Can't afford the home you own? Don't know where next months payment is going to come from? There is some help out there and different options to explore. Remember it is always best to consult with your attorney and your accountant before making any decision regarding your home. There are tax and legal ramifications for some of the options I am about to mention. Homeowners who are either delinquent on their mortgage or face foreclosure now have a dedicated 24 hour a day 7 day a week local Arizona foreclosure counselor: 1-877-448-1211. Do not ignore letters and phone calls from your lender. Get out your loan documents and read over them. Know what you signed when you took out the loan and what some of the consequences are. A booklet put together to help prevent foreclosure. This is informative and helpful. http://www.azag.gov/consumer/foreclosure/documents/StateTaskForceWorkbook.pdf www.995hope.org or call (888) 995-HOPE, the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline to reach a nonprofit, HUD-approved counselor through HOPE NOW, a cooperative effort of mortgage counselors and lenders to assist homeowners. www.azlawhelp.org Arizona law help www.nhsphoenix.org/ Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix www.nidonline.org NID-Housing Counseling Agency www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/nrhci.cfm HUD-approved National and Regional Housing Counseling Intermediaries also provides counseling resources.To find a counselor, contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at (800) 569-4287 or (877) 483-1515 Go to this Web site for information on federal mortgage modification and refinancing programs: www.makinghomeaffordable.gov Go to this Web site for information on federal mortgage modification and refinancing programs: www.makinghomeaffordable.gov Visit NeighborWorks America’s Web site at www.nw.org/network/home.asp Information the lender will need: *Loan information *Monthly income documentation (pay stubs,tax returns) *Monthly expense documentation (utilities,child care, car payments, etc.) You may also be required to complete and return a loan workout package, which contains information, forms and instructions, before the lender will discuss the options. If you find that your only option is to sell before the bank forecloses then you are going to be looking at doing a Short Sale. This is a sale of a home with more owed on it than you can sell it for. In other words you are upside down on it. Short-Sale checklist: You must be able to show a lender why you are behind on payments and can't catch up. A real estate agent must find a buyer for a short sale and negotiate with the lender for a price. You can't walk away with any of your home's equity from a short sale. A short sale is still a mark against your credit, but it's a smaller hit than a foreclosure. You must be prepared to pay taxes on the amount forgiven You shouldn't sign the home over to any group before a short sale. A short sale closes like a regular sale between a buyer and seller. Call me if you need an agent to handle a short sale for you. 602-697-6523 Foreclosures by Zipcode for Metro Phoenix |