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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Snowshoe who wrote (15811)	3/23/2007 10:45:55 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 218178

Do you get involved in foreclosures? Some of our local lawyers really cleaned up on those during the big real estate crash 20 years ago. I've always been on the other side, walking homeowners through the process, if they're able to face reality. It's one of those events that causes people to freeze and remain immobile, like a little animal crossing the road which becomes immobilized with fear at the sight of a semi heading its way. There's no actual up side for homeowners to go through the process of foreclosure. In addition to what they owe the lender for the deficiency on the mortgage, the legal fees and auction fees are added on top, and that's not really necessary. If there's equity, sell it yourself. If there's no equity, deed it over to the mortgage company and deal with the deficiency via bankruptcy. If you still have a good income, Chapter 13, you might even be able to keep the house, or the trustee can sell it in an orderly manner, and keep you off the street. If you don't have enough income, Chapter 7. But don't get a bankruptcy discharge and then have a deficiency judgment against you, you won't be able to discharge that for eight years. BTW, in the crash in the early 90's, the mortgage companies were very slow to foreclose because the housing inventory was huge. They couldn't sell the houses and they didn't want to drive the prices down even more. Right now buyers are willing to buy at the reduced rate, so the inventory isn't huge but in some places it's getting there. I just read that Cincinnati government is maintaining foreclosure houses to keep housing values up.