President Obama's first budget lays the groundwork for slashing the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term, reports Bill Plante. Maggie Rodriguez asks an Obama official about the budget.
In California many homeowners are stuck in upside down mortgages and want to know how to get a principal reduction with a bankruptcy attorney if they have a failed loan modification. While many seek principal reductions through loan modifications the truth is they’re few and far between. In Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties many home owners took out 2nd mortgages just to buy their home, let alone taking out HELOC’s to do home improvements and pay off credit card debt. Most of these 2nd mortgages are upside down, making them a perfect candidate for lien stripping through chapter 13 bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney can file a chapter 13 bankruptcy with a motion to avoid the lien and eliminate the 2nd or 3rd mortgage completely. Bankruptcy is a federal program and law unlike, loan modifications that may or not work. The majority of homeowners seeing a principal reduction through a loan modification are denied and many of them may eventually face foreclosure and fear losing their home. Bankruptcy chapter 13 can stop the foreclosure process and get someone a true principal reduction if they have a 2nd mortgage that’s upside down, making it unsecured. Most bankruptcy attorneys focus mainly on chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving chapter 13 bankruptcies for the bankruptcy experts. “If you really want a true principal reduction then stripping the lien will do just that” says bankruptcy attorney James D. Zhou, managing partner at Zhou & Chini. We see many homeowners in California being able to take advantage of bankruptcy chapter 13 with a motion to avoid the lien because so many people have under water 2nd mortgages. If a bankruptcy attorney really knows what he or she is doing then they can save someone allot of money with this type of principal reduction. Throughout California many homeowners were attracted to 80/20 mortgages where they could purchase a home for little to no money down. Unfortunately, most of the homes purchased during the real estate boom were 30% to 40% over valued. Government backed loan modifications just aren’t cutting it in California where the debt to income ratio doesn’t support the property values. Unless homeowners see principal reductions they might as well just walk away, and that’s what they’re doing! Typically, bankruptcy is the last resort for most people trying to save their home. However, with the ability to get a real principal reduction, eliminate their unsecured debt and save their home from foreclosure many homeowners is seeking the help of a bankruptcy attorney. Many homeowners have attempted loan modifications that failed; they are now so far behind in their mortgage payments and so upside down with their property value that this may be the only thing that makes sense for them.
The California real estate market is the “perfect storm” for homeowners to receive a principal reduction through bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney can help people see if they qualify for a principal reduction through bankruptcy chapter 13 with motions like (11 U.S.C. ' 522(a)) to strip a lien. Making mistakes when it comes to filing bankruptcy can be very costly, so be careful when selecting a bankruptcy attorney for a chapter 13. For a free and confidential consultation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney go to; www.zhouchinilaw.com or call the law offices of Zhou & Chini; 1-888-207-9026.
MIAMI (AP) - A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to rise this year as more unemployed and cash-strapped homeowners fall behind on their mortgages.
The number of households that received a foreclosure-related notice rose 21 percent from 2008, RealtyTrac Inc. reported Thursday. One in 45 homes were sent a filing, which includes default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions.
EMERGENCY!! PLEASE TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW… SAVE BANKRUPTCY REFORM!
JUST MINUTES AGO…
House Rules Committee agreed to allow the bankruptcy modification amendment THAT WOULD ALLOW JUDGES TO MODIFY MORTGAGES to be considered on the House floor as an amendment to the broader financial services reform bill AS EARLY AS THIS AFTERNOON!!
As Americans look around their neighborhood, it’s obvious the foreclosure crisis is nowhere near over.Signs that read “For Sale” litter various communities and foreclosure auctions are happening at banks, online and everywhere in between.Many Americans are left wondering why this crisis wasn’t solved by President Obama and the Federal loan modification program – a program that was supposed to help lift people out of this crisis.
The Bear Stearns Companies, LLC and its subsidiary, EMC Mortgage Corporation, have agreed to pay $28 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they engaged in unlawful practices in servicing consumers’ home mortgage loans. The companies allegedly misrepresented the amounts borrowers owed, charged unauthorized fees, such as late fees, property inspection fees, and loan modification fees, and engaged in unlawful and abusive collection practices. Under the proposed settlement they will stop the alleged illegal practices and institute a data integrity program to ensure the accuracy and completeness of consumers’ loan information.
In the midst of the ongoing financial crisis, homeowners are looking for any way to ease their burdens, and the government has implemented several programs to help make it possible for borrowers to get the loan modifications they need from banks in order to keep their homes. However, statistics have recently emerged that indicate that the federal economic recovery plans currently in place in the United States are not doing enough to help minority populations cope with the myriad problems the financial crisis has created.
As bad as America's foreclosure crisis is -- and it's very bad, with over 300,000 homes receiving a foreclosure filing every month -- it's being made even more devastating by the lack of legal assistance available to beleaguered homeowners.
According to a new study by the Brennan Center for Justice, set to be released tomorrow, "the nation's massive foreclosure crisis is also, at its heart, a legal crisis" -- with the vast majority of homeowners facing foreclosure doing so without legal counsel.
If you need help understanding your option of taking advantage of thehome loan modification process, the help is available to you everywhere. The process is quite tricky and it is highly recommended that you do indeed seek legal advice before signing on the dotted line, in order receive the most efficient and cost-effective modification to your mortgage payment.
Where do I get Advice
There is advice all over the web on how to receive a loan modification; some of this advice is quite helpful, while some is quite dreadful. There is also the opportunity to hire a professional service that will help you go through the paperwork and work with the lender to help you get all the benefits that you deserve, due to a hardship.Loan modification is a process that must be understood completely and thoroughly. This article can actually offer you an insight on the process of loan modification and tips that will better help you as a homeowner save your home from the risk of a foreclosure.
Loan Modification Advice
First and foremost, it is important to determine if you are eligible for a loan modification. This requires writing a letter of hardship explaining to the lender what exactly the reason is for your late payments and the fact that you are unable to pay your mortgage. Doing a loan modification on your own requires more than just advice. Becoming educated about the process is more important. This is perhaps a good reason to hire a professional loan modification company to take part in the process. They will handle everything for you, while educating you in the progression. There is a fee charged for hiring these companies, but in turn your mortgage payment can be lowered quite a bit and professionals can even find things in your original loan papers that may prove that the lender may have broken the law during your original mortgage signing.
If you do choose to take the big leap of the loan modification process on your own, you must first contact the lender and they will lead you to the correct department, normally the loss mitigation department. You may not want to directly say that you are in the process foreclosure. We do not want the lender to think your situation is not worth their time before hearing you out. Always document anything relating to the loan modification process, every phone call and any other information you may receive during the process must be documented. Always discuss every option available with your lender, so that you may come up with the best alternative for you. It is true you will save money going directly through your lender and let’s face it, you are struggling already trying to make your payments, but professional assistance can help immensely.
No matter what direction you decide to take, loan modificationwill be what determines the amount of time you have in your home. If you are eligible you should act as soon as possible.
EMERGENCY!! PLEASE TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW… SAVE BANKRUPTCY REFORM!
As Americans look around their neighborhood, it’s obvious the foreclosure crisis is nowhere near over.
In the midst of the ongoing financial crisis, homeowners are looking for any way to ease their burdens, and the government has implemented several programs to help make it possible for borrowers to get the loan modifications they need from banks in order to keep their homes. However, statistics have recently emerged that indicate that the federal economic recovery plans currently in place in the United States are not doing enough to help minority populations cope with the myriad problems the financial crisis has created.
As bad as America's foreclosure crisis is -- and it's very bad, with over 
