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. By the time the fourth year rolls around, his work is cut back, leaving him jobless and without pay. 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 Florida Homes” companies that specialize in saving homeowners from foreclosure. There are also new refinancing programs, government solutions, and lenders that are 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 was not informed when contracting your mortgage? Now is the time to make sure you don’t make that mistake again. For Avoiding Foreclosure in Florida counseling, here is a list provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many other websites provide free counseling for distressed homeowners on their attorney general’s websites , banking department or housing 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) that have agreed to suspend the foreclosure process for 30 days for qualified borrowers seeking to keep their homes in the State of 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 mortgage relief is through We Buy Florida Homes.” Lenders are definitely more willing to come up with 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 lawyer. Ignore attorneys who advertise “quick fixes” on TV, the Internet, or phone calls. The only quick solution is to sell your house 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 a lawyer 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 Association and search for a county bar association for further assistance.

7.) You may be eligible for special assistance.

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

8.) Bankruptcy is not the easy way out

Under current Florida state law, bankruptcy can stop or delay foreclosure. Seek legal advice from a reputable source before proceeding. Bankruptcy judges cannot restructure the debt on a mortgage that covers a principal residence. “Borrowers can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which will temporarily suspend a foreclosure action. The problem is that to sustain the Chapter 13 plan, a borrower on a high-cost mortgage has to be able to make payments on the mortgage in the future, and also to pay a percentage of arrears and other debts 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 filed for 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 off credit card bills before making their monthly mortgage payment. People do this because 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 notice of default in the mail, it is too late. The borrower now owes interest and late fees in addition to the past due payments. Typically, lenders 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 forgo 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.) Buckle up.

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 on assets like jewelry or a car will work to your advantage. “Managers want to see you make sacrifices. Show some 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 to avoid 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 not be able to pay the fees involved either. The alternatives would be a payment plan or a loan modification.

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

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