11 Tips to Avoid Foreclosure in South Florida

Buying a home can be a scary experience. Imagine owning a home for 3 years, all payments made on time and in full. When the fourth year arrives, his work is reduced, leaving him without a job and without a salary. If this is your fear, you may be one of the millions of Americans at risk with a subprime adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Which means your interest rates will increase to a much higher percentage later this year. On the other hand, you may be a primary borrower who chose a non-traditional mortgage. You may be current on your mortgage right now, but fear company layoffs and increased expenses.

The odds of avoiding foreclosure in Florida are improving. There are now many “We Buy Homes in Florida” companies that specialize in saving homeowners from foreclosure. There are also new refinancing programs, government solutions, and lenders willing to lock in interest rates depending on the mortgage.

1.) How do I avoid foreclosure in Florida? Do your homework.

The reason many homeowners end up with unaffordable loans is because they misunderstood the terms of the loan or were scammed by loan sharks. “A good chunk of the people we see are people who got loans they never should have gotten in the first place,” says Phyllis Salowe-Kaye of Citizen Action, a large foreclosure crisis counseling agency. Are you one of those who were not informed when contracting your mortgage? Now is the time to make sure you don’t make that mistake again. For avoiding foreclosure advice in Florida, here is a list provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many other websites provide free advice for struggling homeowners on your attorney general’s websites , banking department, or home finance agency.

2.) Contact your lender immediately

If your credit has already gone down the drain, you will lose leverage power. Also, for those who don’t already have a credit problem, there are new programs to avoid foreclosure in Florida. Project Lifeline has six major lenders (Bank Of America, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, JP Morgan Chase, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo) who have agreed to suspend the foreclosure process for 30 days for qualified borrowers seeking to keep their homes in the State of the Sun. .

3.) Open all mail from lenders

Subprime lenders offer ARM resets through the mail months before the interest rate reset is scheduled.

4.) Be patient

“Too many people are trying to solve the problem with quick takeaway tips,” says Salowe-Kaye. “The fastest way to get relief from a mortgage is through ‘We Buy Homes in Florida’ has a tip for you. He advises, ‘You can’t solve this with a phone call.’ lenders are definitely more willing to make plans.

5.) Contact a free or low-cost housing counselor

For HUD-certified counselors helping homeowners avoid foreclosure in Florida, visit the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

6.) Get a qualified expert to help you navigate the foreclosure process

Don’t stop at a housing counselor, the next number to call is a foreclosure attorney. Ignore lawyers who advertise “quick fixes” on TV, the Internet, or on the phone. The only quick fix is ​​to sell your home quickly to a “We Buy Houses Florida” company. They are the only company you can trust to give you a free consultation and help you navigate the foreclosure process. To find an attorney you can trust, contact Legal Services Corp.

If your income level is low enough, they will connect you with an affiliated agency. Call the Florida State Bar and search for a county bar association for more help.

7.) You may be eligible for special assistance.

The federal FHASecure program can provide a fixed-rate refinance option for homeowners with an adjustable-rate mortgage and a good credit rating. Current and former members of the military who have served in the last 90 days may be eligible for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act which offers foreclosure protection.

8.) Bankruptcy is not the easy way out

Under current Florida state law, bankruptcy can stop or delay foreclosure. Seek legal advice from a trusted source before proceeding. Bankruptcy judges cannot restructure mortgage debt that covers a primary residence. “Borrowers can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which will temporarily stay a foreclosure action. The problem is that in order to sustain the Chapter 13 plan, a borrower in a high-cost mortgage has to be able to make payments on the mortgage. in the future, and also to pay off a percentage of arrears and other debt each month,” says Josh Zinner of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project in New York. Furthermore, he believes that relief programs, such as Project Lifeline, are not available to borrowers who have entered bankruptcy.

9.) Keeping payments current is the most important factor in avoiding foreclosure in Florida

Mindy Wright, a housing counselor in Elyria, Ohio, says people often make the mistake of paying credit card bills before they make their monthly mortgage payment. People do this because the credit card companies call them right away and often use threatening tactics to get the borrower to pay. Banks, however, take a long time to communicate and only communicate through the mail. Once the borrower receives the default notice in the mail, it is too late. The borrower now owes interest and late fees in addition to past due payments. Lenders generally will not contact their borrowers until 60-90 days have passed. Credit card companies will harass you day and night until the late payment is up to date. Wright advises homeowners to give up credit card companies and pay their mortgage payment first. “If you don’t pay your credit card bill, it could ruin your credit score, but a foreclosure will affect your credit score much more negatively, plus you won’t have a place to live,” she says.

10.) Fasten your seat belt.

Get rid of luxuries like cable and Netflix. Doing so will give you bargaining power when you sit down to negotiate. Being willing to bring any money to the table and willing to cash in assets like jewelry or a car will work in your favor. “Administrators want to see you make sacrifices. Show a little effort,” says Michael van Zalinger, director of homeownership services for Chicago’s Neighborhood Housing Services. When you talk to the bank, be sure to gather pay stubs, benefit statements, and tax returns.

11.) Familiarize yourself with foreclosure exercises aimed at avoiding foreclosure in Florida

The best solution would be to refinance into a long-term mortgage by spreading the missed payments over time and raising the interest rate slightly. This option requires good credit and is rarely applied to the average Florida homeowner. You may also not be able to pay the fees involved. The alternatives would be a payment plan or a loan modification.

The first resource that actually pays you would be to sell your home to a “We Buy Houses Florida” company.

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