Foreclosures are different from state to state. We serve the NY area with our services, in NY foreclosure is a very long process from start to finish, in some extreme cases taking nearly a decade before an eviction is ordered. You can be in control of the outcome, but it starts by arming yourself with knowledge. We are here to help.
You Are Not Alone.
In New York, especially Suffolk and Nassau counties, taxes and the cost of living are astronomical. It is not uncommon to find yourself struggling financially here. At the time of writing this, in Suffolk County alone 1 in every 1037 home owners are in foreclosure.
This means that every month nearly 600 new foreclosures start the process. There is no shame being in a foreclosure situation! It is important not to stress out deeply about this. As the song goes “we all have troubles, but when we worry we make it double.” Keep a clear head and open mind about your situation, and never feel like you are the only one this is happening to.
How it Starts…
It is important to understand the process from the beginning. When you miss a mortgage payment it can be quite serious, however when you miss 3 consecutively (90 days) the lender will put a lis pends on your property. A lis pends is a status that signifies the lender is seeking to reclaim their investment (your house.) The major issue here is that once you are 90 days delinquent most lender will not even take your money any more, and instead want the full amount of the debt to be satisfied immediately. Obviously for 99% of us this is not possible, and it turns a short term situation (like a lay off) into a dire life event.
A Change in Mentality.
For many of us it is easy to blame the “damn bank” for trying to take your house! I want you to try and envision something. Imagine that you were okay with losing your home. I know this sounds like a shocker, but ultimately that is what is going to happen to the majority of us. A while ago, as I went through my own foreclosure, I began to realize. The home, the structure, the wood that held it all together, did not hold my home together! You see, I realized that the old saying “Home is where the heart is” is true. My house wasn’t my home. The people I lived with, my family, this was my home. At best the physical house provided an attachment to memories, but it wasn’t the memories themselves. Those were made with my family, and no matter where I went, they would come with me. I wish I realized this so much earlier in the process, because I spent years worrying about leaving my home, when in reality my home was always going to come with me, where ever I went.
Putting Together a Plan.
Take control of what you can, and in this situation there are a few factors you can control. For instance you can attempt a loan modification. This is where you attempt to negotiate with the lender to have a lower monthly payment over a longer period of time. However these are rarely successful, none the less in many cases they must be at least attempted before you can move on to the next action.
What people have more success with is a short sale. Most people don’t know this but the home owner, in some circumstances can still be liable for the judgement of the property if they just walk away, even if they declared bankruptcy. Can you imagine settling all this by walking away from the situation, only years later to have your wages garnished to your lender? Therefore, a short sale is usually the best option.
How a Short Sale Works.
In a short sale we attempt to convince the lender that the property won’t resell for as much as the judgement. Lets say you have a judgment outstanding for $250,000. But looking at your area, a real estate professional can run comparable and see that nothing brand new has sold in your area in the last year for more than $180,000. In this case we show the bank that $180,000 is the best offer they can get. Once they accept this the process of finding a buyer starts. After the search the buyer purchases your house for $180,000 and the lender wipes your slate clean. In most cases you can even receive a few thousand dollars in relocation fee’s to help you find your next residence.
Our Services Are Different From The Rest.
A short sale is normally anything but a short process. Negotiating with the bank is a long process. We have a team dedicated to bothering the banks all day long until they accept a short sale price.
Next we have a tremendous amount of buyers ready to purchase the property once the bank okays it. These can be retail buyers that come to us from a brokerage partnership, or investors that will buy fast and in cash. Our goal is to absolve you of your problem and get you relocation money, all as fast as possible so you can get on with your life.
If you are in this situation reach out to us today. We never charge a single cent for our services, even if we spend hours trying to help and can’t. You will not receive a bill.