Moving Forward

     If you are a distressed homeowner looking for options to save your property, read the following story and watch the video from NBC 4. There are many scam artists out there. I applaud Channel 4 for covering the story and explaining how this particular foreclosure fraud works. These fraudsters would pretend to renegotiate the loan for the distressed homeowner and charged a fee. The homeowners were left with no renegotiated loan and lost their home to foreclosure.
     It always pays to do research on anyone you might do business with. This is even more important for anyone dealing with real estate and foreclosure transactions. This story is just one example of how someone offering to help you can make you lose your home and steal your equity.

Read: 2 Plead Not Guilty in Foreclosure Fraud Case

Video: How the Foreclosure Fraud Scam worked

     In its current form, this bill will do very little to help homeowners at risk of losing their home. One bright note is the $150 billion funding for pre-foreclosure counseling and stronger loan disclosure requirements. To read all about it, click here: Senate Passes Foreclosure Bill.

     Stay tuned, this bill is far from finished. Expect many changes to come from the House.

     As the number of distressed properties continues to rise, short sales are becoming more common. One thing working against all parties is the amount of time it takes for a lender to approve the short sale. Click here for a short sale article on msnbc.com.

     Lenders are currently overwhelmed by the amount of properties they have in pre-foreclosure and foreclosure. This is creating delays in approving short sale deals. Lender negotiators or terribly over worked and understaffed. They simply can’t get to each proposal in a timely manner. While the lenders sit on the proposals, property values continue to drop.