Brentwood TN Homes and Real Estate

Brentwood TN Real Estate and Homes for Sale

Foreclosure is a very stressful ordeal.  Many homeowners that are facing foreclosure avoid dealing with the facts that put them into this situation in the first place.

While there are some home owners that knowingly engage in mortgage fraud and never intend on making a single payment, most homeowners are honest people who have simply been caught in unfortunate circumstances. 

Many homeowners facing foreclosure have made payments faithfully for years, but they find themselves in a situation where they are simply unable to make the payments anymore.

There are numerous reasons why home owners can be facing possible foreclosure.  Job loss is one of the most common.  Having a sudden illness or medical emergency can also be reasons for not being able to make house payments on time. There are other extenuating circumstances, such as divorce or the inability to pay an interest rate that has increased.  No matter what the cause for the situation, there are several steps you can take in order to avoid foreclosure on your home.

The best defense is a good offense.  Don't ignore the situation.  Don't just toss the letters from the mortgage company into the garbage and avoid phone calls.  If you know that something is happening and that you will be unable to pay your mortgage payments on time, the very first thing that you should do is call your mortgage lender!

The second thing to remember is that your mortgage holder does not want to foreclose on you.  Most mortgage lenders want to work out some sort of payment schedule so that you can keep your house and they will be able to get their payments.

Be honest with the mortgage company.  Let them know what your situation is and when they can expect to have a payment.  Your main goal is to keep the mortgage company from filing a Notice of Default.  If a lender files a Notice of Default, your options are severely limited, so you need to take control of the situation and make the first move toward finding a resolution.

By contacting your mortgage company and requesting time to make up the payments that you have missed, you will be well on your way toward avoiding foreclosure!

Brentwood TN Homes

Vanessa Stalets

615-957-6333

RE/MAX Elite

615-661-4400

Brentwood TN:'We Buy Houses’ How To Avoid Foreclosure Scams!

Brentwood TN Real Estate

If you are a homeowner in Brentwood or Nashville TN facing foreclosure then you are probably desperate for any lifeline that involves you keeping your home. It's not easy to handle such a complicated process all by yourself and you may be searching for expert help to get you through these tough times. There's a lot of understandable confusion surrounding the foreclosure process especially since many states still practice non-judicial foreclosure. This means that the state is not supervising the foreclosure process. So whom do you turn to, to get more details? How do you find out how much time you have before you legally lose ownership of your TN home?

A legitimate counseling agency or a reputed lawyer can help you with the right answers to these questions. Most homeowners don't know how to find a counseling service or may not be able to afford expensive legal counsel. You may find yourself being contacted by someone who seems to have all the answers to your questions and is willing to handle the foreclosure process on your behalf. He may call himself a 'foreclosure rescuer' or a 'foreclosure counselor' and offer you any number of options to save your home, from getting a second loan to offering to buy your house from you.

The rescuer, in all likelihood, is probably a scammer who is getting ready to steal your home or a substantial amount of money from you. Foreclosure rescue fraud rates are escalating all over the country. You can find a news item almost everyday about someone who was evicted from their home or a fraudster who walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars in home equity funds. Channel 5 ran an exclusive story on just this occurrence Tuesday November 18th, 2008.

Signs featuring statements like; ‘We buy houses', 'Instant cash for your home', 'Fast cash loans', 'Refinance your mortgage', seem to be everywhere these days. They can be found nailed to a tree, hanging on a fence, mounted on a telephone poll and do nothing but advertise the scammer's phone number to a gullible public. It's difficult for authorities to take action on these scammers, since they are careful not to do anything directly illegal but operate in underhanded and unethical ways to achieve their ends.

For instance, many 'We buy houses' scams in Nashville and Brentwood TN focus on getting the homeowner to agree to a second loan. The scammer tricks them into signing over the deed of their houses under the guise of filling out a loan application. Another strategy is to offer the homeowner the option of living in their home as a renter, while the scammer buys their house at a cheap rate with the promise of selling it back to them at the end of their lease period. The con artist has no intention of selling your home back to you and will make it impossible for you to meet the terms of the contract by either raising the rent, stealing your mortgage payments, taking out a second loan on your house without your knowledge or any combination of these.

The only way to truly avoid foreclosure fraud is to be aware of these tactics and exercise caution every step of the way! Don't sign ANYTHING you don't understand, isn't clear or has a lot of blank spaces and get everything checked out by your lawyer. If you decide to sell your Nashville or Brentwood TN home contact an established real estate firm to handle the deal on your behalf. This way you'll at least get the equity left in the property after you've settled your mortgage payments and any arrears. As a RE/MAX Elite REALTOR, I am always here to be of service to you, don’t hesitate to call on me for all your Nashville and Brentwood TN real estate needs!

Brentwood TN Homes

Vanessa Stalets

615-957-6333

RE/MAX Elite

615-661-4400

Brentwood TN Homes For Sale

Seniors are one of the top targets of 'foreclosure rescue specialists' for a variety of reasons. If you are a senior, you've probably lived in your home for a long time and have built up a substantial amount of home equity in the process. Even a fraction of that amount is a very attractive sum for a scammer and they may attempt to scam you out of it in a variety of ways.

It's probably not easy for you to get a loan from a lender of bank, if you are a senior facing the threat of foreclosure. It can be difficult to find somebody who will offer you a second loan on a fixed income or pension, without pledging any collateral. This is where a con artist steps in, offering to refinance your existing mortgage, typically replacing them with more expensive loans that you cannot afford to pay. When you eventually default on these payments the scammer might offer to find a buyer for you home and pocket any equity available as service fees. There are many variations of equity scams that thousands of homeowners fall prey to every year.

Another very popular scam that con artists pull on seniors features a 'home improvement' or 'home repair' hook. This type of con can even push an otherwise financially comfortable senior into foreclosure. The scammer appears disguised as a contractor and offers to make repairs on your home. They may recommend some very attractive financing options but the loans they will arrange will be out of your league or they may keep on increasing the amount you have to pay by quoting more problems they've uncovered in the course of their repairs. Defaulting on the loan or being unable to meet the rising cost of repairs can easily push you into foreclosure.

Unfortunately, seniors make very easy victims. They might not be sophisticated enough to handle complex legal issues and might be more than happy to have someone handle it for them. Many of them might be single or be widowers and may not be financially savvy. They might also be more trusting of people and more easily intimidated by fast-talking con artists. It's also easy to befriend a lonely senior, scam them under the guise of providing friendly counsel and have them sign over the deed to their house. There have been many reported cases of even family members scamming their elderly relatives.

The only way to be safe is to not fall for any of these scams. Be extremely suspicious of anyone who knocks on your door offering to save you from foreclosure by taking out another loan or who offers to make home repairs uninvited. If you do plan to make repairs, it's best to contact a legitimate contractor, check out competing bids and do a background check on the license of the contractor you decide to go with. Don't sign over the deed of your house to a friend or family member without getting some legal counsel. If you fall into the low-income category you may qualify for free legal aid.

Contact a Consumer Credit Counseling Service office or your local legal aid center to get more information on the options available to you as a senior to avoid foreclosure. As always, I am here to be of any service I can, please do not hesitate to call on me!

Brentwood TN Homes For Sale

Vanessa Stalets
615-957-6333
RE/MAX Elite
615-66104400