Avoid Georgia Foreclosure

Articles and Links to help you make sense of today's tumultous real estate issues.

 

Loan Mod: Go It Alone? Many borrowers can handle it themselves, but some may need an assist here and there.

 

 

Breaking News: The Obama Adminstration Gets Behind Short Sales! Borrowers -- who must meet the minimum eligibility requirements for a Home Affordable modification -- will receive up to $1,500 to assist with their relocation expenses when they agree to a short sale Read the article here.

 

 

8 Things You Should Do BEFORE Refinancing. With interest rates at an all-time low, and many lenders signing on to participate in the Prsident's new Home Affordable plan, there are a few things you should do before calling your lender about a refi or loan mod. Read about them here.

 

 

Breaking News!: Lenders Step Up Foreclosures as Moratoriums Expire. Foreclosure floodgates may soon give way as the nation's leading mortgage lenders lift their recent foreclosure suspensions and move those borrowers that are ineligible for federal programs on through the property repossession process. Read the article.

 

 

Breaking News!: According to the newly released Mortgage Metrics Report issued by the government -- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) -- not all modifications have resulted in reduced monthly payments, and almost half of modified loans are resulting in re-default. Overall for 2008, about 42 percent of modified loans resulted in reduced payments, 27 percent in unchanged payments, and 32 percent actually increased payments. Workouts that reduced payments increased significantly in the fourth quarter, the agencies pointed out, to more than 50 percent of all modifications. According to the report, servicers cited several reasons for mortgage modifications that did not result in reduced payments. For example, a servicer could freeze an adjustable rate mortgage’s interest rate when the borrower faced the risk of imminent default, rather than allowing it to reset to the higher rate stated in the loan contract. Some modifications resulted in higher monthly payments because missed principal and interest payments were capitalized and added to the loan, which in more benign economic times could result in more sustainable modifications.

Read about it: Report: Defaults Still Rising