4 Bedrooms 2 full baths. 
Read the rest of this entry »

Walking Away from Mortgage?

There is a huge debate amongst the public as to whether walking away from your mortgage makes sense.  The number of homeowners “strategically defaulting” on their mortgages are also causing alarm within the lending community and our federal government. What we are seeing is that Loan Modifications simply are not working, and unless banks streamline the short sale process (which is being done) homeowners are simply throwing in the towel.

 Below is a link to an article in US News and World Report, that I found very interesting.

http://www.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/real-estate/articles/2010/01/19/strategic-defaults-and-the-foreclosure-crisis.html

Are you experiencing financial difficulties and looking for advice on the options available to you?  Contact me today,  I am personally committed to helping 100 Maryland homeowners prevent foreclosure in 2010.

Denied For Loan Modification?

Boy I here this one a lot.  “  After dealing with my lender for several months I finally was denied for a loan modification?  Now what?   Here are my suggestions:

If you would like to keep your home

1. Try Again, just because you were denied the first time, does not mean you should give up hope.  Contact your lender and ask them to send you the reasons for the denial.  Most lenders are required to show you why you were denied.
2. Contact your local HUD counseling agency, if you do not have a list visit  www.mdhope.org.

If you would like to Sell your home

1. Contact your lender and let them know that you are interested in a short sale. 
2. Contact a real estate professional that Specializes in Short Sales, and when I say specialize ask them to provide you with a list of successfully closed Short Sale transactions.

Your other options include Deed-In-Leiu or Bankruptcy, these options are a little more complicated and you should consult with an attorney.  If you would like a list of attorneys that specialize in these areas, drop me an email.

Are you experiencing financial difficulties and looking for advice on the options available to you?  Contact me today,  I am personally committed to helping 100 Maryland homeowners prevent foreclosure in 2010.

Free Legal Advice for Homeowners

Maryland has led the country is some of their foreclosure prevention efforts and Gov. O’Malley is working hard to prevent the foreclosure challenge here in Maryland.   Maryland has set up a Pro-Bono Foreclosure Prevention Project where homeowners may discuss their situation with housing counselors and attorneys for free.  If you would like advice on your situation from a legal standpoint, check out this site:

http://www.probonomd.org/foreclosure.html

In addition to the advice given on this blog, homeowners need to seek all the avenues available to them if they are trying to save their home. 

Are you experiencing financial difficulties and looking for advice on the options available to you?  Contact me today,  I am personally committed to helping 100 Maryland homeowners prevent foreclosure in 2010.