Terry Reager

Hi Jim,
I'm sorry to hear about your challenges. Your best bet for determining where you are in the foreclosure process is to contact York County District Court. You'll want to ask (1) if a petition has been filed as a request to enter a judgment of foreclosure, and if there has been a request for judgment, (2) ask if the judgment has been entered. Once a judgment has been entered, you have a 90 day redemption period that begins with the date the judgment was entered. During this time period you can either renegotiate your mortgage with the lien holder, sell your house, or get moved. if you choose to sell your house, you should list with a Realtor who specializes in short sales, which is when a lender agrees to take less than the amount that is owed and you make no money on the transaction. This is always advisable as it will have less of an impact on your credit than a foreclosure. If you go this route, be sure to work with an agent who has actually listed and sold several short sales and knows the unique characteristics of this type of transaction. Also, if you have your home listed as a short sale, the lender will often delay the foreclosure in hopes of completing a short sale.

I have listed and sold several short sales and have found each one to be unique, depending on the lender. If I can be of further help, please feel free to contact me.

Regards & good luck,
Terry Reager - Mon Aug 25 2008, 16:05

Hi Jim,
If you have a job to come back to and a place to live, it might be wise to return to Maine. Depending on where your home is located in Maine, the market may not be as bad as some other areas of the country. Unfortunately, because of all the "doom and gloom" we hear and read from the news media, we assume that all areas are suffering. Fortunately for many home owners in Cumberland and York Counties, the market really isn't all that bad, especially if your home is priced to sell. Pricing is everything! It should reflect condition, location, and your motivation to sell. If you need more information before making a decision to move, please feel free to email me at treager@kw.com - Mon Jul 7 2008, 06:47

In my experience, the appraiser doesn't have access to your contract with the seller. Additionally, with the market taking a hit because of the subprime lending fiasco and with so many homes having been over financed in the past few years, lenders expect their appraisers to not take liberties when comparing a subject property to the comparable properties. Lenders aren't interested in over financing a property. Also, I am unaware of any "rule of thumb" in relation to average sale price vs. appraised value. If the contract price of your house is justified by the comparable properties in your area your appraisal should be on target. - Mon Apr 7 2008, 07:43