As an loan originator, AMC works closely with both wholesale and retail mortgage lenders.

• Banks offer loan packages such as fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) in addition to VA and FHA loans.

• Savings and Loans Associations focus on one- to four-family residential mortgages, multifamily mortgages and commercial mortgages.

Since 1986, the 30 Year Bi-Weekly Arm ( Adjustable Rate Mortgage) has proved to be a popular choice outperforming fixed rate monthly mortgages.

• Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) are congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned companies that buys mortgages from lenders and resells them as securities on the secondary mortgage market. The maximum loan amount for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is $322,700.

• FHA Loans (Federal Housing Administration) have some advantages over conventional loans. Since FHA loans are insured by the government, they generally have more lenient qualification requirements, lower down-payment requirements, and they are assumable loans.

The maximum loan amount for an FHA loan (single-family) ranges depending on the county where you live. You can contact a AMC mortgage specialist for these maximum amounts for your specific county. Government loans make up 20 percent of residential mortgages in the U.S.

• VA Loans(Veterans Affairs) carry many of the same advantages as an FHA home loans. However, to qualify for these loans, you must be a qualifying veteran, the unmarried widow of a veteran, a Public Health Service Officer, or an active-duty serviceman. The maximum loan amount for a VA-guaranteed loan is $240,000. No down payment is required for most VA loans.

• Jumbo Loans are conventional loans that are too large for government agencies. Currently, any loan over $322,700 is classified a Jumbo loan. AMC Mortgage Jumbo loans have higher interest rates than conforming loans – typically 0.5 percent to 1 percent higher. Jumbo loans also may have higher down-payment requirements.

Financial contracts can be very confusing. Before signing yourself to a major long term commitment have an attorney, familiar with financing and taxes, examine and explain the details (where the Devil is). A good tax finance attorney can save you many times his fee over the years, not to mention possible legal problems.

Go Home from AMC Mortgage.

You may be considering refinancing as part of debt consolidation or a student loan consolidation.

Refinancing can be a good idea for homeowners who:

• want to get out of a high interest rate loan to take advantage of lower rates. This is a good idea only if they intend to stay in the house long enough to make the additional fees worthwhile
• have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and want a fixed-rate loan to have the certainty of knowing exactly what the mortgage payment will be for the life of the loan
• want to convert to an ARM with a lower interest rate or more protective features (such as a better rate and payment caps) than the ARM they currently have
• want to build up equity more quickly by converting to a loan with a shorter term
• want to draw on the equity built up in their house to get cash for a major purchase or for their children’s education

Financial contracts can be very confusing. Before signing yourself to a major long term commitment have an attorney, familiar with financing and taxes, examine and explain the details (where the Devil is). A good tax finance attorney can save you many times his fee over the years, not to mention possible legal problems.

Go Home from Loan Refinance.

Since the lenders money is secured by a mortgage, the interest rate will be lower than the rates of most other consumer debt. Credit cards, for instance, are unsecured loans and typically have much higher interest rates.

Since the interest rate is lower and because you have one payment instead of many, the amount of your monthly bill will be significantly less.

The average citizen in the U.S. pays 11 different creditors every month. With a consolidated loan, you only have one creditor and one check to write each month; which makes controlling your finances much easier.

The process of consolidating your debts is very simple and straightforward. You simply contact several lenders and tell them that you’re interested in a consolidation loan.

Negotiate with at least four lenders. Make them compete for your business by letting them know that you’re shopping for the best deal. Ask each lender to lower the points, fees or the interest rate. And ask each to meet — or beat — the terms of the other lenders.

Financial contracts can be very confusing. Before signing yourself to a major long term commitment; have an attorney, familiar with financing and taxes, examine and explain the details (where the Devil is). A good tax finance attorney can save you many times his fee over the years, not to mention possible legal problems.

Go Home from Consolidation Loans.

It can take years to pay off credit card amounts by making just the minimum monthly payments. Throw in a car loan, student loans, a mortgage – and the dollar amounts can start to look frightening very quickly.

It can get a lot worse for people who are forced to borrow money after losing a job, are hit with health problems or have a marriage fail.

So-called “problem debtors” have it bad, according to numbers compiled by the nonprofit credit counseling agency Myvesta. Their clients in financial crisis had unsecured credit card debt of $77,036, up from $52,201. Mortgage debt jumped from an average of $168,129 to $207,958 last year.

The people in crisis carried an average of 11.3 credit cards, up from 8.1 a year ago. Cash flow was a negative $2,468 a month.

Steps to Getting a Bad Credit Loan

Face it, sometimes even bad credit loans will not be available to people with critically damaged credit.

Not everyone has an exceptional credit history and a high credit rating. For those with less-than-perfect FICO scores, there are still some options available. It can be difficult, but it is possible.

First go directly to your bank or credit union and get their in-house assistance. Every bank and lending company have financial officers that will answer your questions, help with your application and determine your credit score. Your FICO score is basically a reflection of how responsible a debt payer you are.

Lenders will evaluate your credit history by reviewing your “credit report”. This is one of the main factors in the decision whether to give you a loan or not. Having a bad credit score does not imply that you are a financial failure, but defaulting on payments is a sure way to make it onto a “blacklist”.

You may have a bad credit score if you have either made late payments, skipped out on bills, declared bankruptcy, been repossessed, foreclosed, etc. Well, forget about the past, focus on the present and get to work changing your credit rating.

For starters, you’ll probably need to do some “clean-up”. Give yourself at least 6 months to make good prompt payments of all your debts and you will find what a difference it makes in your credit score.

The goal is to have you score climbing consistently higher, setting yourself up for future loans and better interest rates. The more stable you are financially, the more likely lenders are to give you money without a lot of restrictions. It always pays to raise your credit score.

Many people believe that individuals with bad credit will never get a bank loan. But the fact is that people, even with the worst credit, do get approved. There are financial organizations that specialize in bad credit loans. But, they will charge you.

These lenders make loans that other lenders won’t. They are often known as “sub-prime” lenders because they provide loans considered below standards set by common banking practices. Given that these lenders are taking higher risks, financial regulators let them to add higher interest rates than are normally permitted the banks.

Bad Credit Loans from Car Dealers

When you are looking to buy a car with bad or poor credit it doesn’t leave buyers with lots of options. Occasionally their only choice for finding a lender for their new car purchase is through a car dealer loan.

Car dealership loan deals are not as bad as a lot of people may think. However, it is certainly true that they may hide a lot of surprises so if you are in fact planning to use a car dealer loan you should be extra vigilant.

The first thing that you need to watch out for is if the interest rate happens to be fixed. By fixed I mean that it’s clearly stated in your contract and that all of it is written in a way that it wouldn’t allow the car dealership to change it at a later date.

What lots of car dealerships tend to do is approve your car loan application, have you sign the documents, and hand you over the car.

After that later on they just give you a phone call and state that in fact you do not qualify for the loan because you have poor credit (which is something you already knew to begin with) and that you must pay higher interest rates in order to keep the car. If you fall into this situation you should try to either find a loan from another lender or report the scam and fight back.

Another extremely popular scam done by car dealers is to make you look for a cosigner for your loan convincing you that this is the absolutely only way that you can get financing since you have a terrible credit history.

It won’t be difficult to convince you at all. First of all it sounds pretty reasonable and second of all the car dealer will cause you to believe that this will in fact repair your poor credit profile.

Later on you will discover that your name isn’t including in the loan documents and that the loan is in the name of the cosigner only even though you are paying it. Not only is this illegal but it also may lead to serious penalties but it’s not helping your poor credit at all. If a dealership offers such a thing you absolutely must refuse.

If you’re a poor credit consumer and have difficulties in finding a good loan, it’s pretty obvious that you shouldn’t overstretch yourself. What this mean is to buy a reasonably priced vehicle and not to buy into all of the extras like the extended warranties for example.

However, many different car dealers will end up trying to trick you by making you believe that you must buy a warranty that will increase your loan just to qualify.

Since you are in a desperate situation you would end up saying Ok. However, if you for one second think about it, you can plain as day see this is simply a trick to increase your loan costs

Besides higher interest rates, you may be subject to other fees and restrictions. For example, a “point” is a fee charged onto your loan which represents 1% of your loan amount. Individuals with good credit occasionally do not pay any points, while those with bad credit can pay up to 4 or 5 points.

It’s always easier to find a loan if you can “secure” it. With a secured loan, you consign your home, car, or some other tangible asset as “collateral” to guarantee your loan. This reduces the risk and increases the chances of getting your loan. A co-signer will also make it easier to find a lender.

You are searching for a lending company that does business with people with problem credit primarily; and does not refuse bad credit loan applications automatically. These companies will charge individuals higher interest rates, its loan approval rate is much higher.

Online Banks and Payday Loans.

Easily found websites advertise loans to people with bad credit, or with no credit at all. These online banks generally have more competitive interest rates than brick and mortar banks due to their lower operating costs.

Payday loans are available to almost anyone with a job and a bank account.

Go Home from Bad Credit Loan.

Refinancing can be a good idea for homeowners who:

• Want to get out of a high interest rate loan to take advantage of lower rates. This is a good idea only if they intend to stay in the house long enough to make the additional fees worthwhile.
• Have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and want a fixed-rate loan to have the certainty of knowing exactly what the mortgage payment will be for the life of the loan.
• Want to convert to an ARM with a lower interest rate or more protective features (such as a better rate and payment caps) than the ARM they currently have.
• Want to build up equity more quickly by converting to a loan with a shorter term.
• Want to draw on the equity built up in their house to get cash for a major purchase or for their children’s education.

Financial contracts can be very confusing. Before signing yourself to a major long term commitment have an attorney, familiar with financing and taxes, examine and explain the details (where the Devil is). A good tax finance attorney can save you many times his fee over the years, not to mention possible legal problems.

Go Home from Refinancing.

Online banking lets you connect through the Internet and perform the usual banking and financial activities such as view accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and take out loans. Online banks are commonly compatible with money managing programs such as Quicken and Microsoft Money.

Many banks make it easier to manage your checking account by allowing you set up e-mail alerts that notify you when checks clear or when your balance slips below a certain level and provide a detailed listing of your canceled checks.

If you’d like to eliminate paper checks from your life, you’ll find that a growing number of companies allow you to make automatic payments through your online banking account.

The bank’s Web site will walk you through the steps of registering the bills you want to pay and the accounts you want to use to pay them. You’ll only have to enter the information once. You can always make changes and add or subtract bills.

Not all banks operating on the Internet are insured by the FDIC. Many banks that are not FDIC-insured are chartered overseas. If you choose to use a bank chartered overseas, it’s important to know that the FDIC may not insure your deposits.

Most online bank Web sites have an “About Us” page that describes the institution. Look for information regarding the official name, their charter, address of the bank’s headquarters and information about its insurance coverage from the FDIC. Check with your bank or the FDIC if you’re not certain.

There are security risks inherent in online banking, and safety and privacy concerns should be clearly understood. Identity theft and fraud are constant threats.

Basic computer security should always be on your mind. Safe surfing is never letting your guard down.

• Never go online “naked” — without a good commercial firewall and anti virus software.
• Wireless connections without strong digital encryption is the same as sharing the contents of your hard drive with anyone on the street.
• Never do your online banking on a public computer — like the one at the library or a public cafe.
• Never use your Social Security number or other sensitive data as user IDs or passwords.
• Protecting yourself from hackers by thinking like a hacker can be a powerful defense.

Auto companies are moving into the banking business.

BMW Bank of North America has been offering its customers online banking since 1999 and includes certificates of deposit, checking, savings, money market accounts and debit and credit cards. Online bill payment is also available.

GMAC Bank, a new federal savings bank aimed at General Motors customers and employees, was launched in August. GMAC Bank offers money market accounts, certificates of deposit and checking accounts. The bank also plans to originate and purchase residential mortgage loans as well as home equity loans and lines of credit.

Volkswagen Bank USA is awaiting federal approval and should be up and running by the end of the year. As with BMW, the aim of Volkswagen Bank USA is to deepen relationships with auto customers by offering a wide range of banking products both on the lending and deposit sides.”

How do rates from BMW Bank and GMAC Bank stack up? They’re pretty competitive. As with many Internet banks, they are able to offer more generous yields on CDs, in part, because they have less overhead.

For example, BMW Bank is offering a three-month CD with an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.45 percent. Its 60-month CD comes with an APY of 5.2 percent. The minimum balance to obtain that APY on the accounts is just $1,000.

And GMAC Bank is promoting a 12-month CD with an APY of 4.25 percent and a 24-month CD with an APY of 4.4 percent on balances of $5,000 or more.

Looking for a loan can be a tedious and time consuming process. Applying for a loan and getting it approved can be frustrating and, many people decide against it because of the paperwork and headache.

You may find that getting an online loan is a much easier process since and the whole loan transaction can be carried out sitting at home or in your office. You usually just have to submit a one page online application.

These online companies are accessible 24-7, even on weekends and holidays. Now, you can apply at your convenience. Almost too easy, you don’t even have to go through the hassles of faxing documentation.

Go Home from Online Banks.

All that is generally required to get a payday loan is proof of employment – such as a pay stub, a checking account and a post-dated check for the amount you want plus the fees.

The repayment term of these loans is very short — 45 days maximum. These loans may be very expensive if the term is extended. On its face a payday loan is a very simple process. It is a much easier to get than a bank loan, as there is no credit check and no collateral required. The loan company, however, does have access to your bank account.

You write a personal check for the amount you would like to borrow, plus a lender’s fee based on this amount. The lender will pay you the amount you would like to borrow and hold on to your check until the arranged payment date. In case the customer does not reclaim the check by repaying the loan and fees, then the lender cashes the check for the payment.

At present, payday loans are regulated by 33 states. Due to an overwhelming demand by consumers, the number of these types of lenders has risen from 17 in 1995 to more than 300 today. There are lots of payday lenders out there.

This type of loan is often a primary source of borrowing for people with bad or damaged credit – a place for emergency cash for people who cannot qualify for a bank loan.

Payday loans can be very costly — they are known as emergency loans for a reason. The most common rate is $25 per $100, which is an APR of 650% annually. Some website lenders charge considerably more, with interest rates in the thousand percent range or more. I’s possible with a little diligence to find lower rates, even as low as $10 per $100.

Be fully aware of your payday loan agreement. Since the company has your bank account information, it has the discretion to take out fees and costs associated with extending the loan. If you don’t follow the instructions exactly, the loan company may end up extending the loan even if you are able to pay on time, simply because you did not inform the company far enough in advance that you are going to pay off the loan in full.

Though no legal definition exists for predatory lending, it usually refers to tactics used by lenders to convince borrowers to agree to unfavorable (read “expensive”) loan terms or to deceive the borrower in some way for profit. Examples of predatory lending include lying about the terms of a loan included on documents a borrower must sign and targeting specific groups of people with expensive loans.

Payday loans, some credit cards, some subprime mortgages and abusive overdraft loans have all been used as examples of predatory loans.

Go Home from Payday Loans.

HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Plan) is a $75 billion program to provide sustainable, affordable mortgage payments for up to 3 to 4 million at risk borrowers facing foreclosure.

Currently, many homeowners are finding themselves in a terrifying perdicament. Having made the decision to buy a home in the giddy heights of the housing boom (till a couple of years ago), they are now unable to take advantage of the low interest rates available at present because the value of their homes has sunk below that of their existing mortgages.

The rapid decline in home prices over the past two years combined with the double whammy of unemployment has left millions of homeowners devastated and unable to stay current on their mortgage payments. The Government projects that more than 6 million families could face foreclosure over the next three years.

To combat the crisis, the U.S. has instituted the largest economic recovery plan since World War II.

The Making Home Affordable (MHA) Program, is a critical element of the U.S. Treasury Department’s plan to stabilize the U.S. housing market and assist millions of homeowners by reducing mortgage payments and preventing avoidable foreclosures.

HAMP is designed to reduce mortgage payments to an affordable level based on a borrowers’ gross monthly income. Every modification under the program must lower the borrower’s monthly mortgage payment to 31% of the borrower’s monthly gross income.

HAMP is offering loan servicers an up-front payment of $1,000 for each successful mortgage loan modification after completion of a trial period and up to $1,000 per year, provided the borrower remains current. Homeowners may earn up to $1,000 towards principal reduction each year for five years if they remain current and pay on time.

HAMP also matches reductions in monthly payments dollar-for-dollar with the lender from 38 percent to 31 percent of debt to income ration (DTI). This requires the lender to take the first loss in reducing the borrower payment down to a 38 percent DTI, holding lenders accountable for unaffordable loans they may have extended.

Under HAMP’s loan modification guidelines, mortgage servicers are prevented from “cherry-picking” only the most promising clients. In fact legislation is pending that would require lenders to offer loan modification to all homeowners before foreclosure.

At present, more than 85% of loans in the country are now covered by the program. Participating servicers have extended offers on over 570,000 trial modifications.

Go Home from HAMP.

You can consolidate debt through a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit and lower your monthly payments. Remember that these types of debt consolidation loans require you to put up your home as collateral. If you can’t make the payments — or if your payments are late — you could lose your home.

A line of credit “HELOC” offers a great deal of liquidity along with low interest rates. Presently, a line of credit can cost about 4% or 5% a year.

Second mortgages are generally considered to be a higher risk than the original mortgage, since the lender which issued the original mortgage has first rights to the property… because of this, interest rates for a second mortgage are usually higher than those for the primary mortgage.

An advantage of an unsecured consolidation loan is that your home is not collateral to be forfeited in case of default. The disadvantage of unsecured loans is that the interest rates are substantially higher.

America is drowning in credit card debt, with combined interest rates offering little chance of ever paying off the principal. Consolidating all your credit card debts into one loan, a single interest rate and a single monthly payment is an attractive option for many financially troubled people.

The average U.S. citizen pays 11 different creditors every month. Making one single payment is much easier than figuring out who should get paid how much and when. This makes managing your finances much easier.

The process of consolidating your debts is very simple and straightforward. You simply contact several lenders and tell them that you’re interested in a consolidation loan.

Debt consolidation plans usually involve arrangements with your creditors, offering them a percentage of your payment in exchange for lowering the interest.

Debt consolidation often requires counseling and advice on managing your money, developing a budget, and in some cases workshops.

Counselors, certified and trained in the areas of consumer credit and debt, will discuss your entire financial situation with you, and help you with a personalized plan to solve your money problems. An initial counseling session typically lasts an hour, with an offer of follow-up sessions.

If your financial problems stem from too much debt or your inability to repay your debts, a credit counseling agency may recommend that you enroll in a debt management plan (DMP).

A DMP alone is not credit counseling and DMPs are not for everyone. You should sign up for one of these plans only after a certified credit counselor has spent time thoroughly reviewing your financial situation, and has offered you customized advice on managing your money.

In a DMP, you deposit money each month with the credit counseling organization, which uses your deposits to pay your unsecured debts, like your credit card bills, student loans, and medical bills, according to a payment schedule the counselor develops with you and your creditors.

Financial contracts can be very confusing. Before signing yourself to a major long term commitment; have an attorney, familiar with financing and taxes, examine and explain the details (where the Devil is). A good tax finance attorney can save you many times his fee over the years, not to mention possible legal problems.

Go Home from Debt Consolidation Help.

Consolidation offers students, home owners and cash-strapped borrowers a “breather” by simplifying and extending repayment. After consolidation, credit bureaus are notified that your old accounts have a zero balance. Your new promissory note will establish a new interest rate and repayment schedule.

Compare rates from at least three companies. Never accept their published rates as final (they will compete for your business).

Financial contracts can be very confusing. Before signing yourself to a major long term commitment have an attorney, familiar with financing and taxes, examine and explain the details (where the Devil is). A good tax finance attorney can save you many times his fee over the years, not to mention possible legal problems.

Go Home from Debt Consolidation.

As of last month, lenders had sent out more than 571,000 offers to reduce borrowers’ monthly payments and avoid forclosure. That’s 19 percent of the nearly 3 million homeowners eligible for a loan modification under the plan.

Of the modifications offered, about 360,000 borrowers, or 12 percent, have signed up for three-month trial modifications, which are supposed to be extended for five years if the homeowners make their payments on time.

Borrowers can receive rates as low as 2 percent for five years. Eligible borrowers have to provide their most recent tax return and two pay stubs, as well as an “affidavit of financial hardship” to qualify.

Lawmakers are threatening to let bankruptcy judges rewrite the terms of mortgages as many lenders are still scheduling foreclosure sales and charging borrowers fees for participating in the Obama plan.

Industry executives also say they are planning to work with Obama administration officials on a possible extension of the program to unemployed homeowners.

The pressures of Foreclosure are personal as well as financial. The process can have a devastating affect on your marriage. And, imagine moving back in with your parents with a family of your own.

For many homeowners foreclosure is just the beginning of the nightmare. Losing your home is just one of several consequences.

Consider the affect that a it will have on your credit rating. A good rating is always a valuable asset, and now more that ever. A foreclosure can negatively affect your ability to obtain loans, business lines of credit, car leases and employment as well.

Homeowners may utilize some of these common steps to avoid foreclosure.

Mortgage Forbearance
When a lender grants forbearance to the homeowner it temporarily suspends the monthly mortgage payment. The mortgage holder grants this if there is the opportunity to increase the payment at some point in the future when the borrower’s financial situation is healthier. The increased amount is usually a portion of the past due total. This is good for you and the lender because it stops the foreclosure as well as allows the lender to collect delinquent payments over a period of time, instead of demanding the full payment immediately.

Loan Re-Negotiation
This option requires the homeowner to borrow against their home equity in order to pay the delinquent amount. Your monthly mortgage payment will often be less than before, but it all depends on the terms of your new loan. In most cases, refinancing is not an option because lenders typically will not refinance a loan that’s not up-to-date.

Adjusted Loan Payment
Requesting a new repayment plan to stop a foreclosure usually means creating a new payment schedule whereby you continue making your regular monthly payments plus a little extra on the amount that is delinquent. The payment plan is usually for a specific period of time from several months to several years.

Loan Modification
This recourse allows you to change the terms of your loan. For example, taking the past due amount and merging it with your existing loan, adjusting your interest rate and other loan terms, or simply changing your monthly mortgage payment are examples of modifying the terms of your loan. Modifications are changes that are made to your loan without refinancing.

In spite of the Obama admistration’s foreclosure assistance program also known as “Save the Home”, many American families are losing their homes everyday. The foreclosure assistance program is not working for the majority of families due to the confusing requirements, the red tape and bureaucracy involved.

How a loan modification works
If you have fallen behind on your mortage but are still in a position to make about 60 percent of the mortgage payment, you could qualify. Remember that lenders are not inclined to foreclose if the borrower has a way to make payments. In order to be eligible for a loan modification, you must present a significant hardship.

The modification entails negotiating with the lender and coming up with an easier payment plan, usually by lengthening the term of the loan.

The loan can be modified to consolidate more than one loan as well as to extend the term of the loan to make your payments lower. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), you can get a loan modification that will give you a fixed rate so that you can budget your monthly payments.

Steps In A Loan Modification

1. Find the person responsible for loss mitigation at your bank or lender.

2. Have documents prepared for the lender to prove that you are in dire straits and that it is to his advantage to re-negotiate the terms of the loan. The Information that you will need includes:

• Pay stubs
• Monthly debt expenses (credit card bills, student loans, car loans, etc.)
• Medical expenses
• Tax returns, 1099 or W2 Forms
• Utility Expenses
• Hardship letter and proof of loss of job if available (unemployment insurance benefits, dismissal letter from employer)

3. Your lender will then assess your property and weigh whether or not it will be more profitable for them to foreclose or to modify the term of your loan.

Those who are ideal candidates for loan modification include people who are in the following type of circumstances:

• Have been the victim of a predatory lender and now owe more than the house is worth
• Have been laid off from work
• Are behind on their mortgage for more than 30 days
• Have a sub-prime loan
• Have an adjustable rate loan
• Have low documented income
• Have experienced a reduction in income
• Have experienced a catastrophic occurrence causing you financial hardship
• Have excessive medical bills
• Have little documented income due to being self employed
• Owe more on the house than the house is worth

A loan modification does not do as much damage to your credit as would a foreclosure. It does not entail going with another bank to refinance your property and.

Predatory Lending
In many cases, those who are facing a foreclosure will be approached by lenders offering to refinance the mortgage. Often, the rate that is being offered is higher than prime and the lender is often banking that you will go into foreclosure and they will be able to take the home. This is known as predatory lending.

Unfortunately, the swindlers have blown in to take advantage of the crisis and the desperation of homeowners.

These predators come offering help and hope disguised as counseling programs, mortgage refinance firms and even Government agencies, often with a slick pitch to negotiate the refinancing of your property with your bank or lender. They will charge you a certain amount of money up front and then disappear.

Refinancing in most cases merely forestalls the inevitable foreclosure.

The Short Sale
In a Short Sale your home is sold before it goes into foreclosure. It does not have a negative impact on your credit and relieves you of the worry of going through the foreclosure process.

The short sale is an option for those who want to get out from under the burden of the mortgage completely, to stop struggling to make the payments, to just drop off the keys and simply walk away.

This is usually handled by real estate agents who find qualified buyers for your property and facilitate the sale, hopefully to satisfy your lender and protect you as much as possible against a deficiency judgment.

If you are seeking a fresh start in life, free from the negative impact of a foreclosure on your credit, the short sale may be for you.

Renters and Foreclosure
Many times, renters have no idea that the home where they live is being foreclosed. If you have suspicions of a problem, check with your County Recorder’s office to see if there is a “Notice of Trustee’s” sale pending on your property.

If you have a written lease agreement, record it at the Recorder’s Office in the county where you live. If the home that you rent does go into foreclosure, anyone examining the county records will know that the property is occupied.

A new Federal law, known at the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, is designed to protect renters.

This law prohibits the new owner of a seized home from taking immediate possession. All purchasers of foreclosed homes must give the tenant ninety (90) days notice before terminating the rental. If the tenant had a written lease agreement, the tenant has the right to remain in that home for the entire length of the rental period, unless the purchaser intends to live in the home as their primary residence. In any case, the tenant must be given ninety days notice before eviction.

Tenants maintain the right to the possession and integrity of their property during foreclosure as well as a residence with functional plumbing, safe wiring and heat. Mortgage holders or other creditors of the landlord have no right to enter the tenant’s dwelling or seize or remove cars, furniture or other property, change the locks, threaten or harass the occupants.

State laws may give a tenant greater protections during a foreclosure process than the federal laws. If so, the greater protection applies.

Although, mortgage executives say they are racing to implement the new foreclosure program, it will arrive too late for Prof. Beauregard G. Wanker, “I’ve lost my job, my car, my house, my wife left me and my dog died — Sure do miss my dog.”

Go Home from Foreclosure.