Mortgage Banking Official Says Loan Modifications Virtually Impossible

Mortgage Banking Official Says Loan Modifications Virtually Impossible
Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Have Almost No Chance of Getting Their Payment Lowered

According to this article in The Salt Lake Tribune, Bankers: Modifying Utah mortgages unrealistic, Howard Headlee, president of the Utah Bankers Association, said "It is virtually impossible for homeowners trapped in a foreclosure process to try to renegotiate the terms of their loans." The article goes on to say that Mr. Headlee described the loan modification process for homeowners and borrowers facing foreclosure with the statement "It’s kind of like unscrambling an egg." as a result of the fact that most mortgage loans are sold several times and/or broken up into mortgage loan backed securities. As a result, in most cases there is no single loan owner who can decided on if or how to modify the loan. The unfortunate outcome of this reality is that homeowners and borrowers who can't afford their current mortgage payment, but who could pay a reasonably reduced mortgage payment will not get help and financial assistance they need. In short, they are doomed from the start. Therefore, the only truly viable options for financially distressed homeowners and borrowers are short sale, bankruptcy and foreclosure. Since foreclosure is the worst possible outcome (and really the result of taking no action), financially distressed homeowners and borrowers should pursue short sale and bankruptcy options thoroughly before considering letting the mortgage company or bank foreclose on their home.

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

Brentwood Governors Club Seeing More Distress Sales

Brentwood Governors Club Seeing More Distress Sales
Well Known Gated Brentwood Tennessee Neighborhood Experiencing Increased Short Sale and Foreclosure Activity

Per my previous blog posts, Financial Distress Hitting Affluent Towns and Neighborhoods, Brentwood Distressed Sales Activity Increasing and Franklin Distressed Sales Activity Increasing, it is clear that exclusive, affluent, executive, luxury, gated, high-end and golf course neighborhoods are experiencing increased levels of Distress Sales (short sales and foreclosures). However, even with this information it is still surprising to such a prominent Brentwood Tennessee neighborhood like the Governors Club be hit with so many distress sales. Please consider the following sales figures which I obtained from the Middle Tennessee RealTracs MLS:

• There are currently 35 Active Listings (i.e. homes that are actively being marketed for sale) in the Governors Club. Out of those 35 Active Listings 4 are Distress Sales (i.e. short sales and foreclosures account for over 11% of the Active Listings in the Governors Club).
• There are currently 4 Pending Sales (i.e. homes that are under contract with buyers and are probable to close) in the Governors Club. Out of those 4 Pending Sales, 1 is a Distress Sale (i.e. short sales and foreclosures account for 25% of the Pending Sales in the Governors Club).
• Since 1/1/2010 there have been 31 Closed Sales in the Governors Club. Out of those 31 Closed Sales, 4 were Distress Sales (i.e. short sales and foreclosures account for almost 13% of the Closed Sales in the Governors Club).

While the numbers above are not staggering when compared to other parts of the country and even other parts of the Nashville Tennessee, for a neighborhood like the Brentwood Governors Club to have 11%+ distress sales in every sales category is really bad. It is clear that even ultra exclusive, affluent, executive, luxury, gated, high-end and golf course neighborhoods are not immune to the economic and housing market collapse, and, as a result are seeing increased levels of short sales and foreclosures. I highly recommend that these homeowners seek qualified professional real estate, legal and financial advice right away to avoid foreclosure. Since I understand that many homeowners do not want their neighbors to know about their financial hardship, I generally do not use For Sale signs on my listings. I also use short sale pre-qualification techniques to minimize the marketing period of my short sale listings by thoroughly researching the financially distressed homeowners' loan type and actual lender (i.e. the loan owner or loan investor) and communicate with my clients via their cell phone (calls and text messages) and personal email to avoid embarrassment. In short, I market my listings as the "Discreet Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert".

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

FHA Insured Loan Foreclosure and Short Sale Process

FHA Insured Loan Foreclosure and Short Sale Process
Good News For FHA Borrowers Facing Foreclosure

My blog post, FHA Insured Mortgage Foreclosure Help, and webpage, Seller and Borrower Short Sale Documents and Instructions: HUD Pre-foreclosure Sale Program (HUD PFS Program), show that due to the way that HUD handles foreclosures and short sales for borrowers with FHA insured loans, foreclosure avoidance (i.e. stopping foreclosure) and a successful short sale closing are more likely than for borrowers with conventional (i.e. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and other mortgage loans. Therefore, financially distressed homeowners and borrowers with FHA insured loans should not wait until a foreclosure sale is imminent to seek help from a qualified short sale expert - there is no reason to be afraid. If a borrower is accepted into the HUD Pre-foreclosure Sale Program and cooperates with the guidelines, they will be granted at least 90 days to sell their home and be released from any and all financial liability for the amount that the bank or mortgage lender will lose as a result of a short sale, or even foreclosure. Most other loan types do not offer anything nearly as beneficial to a struggling borrower and homeowner. Therefore, if you have lost your job, or have missed your first or even second mortgage payment it is imperative that you speak with a short sale expert right away. If you have missed more than 2 mortgage payments, I can still help you, but time is of the essence so the sooner you contact me the better.

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

Distress Sales Dominate Housing Market

Distress Sales Dominate Housing Market
Distressed Properties Account for Nearly Half of Home Sales

Per this Real Estate Economy Watch article, Half of January Home Sales were Distressed Properties, sales of Distressed Properties (i.e. foreclosures, REO's and short sales) accounted for almost 50% of all home sales in January 2011. This represents yet another increase in the trend of increased market share for distressed properties. Currently, several real estate markets are already experiencing sales of distressed properties accounting for well over 50% of all home sales. Overall, the article speculates that across the country sales of distressed properties could make up well over 50% of home sales in the near future. Based on what I am personally seeing in and around Nashville Tennessee, I believe that foreclosures and short sales will ultimately account for at least 10% to 80% of all home sales depending on the town. Brentwood, Franklin and Nolensville will likely be on the lower end of that range with distressed properties accounting for 10% to 20% of all home sales. Murfreesboro and Smyrna will likely be in the middle of that range with distressed properties accounting for 25% to 50% of all home sales. LaVergne (La Vergne) and Antioch will likely be in the upper end of that range with distressed properties accounting for 60% to 80% of all home sales. Overall, it is clear that distressed property sales will account for an increasing share of the housing market in all price segments for quite some time.

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

Law Professor Advocates Strategic Mortgage Loan Default

Law Professor Advocates Strategic Mortgage Loan Default

Per this academic law paper, Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis, the author, Brent T. White (a law professor at The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law) advocates strategic mortgage loan default as a very viable option for both financially distressed and non-financially distressed underwater homeowners (i.e. the mortgage balance(s) exceeds the value of their home - there is negative equity). The major issues addressed in this paper include the following:

• Part I: Most underwater homeowners are not walking away from their homes (i.e. strategically defaulting on their mortgages).
• Part II: From a purely financial standpoint "many more homeowners should be strategically defaulting."
• Part III: Homeowner and borrower "emotions such as shame, guilt, and fear play the largest role in homeowner decisions" to keep paying on their mortgage loans even though they are financial black holes and the most rational action would be to strategically default.
• Part IV: The "government, the media, and the financial industry" and expected credit score damage combine to pressure underwater homeowners to keep paying on underwater mortgages even though strategic default would be the best financial option.
• Part V: Substantial differences in behavioral norms between underwater homeowners (borrowers) and banks give the banks substantial artificial leverage over the homeowners. In other words, the banks regularly fail as evidenced by the TARP bank bailouts and all the other unprecedented government actions to artificially prop up the banks so the banks clearly have no shame in threatening to default and close their doors in order to get money from the government (i.e. morality has nothing to do with their decision making), yet those very same banks pressure underwater homeowners to pay their mortgages by playing the "moral card". According to the author, this situation has "created an imbalance in which individual homeowners have borne a disproportionate financial burden from the housing collapse."
• Part VI: Government policy should seek out ways to level the playing field between underwater homeowners and banks so that given the circumstances mutually beneficial outcomes can be reached.

My view is that after seeking proper real estate (i.e. from me), legal and financial advice, underwater homeowners should consider "walking away" from their homes only as a last resort. In almost all cases, underwater homeowners should attempt the following loss mitigation actions (listed in order):

1. Short Sale.
2. Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure.
3. Strategic Default (i.e. walking away).

Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin and Middle Tennessee Financially Distressed Homeowners and Property Owners. Stop the Bank from Foreclosing with a Quick Cash Offer or Short Sale. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee or La Vergne Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Jim to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Jim helps sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in any Middle TN County (Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson, Maury, Sumner & Robertson). If you need to short sell your house or property, or you need a quick sale to stop a foreclosure sale, you can Get Free* Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor. (*Free: In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)