Home mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies are at an all-time high, following the explosive increase in subprime and adjustable rate mortgages, along with unprecedented debt loads for American families caused by high health care costs, stagnant real incomes and credit card debt.
Foreclosure Prevention Counseling provides precise and detailed advice on how families can avoid foreclosure. The mechanics of a rearranging a mortgage loan are described, and the specific workout arrangements are listed for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, subprime, FHA-insured, VA and Rural Housing Service loans. Tax and credit rating implications of a workout are also examined.
The book reviews ways families can reduce expenses, increase income, and avoid loans that can get them into even more trouble. Other topics include legal defenses to foreclosure, special rights of those in the military, challenges to overcharges and servicer errors, bankruptcy as a way to stop a foreclosure, and steps to take even after the foreclosure.
The appendices and companion CD-Rom contain sample forms, checklists, and other key documents, along with state by state summaries of foreclosure and real estate tax abatement laws. Math software helps evaluate workout possibilities.
This book is directed to housing counselors and others advising homeowners threatened with foreclosure. The book should also prove useful for the homeowners themselves.
The Companion CD-Rom contains:
Sample foreclosure prevention counseling forms;
Consumer information, including information on credit card debt and an EITC brochure;
Sample loan documents;
Summaries of state foreclosure laws;
Summaries of state real estate tax abatement laws;
HUD handbooks and 18 mortgagee letters regarding FHA-insured loans;
Handbooks and letters regarding Section 502 RHS-held loans;
Handbooks regarding VA-guaranteed loans;
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac information;
Schedule of standard attorney fees approved by HUD and investors;
and NCLC