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Stopping Foreclosures
| | Monday, May 09, 2005 @ 10:04 AM EDT
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Contributed by: John Michael
John Michael Properties
Read more archived articles about Buying
If you as an investor understand the process, you will be able to help more people!
Foreclosure is tuff on folks it's all about loosing!
Your customer's looses their home and the lender loses money!
If you can get your focus going in the right direction, you can create a Win - Win scenario for all involved.
Writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, "Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.
You need to act fast as an investor when dealing with people in foreclosure and one of the most difficult areas of this process is getting the property owner to act.
The longer they wait to act, the less time you will have.
When people face financial distress they feel powerless and confused, many in foreclosure spend too much precious time denying their predicament until the last minute when only the most extreme of remedies remain available.
Keep in mind that you will need to avoid to long of a foreclosure delay as the cost will mount up and may just drive you out of profit range.
It is vital that you help your customer to respond to any legal notice or document and assemble a delay strategy(s) immediately.
Many property owners facing foreclosure end up declaring bankruptcy as a solution to their foreclosure problem because:
* They see no way out
* They are unaware of options
* bankruptcy Attorneys contact them when the foreclosure is posted
* Investors do not display empathy
Many believe that bankruptcy will stop their foreclosure and everything will be ok.
Many attorneys do not tell property owners that bankruptcy will only drive up the foreclosure cost.
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Simply put foreclosure solutions are not well understood.
Over ninety percent of bankruptcy attorneys don't handle alternative workout programs such as:
* Straight Sale
* Sale by assumption
* Foreclosure Presale
* Compromise Sale
* Shortpayoff
* Deed in Lieu
* Workouts
* Forbearance
* Modifications
* Assignment
* Sale/Leaseback or Deedback
* Hard Bargaining
* Injunctions
* bankruptcy
Therefore, even though the attorneys may come across as knowledgeable and educated, their final advice on how to save a home is to tell people to declare bankruptcy.
bankruptcy can be the right solution for some homeowners who are trying to save their home.
However, it is far from the number one choice. In fact, it should be the last resort. In talking to a bankruptcy attorney, one is led to believe that bankruptcy is the best and only choice.
Your major strategy as an investor is "buying time".
If your customer goes straight to bankruptcy, all other options that could have bought time have been bypassed and are no longer available.
Having done that, if there are any problems making the Chapter 13 payments, there are very few options left. In addition, it may have been possible to get a work out solution approved instead that solved the situation without bankruptcy. This would also be a much better solution as far as saving credit.
Most people don't realize how damaging a bankruptcy or foreclosure is to their credit until it's too late. It is something that can follow a person for a very long time.
You will find that in most cases, people will contact you at what I call the too late stage, because their back is up against a wall and the auction is the next day or even the same day. In these cases, you as an investor have the option to bring the loan current and take control of the property or assist your customer in filing a bankruptcy to stop the sale.
This is done only to buy time, and the homeowner doesn't actually follow through with their court appointments and filings and lets the bankruptcy "fall off calendar" (it never actually goes through).
Many of your customers will be in denial that they are about to loose their home, they will tell you it's all worked out, they are not in foreclosure, they did not know and the list goes on.
It's your job to get them to face the facts and how you can help them as an investor.
Now how do you deal with them, how to approach them and how to talk to them during this most difficult time?
My first step in the communication process is to send a letter to let them know I'm available to help.
The homeowner is probably being bombarded with letters, calls from attorneys and bill collectors, and has creditors showing up at his door.
The only way to contact the homeowner is by telephone, mail or in person, and chances are you will have a difficult time getting in touch with him.
Start with mailings. Indicate in your letter that you are a private investor looking for property in that part of town.
Let the property owner know that you may be able to help him with his financial problems.
Demonstrating an understanding, the homeowner's dilemma will help your efforts.
Indicate in your letter that you may be able to stop the foreclosure, save his credit rating and provide cash for use in paying his bills and/or for relocating.
Be professional and gracious in your correspondence.
Invite the homeowner to call you at his convenience.
If you are going to make an offer on the property, you must have the loan, ownership, and debt or lien information.
You must also assess the condition of the property and the property owner.
Combined with the market value and the default amount, you have all the ingredients necessary to formulate your offer.
If you feel comfortable with it, you can visit the property in person.
You may be confronted by an angry homeowner.
Be polite and leave if you are asked to.
Never, under any circumstance, snoop around, inspect or generally trespass unlawfully on somebody's property.
Use common sense and dress appropriately when meeting with the homeowner, something casual but not sloppy. Do not drive up in an expensive vehicle, as the homeowner will see you just like they see the lender as someone who is taking advantage of them!
Be sympathetic.
* Does the homeowner need cash?
* Is he waiting for a bailout?
* Will he go bankrupt?
Find out the facts.
* Review the loan and mortgage documents.
* Verify the loan amount, monthly payments, interest rates, taxes, etc.
* Review the insurance policies as well.
* Get all the pertinent information you can.
* Ask the owner if there are any other liens or judgments he may be aware of.
I look at investing as a mechanic - the more tools you have the more you can do - The more investing tools you have in your investors tool box the more people you can help.
Note: John Michael is the author of many guides that can help you become more successful as an investor. See http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ChanPart-JohnMichael.html
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