Foreclosures and How Banks Make them Worse

I have seen many clients who use their life savings trying to pay the mortgage on a home they can no longer afford, because of an adjustable rate mortgage. In the past these homes could just be sold and the owners could walk away, but now they are upside down from a 100% mortgage and a market that seems to be getting worse every day. Our company is generally successful helping victims refinance or sell, but we also work with lenders to help them establish a loan modification or workout program to keep them in the existing loan. Once we get involved, lenders are very cooperative, but only a small portion of foreclosure victims actually find us before it is too late. Lenders and servicing companies need to work with their clients without the need for professionals to get involved. Unfortunately, these lenders are suffering, too, so they are forced to hire low cost customer service reps that are overworked and underpaid.

This creates a whole new problem; the customer service rep does not care if the loan is profitable or not. They only want to make it through the day and eliminate as many cases as possible, with the least amount of work. They seem to love it when we contact them on behalf of a client, because they know we are going to do most of their work for them. Maybe this is why we are so successful, but still, homeowners should not be forced to hire someone to speak with their lender on their behalf.

If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure, then I recommend contacting your lender first and finding out what options they have available. If they are not helpful, or do not offer any viable solutions, then you need to immediately contact a professional who can help you either find a new lender or make arrangements with your existing lender to begin a loan modification. Companies like mine, who offer all of these services from one source are your best options, because you will not be "sold" on one solution, you will be evaluated and provided with all possible options to stop foreclosure. Ultimately, you need to find a company or person that has experience and is someone you can trust, so feel free to interview companies until you find someone who fits your exact needs. Just be careful, because many of the companies offering foreclosure help do not have experience and should not be trusted.

Eventually, lenders and servicers will figure out that it is more profitable to offer viable solutions, but for now, if you are a homeowner, you better plan on helping yourself out of foreclosure or finding someone to do it for you.