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Colorado Springs
Avoid Foreclosure, Know Your Options!
Do you own a home in Colorado Springs?
Interested in selling your house as a short-sale? Email Kathy Torline KTorline@msn.com or call 719-287-1049
Ask for help before foreclosure starts — don’t stick your heard in the sand!
Short Sales — Part II of Short Sale Series
When many homeowners are in financial trouble and not making their house payments, they go into denial. They are embarrassed, and they hope that the situation will go away. The problems usually won’t solve themselves. The fact is that the sooner a home owner faces up to the situation the better. There are option out there!
I typically meet pre-foreclosure homeowners after they’ve already missed several payments and they’ve heard something about short-sales. Maybe it’s been from a friend, maybe from the news, or maybe from their lender.
One of the first steps I do is to refer them to some of the local and national hot-lines that are now available to help home owners. I want to make sure they are as educated as possible about their options before they decide to list their home as a short-sale. I also encourage them to talk to a lawyer and/or a tax accountant. A short-sale may not be the right step for them; I want them to understand all of their options and pick the one that’s best for their situation.
Resources
One of the best resources around is the Foreclosure Hot-Line at 877-601-HOPE. There is also a local organization called The Pikes Peak Foreclosure Partnership at 719-444-8833. The goal of both of these organizations is to reduce the number of foreclosures and to serve as a consumer referral source for borrowers experiencing some form of delinquency or foreclosures. They are completely objective in their advise and can provide financial options.
There are also legitimate credit counseling services that can provide a wealth of information. Both the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies have housing counselors that can help evaluate options. Another great resource is the Housing and Urban Development Department at 800-569-287. For home owners who have a VA loan, they can call 800-827-1000 to get a referral to a financial counselor.
I also strongly suggest that a home owner has conversations with their lender to explore their options. Lenders are more willing than ever to explore alternative solutions. The sooner they are in contact with their lender the better and the faster they move the more options available. Some of the options available from lenders may include:
- Can the home owner qualify to refinance?
- Can the payments be temporary waived or reduced? (Also called a Forbearance)
- Can the unpaid balance be added to the principal of the loan, and increasing the payments slightly to cover the extra amount?
- Will the lender consider a short sale?
- Will the lender consider a deed in lieu of foreclosure?
- Will the lender consider some type of payment plan until the home owner gets caught up?
- Does the lender have any other options available?
Home owners are typically routed to the Collection Department, but they may also ask to speak to the Loss Mitigation Department.
The home owner may have a chance of saving their home,
but if they continue to ignore the situation it won’t go away.
Also, here’s a list of phone numbers at some of the major lenders.
- Acqura Loan Services 866-660-5804
- Aurora Loan Services 800-550-0509
- Bank of America 800-846-2222
- Carrington Mortgage Services 800-790-9502
- Citi Mortgage/ Citi Residentail 866-915-9417
- Countrywide Home Loans 800-669-6650
- EMC Mortgage, Inc. 877-362-6631
- First Horizon Home Loans 800-364-7662
- GMAC/Homecomings/ResCap 800-799-9250
- Home Loan Services, Inc. 800-500-5022
- HomEq Servicing 800-867-7378
- HSBC Consumer Lending 800-333-5848
- HSBC Mortgage Services 800-365-6730
- HSBC Mortgage Corporation 888-648-3124
- IndyMac Bank 866-355-7323
- JPMorgan Chase Prime Loans 800-446-8939
- JPMorgan Chase Non-Prime 877-838-1882
- JPMorgan Chase Home Equity 866-582-5208
- LandAmerica 800-909-9525
- Litton Loan Servicing 800-999-8501
- National City Mortgage Corporation 800-523-8654
- Nationstar Mortgage, LLC. 888-480-2432
- Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. 877-596-8580
- American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. 888-275-2648
- Saxon Mortgage Services 888-325-3502
- Select Portfolio Servicing 800-258-8602
- SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. 800-443-1032
- Washington Mutual, Inc. 866-926-8937
- Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 877-216-8448
- Wells Fargo Financial 800-275-9254
- Wilshire Credit Corporation 888-917-1050
Related Posts
- Colorado Springs Homes, 4 things to know about a short sale – Part I of Short Sales Series
- Colorado Springs Home Foreclosures – 11 benefits of a short sale – Part III of Short Sales Series
- The final step in the Colorado Foreclosure process – Part IV of Short Sale Series
- How long does it take to do Colorado Springs Short Sale? – Part V in Short Sale Series
- Are there tax ramifications to a Colorado Springs Short Sale – Part VI
Disclaimer: This post is not intended to be or to provide legal advice. I recommend that you speak to your attorney and your tax accountant regarding specifics.
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