Lost in Loveland,

I'm sorry to hear about your current situation and you are certainly not alone. I would agree that contacting your lender is the best first step - only they can tell you if you can restructure your loan. A very important question to ask yourself is "Do I want to keep my home?" This sounds simple, but making a pro/con list often helps with such important decisions.

If you are not yet delinquent on your mortgage and have not received a Notice of Election and Demand from your lender, a current rental market analysis would be helpful to make sure you are receiving an adequate amount for monthly rent.

If you have received a Notice from your lender and you are not attached to the home, ridding yourself of the stress by selling your home (short sale or not) could definately help. Who knows, maybe the current tenant likes the home enough that they want to purchase it. You could even be surprised that the value for re-sale is more than you think.

Only you can decide what's best for you and gathering all the information possible is key. I truly wish you the best.

Lori Jarrett, Broker/Owner
Take Me Home Real Estate, LLC
970-378-2615

Hello Lost in Loveland. I certainly feel your concern and I agree that the Obama "Making Home More Affordable only assists Owner Occupied properties. First of all you should check with your lender to see if you qualify for a loan modification, they should take a brief interview over the phone and then if you may qualify they will mail you the application forms to do this. If your home Market value is more than 5 % less than what you owe you may not qualify but you may qualify for a Short Sale to sell your property. Many times the Lender will forgive the deficiency that is owed against the loan and you will be able to move on. I specialize and negotiate with Banks to work with Homeowners and I do not charge the homeowner to assist with this. I have sold several homes in Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley and Windsor and Stopped the Foreclosure process for many homeowners in the last 2 years and I still believe that it is the best option to Foreclosure if you are not wanting to keep the home. Feel Free to call me to ask me any questions, I would love to help you in any way that I can!! You can also check out my testimonials on my website. Lori Lindholm Re/Max Alliance (970) 217-4112

You should ONLY call the lender of the property and tell them your situation. Ask them if they can modify the loan (do not pay someone to do this, you can do it yourself). They can even offer a restructure. Worse case scenario, you short sell it (sell for less than you owe). The bank does not want your house and they SHOULD do everything they can to help you save it.