My colleagues here have very good points on the "how" to postpone the sale - and I agree. I'd also like to address the "why" - because as a distressed property specialist, I see a lot of misinformation out there, and encounter people who are hurt, angry, depressed or frustrated every day, to the point of just walking away.

I recently met with a family who was advised by an attorney that they would be better off just walking away and letting the bank foreclose. This attorney warned of tax implications - and his information was both outdated and bogus. In this situation, the debt qualified for tax exclusion under the Mortgage Debt Relief Foregiveness Act of 2007 - plus the family would be insolvent at the time of the discharge of debt. He told them that there would be no difference credit-wise to their situation between foreclosure and short sale. He was wrong. A foreclosure and a short sale are looked at very differently by creditors looking to extend credit in the future. A prime example is Fannie Mae. When losing a home, sometimes it's difficult to see forward to a time when you might want to embrace being a homeowner again, but this too will pass, and homeownership remains the number one vehicle for building long-term financial security for most Americans.

Here is a link to the changes that were implemented in Fannie Mae with regards to qualifying for a conventional loan again after bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sales, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure.

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2008/0816.pdf

The guidelines were changed in 2008 as the foreclosure crisis grew and this issue became relevant. Based on todays rules, one can qualify for a Fannie Mae conventional loan 2 years following a short sale - however, it will be 5-7 years if there is a foreclosure - AND special rules, like higher down payments will be required in years 5-7. unless there are special circumstances, which will need to be demonstrated and found acceptable to Fannie Mae, in which case it will be no earlier than 3 years following foreclosure.

In 2 years, very likely, homes will still be within reach for most who would qualify today. But in 5-7 years? Are you really willing to risk that in order to avoid making a solid attempt at short sale? We can't change our past, but tomorrow is up to us. N'est-ce pas?

IMHO -

Jeri Creson, Broker
TotalAccess Realty Advisors
(818) 448-1298
jericreson@yahoo.com

Hire a Certified Distressed Property Expert Realtor and have them start negotiating with the bank right away. A Short Sale can delay the foreclosure process if processed correctly. Remember there is no cost, fee or charge to you in the short sale process so take advantage of expert help

Hello,
I am a short sale expert located right in your area of La Jolla. Note the following based on Obama's new plan
1) Once your NOD is filed you can wait the 90 days before your notice of Foreclosure Sale is filed. At this point the best way to stall the foreclosure date is to file for a modification which will extend the period for another 90 days likely. During this period you will want to get with an expert who can tell you whether your modification is likely to succeed. In most cases modifications do not go through. In fact only several thousand were done all last year.
2) Now that your modification has not gone through you have a couple options a) short sale or b) ride it out and live free until foreclosure. If you want to protect your credit and move on to bigger and better things... then short sale. My office is in downtown la jolla. I am an Asset Manager for CHASE, GMAC and FANNIE MAE as well as a BROKER and REALTOR right in la jolla. Believe me when i tell you that you are not alone and I am working with several people in your exact same shoes right now in La Jolla with Multi-million dollar homes. Give me a call 619-823-2120 http://www.TheLaJollaLife.com

My firm has successfully completed many short sale transactions and I would be happy to help. A 5 min phone call will help in your decision process. Thanks

John McConnin's advice below got my THUMBS UP.....

Take that advice and run with it!

Good Luck!!!

A good start in most states to do it free, find a short sale specialist in your area and get an offer to purchase submitted. No matter the validity or price, most lenders will stop the process for some time from this. Find a good short sale expert:

Options:
Not necessarily in order. You may wish to weigh all your option before calling your lender.

1. Call you lender and ask them what it will take to get the foreclosure off calendar
2. Call an experienced real estate attorney and ask way you can do to gain an advantage in your negotiations with your lender. You may also wish to find out if you will owe for a deficiency if you take a foreclosure. While speaking with a lawyer you may ask about bankruptcy or filing a suit to block the foreclosure.
3. Consider applying for a loan modification
4. Consider presenting a short sale package to the lender. Make sure your Realtor can show you that they have closed at least 10 short sales. You may wish to work with a Realtor who has a real estate attorney on their team who will work with you.

I would first look at the makinghomeaffordable.gov site and see if you qualify - do not pay anyone a fee to help you modify your loan 9 times out of ten it is a scam!

If you do not qualify on makinghomeaffordable then consider other options such as a short sale.

Our entire team holds the CDPE designation and we are true experts when it comes to executing smooth short sales. We believe it is the most common sense way to prevent foreclosure

If you are in Arizona, and your loan has at least 30 days before foreclosure and it meets the criteria (like having a MERS number), you can get a forensic analysis of your loan to see if you might quailify for Mortage Relief whereby, through a 6-12 month legal process you can demand the lender to produce the note. Since the lender is in MERS, they don't have the note and hence have no standing to foreclose on your property (or collect any money on your property. (See below for links to a better explanation. BTW, you don't have to be in foreclosure or have any problems with or paying for your loan to qualify. It is a matter of the loan itself qualifying or not qualifying.)

Here are some don't qualifies:
NO Credit Union, USAA, Wells Fargo (probably) or private money loans though we have other products that might help you such as loan mod (with in AZ) and a way to use debt to pay off your debt (see http://www.primeequitybuilder.com/freeanalysis -- Beth H. in drop down -- to see what it can do for you. Contact me to sign up for a free 7 day trial. Works anywhere, not just AZ.)

NO Bankruptcy in process or conlucluded within 6 months

Loan will likely have to be a 2007 loan or older.

I want you to know that my company in Arizona has been successful in 3 cases concluded so far in getting the note (deed of trust in AZ) effectively nullified. If you know of someone living in Arizona who has one of these types of mortgages (see below for basic criteria), you or they can contact me in Tucson at 297-8572 (answering machine picks up first). This is a great process for ILLIMINATING YOUR MORTGAGE where, at the end of 6-12 months, the only thing the owner owed on the house was the legal fees (base on current market vaule which cn be found by comparing zillow.com and bankofamerica.cyberhomes.com to see what that might be.) There is an initial $1500 up front legal fee to start the process but, if you don't want the house in the end, you won't have to pay anything and can walk out with cash in the pocket.

I am taking appointments for this week and for Sunday 22 Nov. as there are a few openings and I understand that the week may be busy. What someone going through this process will need to bring to the ~1 hr appointment (or email if not in Tucson area but property in AZ) are all the documents received at close. Pima County Recorder's office told me that they have a copy of all that but when my friend went to get her copy because she is careless with documents, they only gave her the deed of trust. All loan docs and not just the deed of trust are needed in order to conduct a forensic analysis to see if the loan first contains any errors in the loan itself that prima facia will qualify you or does not have a note to back it up. (For example, a MERS number probably means it also qualifies.)

Beyond that, call me (as I have been having computer issues) to get an appointment in Tucson or by telephone (property must be located in AZ) at 297-8572 (3) where my answering machine will take your information and I will get back to you.

Understand that I make no promises as a loan has to qualify and we only take clear cut cases. Also, no know-it-alls who think they can improve on what we are doing. There was one case like that and we don't want a repeat. We only take cases we know already that we can win. Therefore, we will refund any money after the initial $1500 if your case is not successful as if we loose (and it wasn't because you were a intruding know-it-all), then it

is our fault. We are that confident of our success. (Do note what the Attorney General of Arizona is threatening on doing.)

And do get in quickly as we don't want to take more cases than we can handle and Congress is bound to shut this down in the not too distant future because the banks will insist upon it.

Here some good explanations of the whole thing.
http://www.trulia.com/blog/jimmccormack/2009/10/legal_loopho…

http://rismedia.com/2009-09-28/op-ed-60-million-mortgages-ma…

Hello Four,

There are several options for a property owner that is facing Foreclosure or a Trustee – Sale.

It seams like the clock is ticking faster than normally, when facing these challenges.

I do like to help the Home-Owner that is facing the inevitable the “Trustee-Sale.”

It really is a matter of educating the homer-owner with challenges.

In the very beginning, the property –owner is aware of the fact that something has to be done.
In order to avoid Foreclosure.

1.) You should have contacted a Competent Real Estate Attorney some time back when this challenge came up and follow his advice.

The first step would be to call the bank and ask them if you qualify for a Loan Modification, if denied.

The next step would be a short sale; this requires that all conditions are subject to Lenders Approval

If you have been served with a (NOD) by the lien holder that is a Notice of Default,

There are time limits set by the California Law that has to be complied with.

2.) Refer to the Article:
Here's One for the Little Guy / that I made available, written by Barbara Cohen

3.) Pray harder than normally, you need all the help you can get.

4.) I just want to make this clear, that I am not giving any legal advice!

For more information about Loan Modifications, Short-Sales and any Real Estate Questions, please contact me at:

Ryan Gussman, Realtor, SRES, e-PRO
Altera Wilson Real Estate
Selling-Buying-Close-Escrow-with Ryan

I Specialize in Listings that do not sell!

Ryan helps the Community to get affordable Housing and up to $8,000 in Benefits
800-985-0691
818-429-4863 http://www.RyanDreamHomes.listingbook.com
http://www.DreamHomescalif.com

rgussman@alterawilson.com
Nosotros Hablamos Español
Ca. License # 01214018

Here's One for the Little Guy / by Barbara Cohen – presented by Ryan Gussman
Ever wonder how so many Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO) were able to get their footing?
Of course, the banks are eager to blame the borrowers, who they say were reckless and bought homes above their income brackets. But no one talks about the bank's participation and the concept of "packaging."
Well, no one was really talking about it before.But that might be about to change. We'll get to why in a moment.
Just Because it's a Package, Doesn't Mean it's a Gift
Packaging is nothing new in the banking / brokerage world. It's the norm, not the exception.
Because many of you may not fully understand what happened behind the scenes, and others of you may be facing foreclosure, I thought I would give you some insight into what happened that might help you understand or even take action if you are in foreclosure yourself.

While many borrowers might have bought above their means, the banks were just as complicit in creating the CDO disaster.
Passing Notes
The loan-originating company sells the note to an investment banker or hedge fund and collects the full value of the note upfront. A copy of your note is created and stamped "paid in full." The loan-originating company has no right to foreclose because it received all its money when it sold the note.
Before greed took control of the market, the holder of the note (i.e., an investment banker) would store the note in a vault. If someone defaulted on their loan, the investment bankers would produce the note to prove they owned it and that they had bought it from the loan-originating company.
But greed changed all that.
Instead of vaulting the original note, those notes were "re-packaged" with thousands of other notes into what became known as CDOs. There were low-risk CDO mortgage packages, moderate-risk CDO mortgage packages and high-risk CDO mortgage packages.

Most of those original packages are still valid and producing income.
However, the moderate-risk and high risk-mortgages were not easy to sell. To resolve this, these mortgages were re-packaged by mixing them with low-risk mortgages, and sold to conservative investors.
Remember, the investment banker paid only one time for the instrument and only has the right to place the note in one package. Repackaging was a highly illegal use of mortgages.
In order to hide the trail of their activities, investment bankers destroyed the notes so no one could trace which CDO packages the note was actually put in. But since the notes are destroyed, ownership is difficult to establish.

Who Really Owns Your Loan?

When borrowers default on their loans, investment bankers want to foreclose quickly so they can retain some value to their mutual funds. They quickly sell the mortgage to a foreclosure bank. They can't sell the note because it was destroyed. This leaves the foreclosure bank vulnerable because it does not have proof that it owns the note.

Remember, the only thing that the borrower signed is a note. The only asset is the note that represents the actual property.

And even though the investment banker has a record of monthly payments that he sells to the foreclosure bank, this may not be sufficient to establish actual ownership.

When a borrower is foreclosed upon, the foreclosure represents a lawsuit. The foreclosure bank brings a lawsuit against the borrower for failure to pay. The bank is the plaintiff and the borrower is the defendant.

Since the borrower is the defendant, he has the right to call for "discovery." Discovery is the pre-trial litigation procedure in which both the plaintiff and defendant request relevant information and documents from each other. Discovery generally includes depositions, requests for inspection and document production. The defendant requires the plaintiff to produce the note.

The problem for the foreclosing bank is either it does not have the note at all because it was destroyed to stop the audit trail, or it says "paid in full" -- in which case, nothing is owed to the bank.
If the note has been modified in any way (even with a stamp on it), the defendant can say, "That is not the note I signed; produce the original note to prove you own it. The bank needs to produce one just like it to prove ownership, not one that says "paid in full."
Deutsche Bank: The Warning, Not the Example

Here's one for the little guy that just happened to Deutsche Bank on July 14, 2009. This may now change the entire foreclosure situation.

One New Jersey judge decided to take a stand by dismissing a foreclosure action brought by Deutsche Bank Trust Company of America. The defendants required Deutsche Bank to produce the note as part of their discovery process.

Have an offer in front the bank, and ask the negotiator with the bank to request a postponement of the trutee sale. Have an offer in front the bank, and ask the negotiator with the bank to request a postponement of the trustee sale. We recently had 2 trustee sales postponed , and sold a short sale 3 weeks prior to the scheduled trustee sale.
To avoid last minute panic, ask the negotiator or the banks representative once every other week if a trustee sale is scheduled, then you will ample time to deal with getting it postponed.

TODAY WE WON WITH PREJUDICE
WE WON CASE OVER
CORBETT VERSUS AURORA
Press Release:
LOS ANGELES, CA
NOVEMBER 13TH 2009
WORD JUST IN – SUPERIOR COURT OF SOLANO
“WE WON WE WON” WITH PREJUDICE


CORBITT VS AURORA VCM104344
EVERYONE JOIN US IN CELEBRATION

** We Forgive those out to prove my arguments wrong**


WE WON – JUST IN ** WE WON DECISION FINAL
Won with prejudice …..Won in Court – it’s over for Corbitt v Aurora Case Closed ….
Over Homeowner will never leave this home again….Over

expert.witness@live.com
Ph 213-627-2324
Call to hear the recorded message from the court house of Plaintiff
screaming out “We won We won….. its over case wrongful foreclosure
We won!expert.witness@live.com
Ph 213-627-2324
God Bless
MSOLIMAN

Might I make one more small point, directed to my fellow agents - Let's not run around in panic in fear of the Man, to the detriment of the consumer, shall we? There is NOTHING in the law that prevents me, as a professional, with the skills to advise and help a consumer, from sharing what I know in a public forum. May I take an advance fee and make promises to stop a foreclosure? No. But NOTHING prevents me from either lending my experience pro bono, or betting on the odds that my work will result in a successful avoidance of foreclosure and be satisfied with payment at that time. Nor does ANYTHING in the law prevent me from telling a consumer their options, and telling them which of those options I am licensed to help them with - ie: short sales. Thank God - because if that were true, I would be packing my bags to leave this country now. It's called unfair restraint of trade.

Whenever, we, as a society start buying into the idea that our government has the right to restrain our trade, and make it illegal for us to do our jobs so that only a government agency can do that work legally, we have handed over our constitution, rolled over, and given in to communism. I for one, am not prepared to do that.

In the wake of predatory lending, we, as a people, need to take care that we do not allow our government to color and categorize us as weak, helpless and too feeble minded to make our own informed decisions. Once that happens, the balance of power is tipped. If government must step in and protect us from ourselves...allow me to give you a history lesson: government also wins the right to make your choices for you and take away your freedoms. It is a yin/yang, balance of nature sort of thing. He who has the responsibility, also has the rights. They are a bundled package.

Are you ready to give up your rights, so that your government can provide you with the illusion that you are protected? If so, please buy a ticket now to the closest communist country, and get a jump on the rest of us learning how stand in bread lines.

IMHO

Jeri Creson

There are two things you must know - first - I, as a real estate professional, cannot help you postpone the sale - only YOU can. You can call your bank immediately and insist on talking to loss mitigation. Let them know that you are interested in making alternate arrangements to avoid foreclosure. It's going to be up to you to act quickly, not take no for an answer and keep pressing until you get someone who will listen to you. Sometimes if you call back after getting a no - you'll get a different person who will take a more compassionate stance. You don't ask - you don't get.

Next, do seek legal advice, but please be aware, lawyers are not necessarily "knights on white horses" coming to your rescue. Often they have a financial agenda that isn't necessarily in your best interest. I would suggest, in addition to anything you hear from an attorney, that you bring that information and your situation to one (or more) of the many non-profit agencies who are authorized to help homeowners in foreclosure. They can be found here:

http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/topics/avoiding…

Please know this - you do your best - and if the answer is, "it's too late", know that you can recover from foreclosure. It isn't the end of the world. All we can ever do is our best, and then we have to accept life as it comes.

I wish you the best of luck, and if you decide, after getting some advice from the HUD approved agencies, that you would like to attempt a short sale, I'll be happy to answer your questions about that process at that time.

Jeri Creson, Broker
TotalAccess Realty Advisors
jericreson@yahoo.com
(818) 448-1298

Find a local Short Sale Specialist, and submit a short sale offer!

I advise you get true legal advise you get on this question. I have a attorney to recommend if interested. However, by filing a notice to modify your loan with the bank, the bank is obligated under the obama plan to iniate the option of a modification. If you have already been turned down for a modification, a Bankruptcy is another option to "stay" your property until bankruptcy is concluded and your property is released to the bank from the Trustee of the BK. You could likely postpone Trustee Sale for several months. A Bk has been the choice of many recently. I hope this helps. 619-823-2120 - justin brennan

Please consult legal council. Though we may have the answers.......we are no permitted to answer this as a real estate pro.

Always consult a legal practitioner in seeking to clarify or defend your rights. I would be better served staying off this question myself. But 20 years of secondary and capital markets has allowed me to move out of Wall Street onto main street.

Having spent two years inside law firm and having testified in these matters counsel who relied on me I have prevailed. Not I should I say but the testimony and arguments given to counsel. If you have a lawyer that can comment on the subject you will be a well sought and highly desire name on the internet. This scene is played out every day and is unfortunate. Mortgage backed securities offered domestic and international investors in exchange for yields based upon high cost predatory loans. Want to beat the system - don't call me. Want to know if your rights under the lenders security you gave them were circumvented - read the trust indenture (on line SEC) and GAAP criteria as administered by the Federal Accounting Standards Board. Want a modification or allow a realtor to conduct a Short sale. . . .You know what the odds are of the last item of mention here.

See my blog here on Tulia

I agree with Tada.




js

Any Agent who answers this question is putting themselves in legal danger. A real estate Agent SHOULD not claim to be able to "help stop a foreclosure." Contact an appropriate legal professional for an answer to this question.

I know this will seem really far fetched, but you could try paying the money you owe... Contact your bank, pay the amount you are in default.... Why would you want to stop the trustee sale, if you aren't going to be able to keep the house? just gaming the system to keep it a bit longer? if so, you have remarkably low morals.

THIS IS THE TYPE OF RECKLESS AND SELFSERVING VEIW FOR ONLY SOMEONE OTHER WISE HAVING THEIR HEAD BURRIED IN THE SAND. THE OBLIGATION WAS NEVER BROUGHT INTO QUESTION WITH THIS LEVEL HEADED QUESTION.

ITS THE DEED OR SECURITY THAT IS ASKEW HERE AND SUBJECT TO CHALLENGE. IF THE LENDER IS UNABLE TO PERFORM UP TO PAR IN A REGULATED ENVIROMENT THEN FIND THE DEFECTS AND HOLD UP THE SALE. YOUR DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHO THE PARTIES IN INTEREST ARE TAKING YOUR HOME. CONGRESS PASSED 30 YEARS OF LEGISLATION FOR THIS ONE PURPOSE.

Confer with an attorney OR contact the lender in most instances bank truly does not want your property returned try work out those issues.

Good luck

National Featured Realtor and Consultant, Texas Mortgage Loan Officer, Credit Repair Lecturer
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lynn911
Lynn911

http://www.lynn911.com

most of the advice on this thread is wrong, some is immoral and unethical.
filing bankruptcy will not delay the sale too long if the bank is active in removing the home from the bankruptcy
submitting a low fake short sale offer is unethical unless you truly have a short sale buyer.

The usual practise is to file for bankruptcy. Find a real estate attorney who an advise you and deal with short sales. He will be able to give you an idea of what it will takle to slow down the process.

Lenders know that many homeowners will file bankruptcy because attorneys advertise so heavily and the homeowners do not understand the legal process. When the lender gets notice that a bankruptcy has been filed by the homeowner, they immediately instruct their attorney to petition the court for its release from the bankruptcy filing. A special hearing will be scheduled so there may be a few days delay in your having to leave your home. However, when the court hears the lender's petition to release the home, the court will approve it. Now the homeowner has a bankruptcy to contend with, and his home will be back on track to be foreclosed on and later sold by the lender.
This "simple fix" is not so simple.

Dear Four,

Find an attorney and file "Bankruptcy" ASAP or prior to trustee sale date.

I've had clients attend the hearing that preceeds the sale and ask for an extension when the bank was unwilling to postpone the sale. More often than not, they've been granted an additional 60 days if there had been no prior postponements.

I am not a lawyer and would never give legal advice, but I personally have submitted a low investor offer to the lender. Once they have an offer on their records, and you need to call every 24 hours and sometimes fax the offer multiple times to make sure they get it, they may postpone the sale. It must be a REAL offer, i.e. your investor must really be willing and able to purchase it at that price. It is not always an offer high enough that I expect the lender to take it, but it is a real offer, and that is usually enough to get them to postpone the sale. I also ONLY do this if I already have a listing agreement and I am in the process of helping the owner sell the property; usually a short sale. That way, I'm not getting it postponed just to see it go back to auction the next month.

Four,
Are you a homeowner? Is the property for sale (short sale?) If so, your agent can request an extension with a workout negotiator with your lender until they can give you an approval. Also, are you trying to do a loan modification? You probably need to give us more information so we can help.

Charita King
562-276-8681
Century 21 My Real Estate Co.

Christina,
Thank you.
I believe Realtors and others need to commit to memory the following phrase; "In my humble opinion." Supported with, "I am of course not offering any legal advice."
Further, I'm amazed at how many will actually violate their own Code of Ethics by solicitng people, in wiriting, who have clearly mentioned they are working with an Agent and are simply asking a question.
http://www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code

I realize honest professionals are at a competitive disadvantage. Our non-profits goal is to level the playing field and promote only those professionals who are willing to set themselves apart and be held to the highest standards.

Did anyone take into consideration that the minute you gave advice "as a professional" on how to stop a trustee sale....you broke the California Foreclosure Consultant law (passed July 1st 2009? FYI - $25,000 per incident in convicted. Just be careful you never know who is asking the question.

The Agent Center

If that's all you're trying to do...is postpone the trustee sale. All you have to do is call the bank and request that the date be postponed. I do it all the time for my clients. I have successfully delayed trustee sales several times for the same properties and effectively delayed sales for literally months.

You can fight the lender and not lose your home at all. Would you rather Foreclose, short sale or keep your home.

If you received a home loan or have refinanced over the last
seven years, there is a very good chance you have been a
victim of predatory lending!
This means that in the process of getting a home loan or
refinancing your home, your lender caused you financial
harm and placed you in a loan that violates your rights under
Federal and/or state laws and for which you are now entitled
to seek justice.
Although your current mortgage situation is unfortunate, the
opportunity to challenge your mortgage and hold your
lender accountable for past actions and misconduct is great
news!
Loans must be legal to remain enforceable by the lender. Loan
Violations are serious offenses of Federal Consumer
Protection Law and lenders may face stiff fines and legal
consequences for breaking these laws.
A Forensic Mortgage Audit determines violations of the laws
governing lenders. An audit report provides a powerful tool
for negotiating with your lender.

If you want to know how to get started email me.

I know this will seem really far fetched, but you could try paying the money you owe... Contact your bank, pay the amount you are in default....

Why would you want to stop the trustee sale, if you aren't going to be able to keep the house? just gaming the system to keep it a bit longer???? if so, you have remarkably low morals.

BK . . .Stops it dead in the tracks. Ask an attorney to set still the matter for 10 days for avoiding a lawsuit.

There are several ways to postpone trustee sale.
1. File Bankruptcy.
2. Call Lender ask for Loss mitigation unit & give them your financials.
3. Go for short sale.
4. Give lender deed in lieu of foreclosure.
5. Loan modification.
What you should do will depend on individual circumstances.

The best way is for your to contact your lender immediately. Ask for thehome retention department. Tell them your scenario and ask what they can do to help. You do not need to pay anyone where you can do this yourself. If you have the ability to make any sort of monthly payments ask them about a loan modification of forebearance. If you have no ability to pay ask them about a short sale and if all fails ask them about deed in lieu of foreclosure. Good luck with working things out.

You can certainly complete the short sale process to sell your home. Don't wait until it's too late to get the process started. We get scared and we do nothing but there is always a solution to your situation you just have to inquire.

You can always hire an attorney to postpone the process as well. They have their fees associated with that but if you get started quickly when you know there is trouble, you can avoid going the attorney route.

There are two basic ways to quickly postpone a Trustee Sale... One is to pay an upfront retainer (around $3,000 to $5,000) to a Bankruptcy Attorney who can immediately file Bankruptcy for the homeowner. One needs to determine what their financial end goal is for this has other serious financial ramifications. One should consult a good Attorney to determine if this is the best option.

The other approach, is to contact an experienced Short Sale Real Estate Broker and have them conduct a Short Sale. A Short Sale is less damaging to ones credit then a Foreclosure, or Bankruptcy, and can often times remove all debts associated with the subject property. Can also often terminate debt associated with a HELOC loan, when a Foreclosure will not. Make sure you work with a seasoned Short Sale pro. For more details, visit us on the web at ShortSalesASAP.com

Exactely what is; "attorney based"? According to the State Bar an attorney must be in the modification business as their main scope of practice and their "assistants" must be in their location and supervised.
Most in the business of modifications are not following the State Bar's own regulations.
I'm sure all who have or will respond here are in compliance, but if you are a consumer, be warned. The crooks out number the good guys by a overwhelming margin.
For those who cannot afford an attorney, Springboard is having a great deal of success in helping homeowners in trouble and they are free to the public. Questions? http://www.freehomeownershiphelp.org

As a real estate broker in California and working with a loss mitigation expert the best way to postpone the auction is to either have an offer on the property or deal with a reputable loan modifcation or loss mitigation expert that is attorney based and depending on the circumstances and who the lender is, they might be able to postpone the auction even if it is near the date of auction.

Holy crud, who the heck is Lynn?
Lynn, if you have had actual success, please contact me as our non-profit does homebuyer education backed by local government and we are rolling out a certification for professionals. I'm interested in knowing more about you, besides your willingness to give such a detailed explanation!
chris@thesorensenteam.com

Pretty good answers so far - especially from lynn.

As an attorney and a real estate broker I see two major options.
If have received a notice of sale you should investigate both options at once.

Make sure you find a lawyer who is willing to file a suit in the appropriate court house. (if necessary)
Make sure the lawyer can show you some recent successes.
Ask him or her his fee.
Ask him or her how much lead time he or she needs
Know what you will be expected to produce and do.
While you are speaking with an attorney you may wish to determine whether you have recourse on non recourse loans.
Find out your downside. Will you owe the first lender for the deficiency after a foreclosure? Probably not, but be sure. Will you owe the second lender? You probably will if you have recourse loans.
You also may find out what you exposure is to taxes after a foreclosure
Finally you may find out how much you will owe the lenders after a short sale.
(note: many lenders do not release the deficiency).

Negotiations

If you have some time before the foreclosure date.
You can then determine whether you should consider a short sale
or Loan Mod or a Forbearance.

Many lenders will take foreclosure sales off calender if you put a complete pre-foreclosure package in front of them. Some even take partial packages and some will take down your info over the phone and then give you a decisions within 24 hours.

However, I advise everyone to avoid last minute negotiating. At some point in time it may become too late.
Finally, if you do get a postponement of the foreclosure sale make sure the trustee takes the sale off their calendar.

John McConnin, Esq.

I do it all the time, many of my clients are referred to me with this exact predicament and I have been successful in stopping every single one. In most cases they are losing their homes due to financial hardships where there is no/ to little income and they have exhausted the possibility of a loan modification. I have investors ready to make offers on any listing I take, we quickly package up your file and get an offer into the bank and request the sale to be place on hold till further notice. It's a challenge but with the right team and full cooperation it can be done in most cases! Remember banks want to minimize their losses and a short-sale saves them a great amount of cost therefore if they feel they can sell it as such, they will exhaust their efforts to do so.

Part Two:

Alternatively, the transferor may indorse the instrument in blank, and thereby make it enforceable by anyone in its possession (much like paper currency). See CComC § 3205(b). Bottom line, did the Servicer possess the note or where they acting as an agent for the entity possessing the note? And if so, was the note either endorsed to the Servicer or its Principal, or endorsed in blank?

If the servicer meets these two requirements, then it has the ability to enforce the note and foreclose. Again, it all depends upon POSSESSION and ENDORSEMENT.

3-301(b), Nonholder in possession of the instrument who has the rights of a holder: Was the entity filing the Notice of Default and subsequent actions, in possession of the Note, without endorsement, but with Holder rights? Typically, this occurs where a note was transferred to a new owner pursuant to a purchase and sale agreement, but without endorsement. In other words, the new owner obtained possession of the note pursuant to a valid purchase and sale agreement, but for some reason or another, the seller never signed off and negotiated the note through an endorsement. In that case, the new owner meets the possession requirements of 3-301 (a) and (b), but is not considered a “Holder” by reason of CCC 1-202(b)21 to qualify under CCC 3-301(a) due to the lack of endorsement, but nevertheless has the rights of a holder due to the purchase and sale agreement. In this situation, a prudent debtor would demand inspection of the purchase and sale agreement to confirm whether the alleged owner has the “rights of a Holder.”

Only when the underlying enforceability issues of the Promissory Note are established, can an entity then look to any Deed of Trust which is only an accessory security interest which then gives rise to a foreclosure right. Most lenders miss the forest between the trees at this stage, and just assume that since the Deed of Trust was assigned to them, they can automatically foreclose.

But the Deed of Trust is only incidental to the underlying Promissory Note. It has no effect without the note. It is legally impossible to foreclose on any real property without the Note. The Deed of Trust is a legal nullity by itself, and means nothing without the note. These lenders entirely skip the underlying enforceability of a foreclosure which only arises upon actual Note possession and proper endorsement/obtaining Holder rights.

So if you are facing foreclose, you may wish to demand inspection of the original note. Even if the note is produced, then demand proof that possession existed when the Notice of Default was entered. And even if possession existed properly at all times, endorsement and negotiability must be proper and timely. When was the note endorsed? Who was it endorsed to. Is there an agency relationship between the foreclosing agent and endorsee? Is the endorsement in blank? If there is no endorsement, is there a purchase and sale agreement that gives Holder rights, and did it exist prior to the Notice of Default?

As always, seek a competent attorney that will investigate these issues if you are having any doubts as to the enforceability of a foreclosure proceeding you are a party to.

Part One:

In a typical foreclosure, ABC Company, the last entity the borrower was paying, simply contacts its foreclosure company to issue a Notice of Default and move forward with the foreclosure process. Everyone seems to assume that ABC Company has the ability to foreclose in the first place since that was who the borrower was paying recently and who the borrower may have received a notice that their loan was “sold” to.

Because of these assumptions, most lenders, attorneys, and borrowers altogether skip or completely assume the negotiability requirements of UCC article 3 have been met during all previous transfers of the promissory note, and jump straight to the UCC article 9 security interests issues.

Check your Deed of Trust and Promissory Note. Chances are that XYZ Company is the original lender, not ABC company, and you simply received notice that your loan was sold some time ago. But keep in mind what really took place. Chances are, in today’s securitization market, that your note was securitized in a pool with other notes to a Trust, that was then sold to a substantial number of investors on Wall Street.

So in effect, even though XYZ originated the note, the note eventually concluded its transfers and now resides in a Trust. Or, as which often happens, the Trust owns the note, but somewhere along the note transfers, the actual possession of the note never made it to the Trust.

So in this example, we will assume that New York Bank is the Trustee now owning the note in the ZZZ-1234 trust. Whether New York Bank actually possesses the Note is a different matter. And since possession allows enforcement rights, it is possible that New York Bank may own the Note, but has no ability to foreclose.

In a perfect world, the transfers were all proper and New York Bank as Trustee of the ZZZ-1234 Trust has the ability to enforce the note and foreclose if payments are not made. Nevertheless, Trustee of the Trust does not service the note. Instead, another entity services the note. Sometimes, it may be the original party that originated the note, such as XYZ company in this example, and the borrower thinks they had the same lender the entire time without knowing their loan was sold.

Often, however, is that the servicer changes and the borrower concludes that the new servicer owns the note. Again, this is not true since the Trust owns the note and the new servicer is simply servicing the note on behalf of the Trust. Then, when a foreclosure action is started, another entity usually enters the scene since the Servicer typically hires an outside foreclosure entity to conduct the Trustee sale, such as ReconTrust, Quality Loan Servicing, etc.

The confusing transfers of the Note should also not be confused with the Deed of Trust filed with the County Recorder, and any of its subsequent transfers and assignments. While the underlying Note is the genesis to any enforcement issues, the Deed of Trust is merely an accessory to the underlying note, and only provides rights to the collateral real estate if payments are not met. The Deed of Trust is meaningless without a Promissory Note. Indeed, case law is well defined in California, that a Deed of Trust without the underlying note is a “Legal Nullity.”

Remember, that the entity that is attempting to enforce the note is the Servicer. So that means that either the Servicer actually has the ability to enforce the note under CCC 3-301 or that they are the agent of the entity that has the ability to enforce the note under CCC 3-301. Assuming that the Trust (in this example ZZZ-1234 Trust with the New York Bank as Trustee) owns and possess the note and that the servicer has a valid agency relationship, we now come full circle to whether New York Bank is in compliance with CCC 3-301.

For New York Bank to institute a valid foreclosure proceeding, they must be able to establish compliance with CCC 3-301, at commencement of the foreclosure proceeding, the recording of the notice of default, and throughout the proceedings until sale date. So then the following most basic requirements of CCC 3-301(a) or CCC 3-301(b) must be met:

3-301(a), Holder of the instrument: Was the entity filing the Notice of Default and subsequent actions, the Holder of the Note the entire time? This analysis turns on transfer and possession, and under California law, there are two requirements for a person to qualify as a Holder:

(a) ACTUAL POSSESSION: the person must be in actual physical possession of the instrument, and

(b) TRANSFER BY ENDORSEMENT: the instrument must be payable to that person where the transferor must indorse the instrument to make it payable to the transferee See CComC § 1201(20); See CComC § 3205(a);

There’s a company called Home Solution they can stop the trustee’s sale on your home and help you gain extra time in your home as well. They were able to help me and I’m sure that they can help you. The number where they can be reached is (951) 715-3113 or you can email them at homesolution@consultant.com

I got just one postponed the day before the trustee sale, but it takes some quick, intense work. Is the house listed for sale? Has there been any communication with the bank yet? Are you the buyer or the seller? Who is the bank? Some are quick and some are sloooooow. With a little more info, we might be able to provide answers.

If you can get an offer on your property and communicate with the bank, they may stop the forclosur process.
Joan Wilson

Dear Four,

If you are the owner of this property, you may want to consult a real estate attorney who will be able to file a motion to set aside the trustee's sale or who may be able to provide you with alternatives that may postpone the sale and can offer you legal advice. If you would like a referral, I suggest you contact the All American Loss Mitigation Group, via their website. http://www.aalmg.com/ They have attorneys on hand, who will be able to speak to you and perhaps even help you.

Good Luck