Foreclosure Help in Phoenix

Foreclosure Filings Surge in June 2008

2008-07-15T10:42:00.005-07:00

MSNBC is reporting this morning that foreclosure filings June 2008 have surged 53% over the same month a year ago. More and more homeowners are finding they can no longer afford their mortgages, for various reasons, and can't sell because their house is no longer worth what they owe.

If you are facing a foreclosure now or fear that you will be soon, and would like to talk to us about the situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message and leave a message or follow the prompts to be direct connected to us. We will send you our free Consumer Guide to the Foreclosure Process by return very discreet mail. You can also send me an email by clicking this link: Email Me!. We really can help, and we really DO care. Just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86186 right away!

Blogging Again

2008-05-30T15:31:00.004-07:00

We are back online and blogging now after an extremely busy time in the Arizona real estate market. There have been lots of folks entering the foreclosure process, especially considering what the Arizona market over the last year or two has done to property values. Couple that with ARMs escalating and payments becoming unaffordable and many people find themselves in an impossible situation.

The good news is that the lenders are becoming more willing to work with borrowers and to grant short sales so that a foreclosure auction can be prevented, even in Arizona.

If you are facing a foreclosure now or fear that you will be soon, and would like to talk to us about the situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message and leave a message or follow the prompts to be direct connected to us. We will send you a free Consumer Guide to the Foreclosure Process by return very discreet mail. You can also send me an email by clicking this link: Email Me!. We really can help, and we really DO care. Just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86186 right away!

President Bush to Announce Mortgage Plan this Week

2007-12-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

In the news today, it's being reported that later this week President Bush may announce a mortgage plan that he's worked out with the mortgage industry. Details are sketchy, but may involve an arrangement whereby banks will freeze the rates of certain subprime mortgages that were taken out from 2005 through the middle of 2007. The targeted adjustable rate loans are scheduled to have their rates (and payments) adjust up between the start of 2008 and mid-2010.

Watch the news later this week to see if this plan is put in place, and what the detail are!

Home Foreclosure Notices Hit Record High

2007-09-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press on FOXNews.com reported that "the rate of home loans in foreclosure rose to a record high in the second quarter of 2007" (through June). Many of these loans wound up in foreclosure because they were adjustable rate loans where the borrowers were trying to refinance them into fixed rates but could not.

"It was the third straight quarter in which the foreclosure rate rose to a record-setting level and the worst is likely still ahead" the article continued.

The article reported that the problems are somewhat concentrated in states where the largest property price increases have occurred a few years ago. That includes Arizona, unfortunately.

Borrowers trying to refinance out of their ARMs often find that they owe more than the property is worth, so a new lender will not refinance their loan (unless they could make up the difference in cash, which most cannot). If they can't afford the increased payments and can't sell the property for enough to payoff the loan, these families often wind up facing a foreclosure.

If you would like to read the entire article, click here:

Home Foreclosures Hit Record High

If you are facing a foreclosure now or fear that you will be soon, and would like to talk to us about the situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message and leave a message or follow the prompts to be direct connected to us. We will send you a free Consumer Guide to the Foreclosure Process by return very discreet mail. You can also send me an email by clicking this link: Email Me!. We really can help, and we really DO care. Just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86186 right away!

August Foreclosure Filings More Than Double Versus 2006

2007-09-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

I saw an interesting and stunning article today on FOXNews.com by the Associated Press. It reported that nationally, the number of foreclosure filings last month have more than doubled since August of last year.

The most amazing figure was what came next, that the number of foreclosure filings has increased 36% from LAST MONTH! This is an incredible jump. All indications are saying it will get worse before it gets better, especially after more and more subprime and adjustable rate loans start to reset to market interest rates this year and next.

Arizona is among the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates, ranking #7.

Speaking of the RealtyTrac, Inc. real estate tracking company, the article stated "August's (2007) total represents the highest number of foreclosure filings reported in a single month since the company began tracking monthly filings two years ago."

"Lagging home sales and flat or decreasing home prices have also left homeowners unable to make their mortgage payments hard-pressed to find buyers." Many of these houses wind up going back to the banks at auction, since often the opening bid (typically what the foreclosing mortgage company is owed) is more than what the property is worth. No one bids and then the property becomes the bank's (REO or real-estate owned).

If you'd like to read the whole article, it's here:

August Foreclosure Filings More Than Double Versus '06

Don't Wait to Stop Foreclosure!

2007-08-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

Recently we had something sad happen. Someone called us to help with their pending foreclosure, but they called just two days before the auction was to occur. We scrambled to contact the bank with their authorization, but the bank was determined to take them to auction. They were too far along in the process to stop the wheels from turning.

We tell clients that the foreclosure process is like a train that is hard to slow down or stop once it gets going. The best thing to do is to take proactive action early in the process. That gives us the best chances for success in getting a more positive result for our clients.

These days, with all the foreclosures happening nationwide, the mortgage companies are absolutely slammed with paperwork. They are buried in foreclosures and take a long time to respond to our requests to prevent them. They've had to hire a lot of new (and often untrained) staff to cope with the enormous volume. Sometimes their staff quits and leaves lots of files incomplete, which can take even longer. We cope with this everyday, and I can tell you for sure that the sooner we get started, the better the chances of success are for everyone.

If you are facing a foreclosure now or fear that you will be soon, and would like to talk to us about the situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message and leave a message or follow the prompts to be direct connected to us. We will send you a free Consumer Guide to the Foreclosure Process by return very discreet mail. You can also send me an email by clicking this link: Email Me!. We really can help, and we really DO care. Just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86186 right away!

U.S. June Foreclosures Up 87% from Last Year

2007-07-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Web news digest MoneyNews.com reported some sobering statistics today.

U.S. foreclosures for the month of June were up 87% over the same month last year. The article reports that "a spokesman for RealtyTrac told Bloomberg that an estimated 58 percent of properties in the foreclosure process are linked to borrowers with sub-prime loans. RealtyTrac forecasts U.S. foreclosures will reach 1.8 million by the end of the year."

Sales of existing houses also continue to be sluggish, with the National Association of Realtors revising its sales forecast down for the remainder of 2007 for the fifth consecutive month and widening its predicted drop in existing home values. NAR predicted existing home sales will hit 6.11 million units this year, down from the 6.18 million units it predicted last month.

Arizona ranked 5th by RealtyTrac in foreclosure filings, with one Notice of Trustee Sale for every 383 households, behind Nevada, California, Colorado and Florida. The national average is one for every 704 households.

Article Predicts 1.1 Million New Foreclosures are Coming!

2007-06-11T10:19:00.001-07:00

I saw an interesting article today by Holden Lewis of Bankrate.com entitled "Who's Most at Risk for Foreclosure", in which he predicts 1.1 million new foreclosures over the next six or seven years, as ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) adjust up and borrowers experience "payment shock" as payments increase while home values remain flat or decrease.

Mr. Lewis says "You have a 1-in-3 chance of losing your house to foreclosure if you got an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, in 2004 through 2006 that had an initial teaser rate of less than 4%. If you got a subprime ARM in that period, you started out with a higher rate, and that puts you at less risk. You have a 1-in-8 chance of losing your home."

The Greater Phoenix market has seen its market turn from the hot sellers market of a couple years ago, when it was easy to get "creative" mortgages such as subprime ARMs, to a slower buyer's market where it is taking much longer to sell. Borrowers with these types of loans will find it difficult to afford the new payments, or to refinance into lower payments since they may not have had enough appreciation (or may have actually lost value in their home) to qualify for a new loan. If you would like to read the entire article, click here:

Who's most at risk for foreclosure?

If you are facing a foreclosure now or fear that you will be soon, and would like to talk to us about the situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message and leave a message or follow the prompts to be direct connected to us. We will send you a free Consumer Guide to the Foreclosure Process by return very discreet mail. You can also send me an email by clicking this link: Email Me!. We really can help, and we really DO care. Just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86186 right away!

Arizona MLS Statistics Paint Grim Picture if You Have to Sell to Avoid Foreclosure

2007-06-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a strong buyer's market in the greater Phoenix market for a while now, and the statistics from Arizona Regional MLS (link is here: http://www.armls.com/stats.html) is showing the slowdown continuing through the latest stats, which are through April 2007.

Some of the highlights (or lowlights, actually) from MLS data are:

April 2007 homes sold are 5,535 which is the lowest for April since 2001. This stat is trending over the last 8 or 9 months at 2002 levels.

Number of active residential resale listings as of today are 51,789 which is over a 9 month supply of resale homes clogging the market.

There are roughly 15,000 new listings PER MONTH hitting the market in ARMLS (mostly Maricopa County).

Median new listing price is down to the lowest levels of the year, as sellers realize they must cut their asking prices if they want to move the house.

Average Days on Market for sold properties in May 2007 was 110 days.

What does all this mean? For folks facing a foreclosure soon (Arizona is a 90 day state), it is still very difficult to sell their house before the auction takes place, unless they have enough room to slash their price for a quick sale, but still sell the house for enough to pay off all the loans, real estate commissions, closing costs, title fees, etc. And many of our clients find that what they really owe the banks is really much more than they think. It's not just the principal balance as of the last time they made a payment that they owe, but the banks will want all the accrued unpaid interest, penalties, late fees, attorneys' fees, trustee fees, appraisal fees, etc. The list seems endless. This means that it will be very difficult for a family facing foreclosure to sell their house on the open market in time to sell it and CLOSE the sale before the house is sold out from under them at auction. If that happens, they will be ordered out of the house and a foreclosure will be on their credit for at least 7 years.

If a house takes 110 days to sell and another 45 days to close, most families will have had their house sold at auction long before then by the Trustee (it's called a Trustee's Sale). An "I Buy Houses" investor can close more quickly, sometimes as an all-cash sale, but they will more than likely want a very big discount, usually at least 20% off or more. Many families find themselves just letting the house go back to the bank at auction, with the foreclosure on their credit report to follow them around for years.

Our company helps families in this situation explore their options and make the best informed intelligent decision that's right for them, even when it seems like nothing at all will work, but it's critical that we get started on the solution as early as possible in the process. If you would like to talk to us about working together to resolve the situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message and leave a message or follow the prompts to be direct connected to us. We will send you a free Consumer Guide to the Foreclosure Process by return very discreet mail. You can also send me an email by clicking this link: Email Me!. We really can help, and we really DO care. To hear a recorded message on why you definitely DO want to stop the foreclosure, and how we can work together to accomplish that, just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86186 right away!

Blog Problems Seem to Be Fixed at Long Last!

2007-06-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

Looks like I've managed to fix whatever was preventing me from posting to my blog!

I'll be back online now - thanks for your patience!

-Bruce

Blog Having Technical Problems - Working On It

2007-02-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Please forgive the delay in posting while we are resolving technical issues.

Phoenix area mortgage defaults rising, Arizona Republic reports

2006-12-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

I saw an interesting article by Catherine Reagor of the Arizona Republic the other day, which began "The number of people losing their homes to foreclosure or falling behind on their mortgages in metropolitan Phoenix is near a two-year high, the latest and most tragic sign of the Valley's housing market slowdown." The article goes on to say that when the Phoenix market slowdown started in early Spring of 2006, sales started slowing and listings of homes for sales spiked. (I know from Arizona MLS data that we have about an 8-month supply of houses on MLS. There are around 45,000 for sale and only 6,000 or so selling per month. This makes it very difficult to sell fast if you owe more than you can net at sale or is your foreclosure auction date would occur long before you could get your house under contract and closed.)

The article continues that foreclosures are not only occurring in the West Valley, where they've been traditionally common, "but also in pricey neighborhoods in the East Valley, where credit-card debt levels are higher than average."Folks in this situation used to be able to sell quickly or refinance into a new mortgage to get cash out of their houses, but now if they've fallen behind on their mortgage they often can't qualify for a refinance. Even if they can, the payments are often higher because now the value of their house has actually dropped or their credit scores are lower, leading to higher interest rates.

All signs point to even higher rates of foreclosure in 2007 and 2008. Our company can help families in this situation, even if it looks hopeless. Please call our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186, and leave your name, address and phone number. If you do, we'll send your our free Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process. It contains a wealth of information you simply must have if you are facing this situation. Then we can get with you to see how we can work together to put this difficult situation behind you once and for all!

USA Today says Foreclosures Up as Borrowers Fall Behind

2006-12-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Another sign of our times is an article in the December 14, 2006 USA Today, by Patrick O'Driscoll and Noelle Knox entitled "More homes are going, going, gone". This article talks about Foreclosure Auctions and how they operate. The article states that "About 4.7% of homeonwers were late on their mortgage payments in July through September this year, up slightly from 4.4% in the third quarter last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday."

The article mentions that many borrowers get into houses with adjustable rate subprime loans, which are high interest mortgages for people whose credit is impaired in some way. The initial low interest rate is usually locked for a year or two, and then when the rate starts adjusting upwards, it pushes the monthly payment beyond what the borrower can afford. The article quoted a Denver real estate broker who actually saw a billboard in California that said "Own the home you want, not the one you can afford" - which was touting an ARM product to get people into a house they might be able to afford now, but not when the ARM interest rate starts going up. That's a foreclosure just waiting to happen unless the family can refinance out of it, but if they can't afford the payment on a fixed rate mortgage covering that house, or if they've started missing payments on the ARM, they can find themselves in foreclosure!

The article gave the top reasons for families winding up in foreclosure: "The loss of a job is the No. 1 reason people go into foreclsure, followed by health problems and a death in the family. Typically, a lender will start foreclosure proceedings after a borrower misses payments for three months in a row. The homeowner can try to sell the property first. But that can be hard in areas where home sales are falling." (That last sentence describes the Phoenix area market at this time.)

Our company can help families in this situation, even if it looks hopeless. As you can see, you are not alone. Bad things do happen to good people. We can help! Please call our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186, and leave your name, address and phone number. If you do, we'll send you our free Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process. It contains a wealth of information you simply must have if you are facing this situation. Then we can get with you to see how we can work together to put this difficult situation behind you once and for all!

Phoenix area mortgage defaults rising, Arizona Republic reports

2006-11-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

I saw an interesting article by Catherine Reagor of the Arizona Republic the other day, which began "The number of people losing their homes to foreclosure or falling behind on their mortgages in metropolitan Phoenix is near a two-year high, the latest and most tragic sign of the Valley's housing market slowdown." The article goes on to say that when the Phoenix market slowdown started in early Spring of 2006, sales started slowing and listings of homes for sales spiked. (I know from Arizona MLS data that we have about an 8-month supply of houses on MLS. There are around 45,000 for sale and only 6,000 or so selling per month. This makes it very difficult to sell fast if you owe more than you can net at sale or is your foreclosure auction date would occur long before you could get your house under contract and closed.)

The article continues that foreclosures are not only occurring in the West Valley, where they've been traditionally common, "but also in pricey neighborhoods in the East Valley, where credit-card debt levels are higher than average."

Folks in this situation used to be able to sell quickly or refinance into a new mortgage to get cash out of their houses, but now if they've fallen behind on their mortgage they often can't qualify for a refinance. Even if they can, the payments are often higher because now the value of their house has actually dropped or their credit scores are lower, leading to higher interest rates.

All signs point to even higher rates of foreclosure in 2007 and 2008. Our company can help families in this situation, even if it looks hopeless. Please call our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186, and leave your name, address and phone number. If you do, we'll send your our free Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process. It contains a wealth of information you simply must have if you are facing this situation. Then we can get with you to see how we can work together to put this difficult situation behind you once and for all!

Foreclosures Up 17% Nationwide in 3Q06!

2006-11-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

I just saw a Fox News report about how foreclosures are up nationwide by 17% in the 3Q06 over the prior three months. In fact, over 318,000 properties entered some stage of foreclosure across the country in this past quarter. The report went on to say that most people facing this situation tend to stop answering the phone or opening their mail, and some even avoid talking to their lender altogether.

That's where we can help. We work with clients everyday to work on their behalf to stop their foreclosure from happening before the auction takes place. The most important thing we do is provide information and answers to our clients so they can make the best informed intelligent decision possible regarding how to proceed.

If you are facing a foreclosure situation, we can help you too! Please call our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186, and leave your name, address and phone number. We'll get back to you right away.

Pending Divorce Can Make it Hard to Prevent Foreclosure

2006-11-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

We've been really busy lately working with clients on preventing their foreclosures from happening. We always get some calls each month from folks with only a couple days to go before their auction date. These are always challenging, and often the banks are NOT willing to stop the auction when it is that close to happening.

One call we got last week was particularly sad. It was from a lady who was going through a divorce and just found out that her soon-to-be ex-husband was not making the mortgage payments, so the house was going to auction in two days, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Since both she and her husband were both on the loan, the foreclosure would be on HER credit too, not just on her husband's.

These situations are always sad, and underscores how important it is to start EARLY to stop the foreclosure from happening, and also to keep communicating with the other spouse to make sure everyone is aware of what's going on. If both parties can be on the same page about what's to be done with the house, it makes our job much easier, and we can provide the best possible outcome for our clients.

If you are facing a foreclosure situation, please call our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186, and leave your name, address and phone number. We'll get back to you right away.

New Infomercial is Very Popular - Stop Foreclosure Now before it's Too Late!

2006-10-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

We are seeing an amazing increase in response from the infomercial I created a month or so ago. If contains vital information about the Arizona real estate market and how it is greatly affecting the options available to Arizona property owners who are facing foreclosure. It also explains how to get your own free copy of our Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process, and another FREE bonus (revealed at the end of the message)!

I urge you to call and listen to this free recorded message. Many folks are doing just that and are requesting this free guide in numbers we've never seen before! Join those who are wisely taking positive action to resolve their foreclosure situation rather than letting it happen TO them!

Please call our toll free number to hear this important message today! The number is 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186! Call Today! You'll be very glad you did!

Back from Connecticut

2006-10-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

The week in Connecticut with my fellow business owners, all members of the National Association of Foreclosure Prevention Professionals, was certainly time well spent. We meet about four times a year, and it's always good to get together in sort of a master-mind group to discuss what lenders are doing nationwide with respect to foreclosure, new ways to help our clients facing this unfortunate situation, and share problems and ideas so that we can be more effective for our clients.

All signs point to the fact that, even though we are seeing record numbers of foreclosures in many parts of the nation, this is just the beginning. 2007 will see the beginning of several years which will be the peak of foreclosures, in numbers never seen before. Much of the planning that I did in Connecticut was to develop strategies to expand the capacity of my business to be able to work with more and more clients that may come to face a foreclosure in their future.

If you are facing this situation, or believe that you will be soon, you simply must get the crucial information available in our Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process. You can request it by calling our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186., and leaving your name, address and phone number. We'll get back to you right away.

Continuing Education in Connecticut

2006-09-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Several times a year I meet with my colleagues and fellow business owners in Continuing Education meetings. Our meeting this Fall is in Connecticut, which is where I'm blogging from right now. It's very important for me to stay on top of what's happening with mortgage companies regarding their foreclosure activities so that I can provide the best possible service to our clients who may be facing a foreclosure situation themselves. That's why one of the points of our Code of Ethics in the National Association of Foreclosure Prevention Professionals requires us to do continuing education on a regular basis.

It's kind of chilly up here, and the leaves are starting to turn color. It's beautiful up here.

I'll blog some more about the trip when I get back home to Phoenix.

In the meantime, if you are facing foreclosure and need help or information, please don't hesitate to call our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186.

Have a great day!

Forbearance Plans - Get It In Writing!

2006-09-27T01:07:00.000-07:00

Recently we got a call that happens all too often. Someone called us to see if we could help prevent their foreclosure the day before the auction was to be held! Needless to say, although we called the lender to see if they would postpone, they were too far along the track to turn back. The house was going to go to auction the next day and they would not stop it.

The unfortunate thing was that the homeowner in this case was trying to make the payments called for in a forbearance plan, but since they were quite a bit higher than their former regular mortgage payments (which they had gotten behind on), they were having trouble making the larger payments. It turns out the lender never put the terms of the forbearance plan in writing, so they just terminated the forbearance plan and went right to auction.

As we explain in our Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process, often a Forbearance Plan is a lender's last-ditch attempt to get whatever cash they can from a borrower before they wind up foreclosing anyway. They know the statistics, that over 90% of the folks that enter into a forbearance plan NEVER MAKE THE SECOND PAYMENT! After all, if they couldn't make the original mortgage payment, how does the lender expect them to be able to afford what is usually a much higher forbearance payment to "catch up" the missed payments over a short period of time? The lenders know that most people can't.

So, if you're into a forbearance plan already and you don't have the terms in writing, make sure you get it in writing from the lender. If you're not in a forbearance plan or you are and still need to consider your other options before it's too late, you simply must get our Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process. You can request it by calling our free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186.

Metropolitan Phoenix Foreclosures are on the Rise!

2006-08-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

I saw an interesting article today by Catherine Reagor of the Arizona Republic in which she wrote, in part: "In July, notice of trustee sales, which are a lender's first step toward foreclosing on a house, climbed in metropolitan Phoenix to their highest level since early 2005. Last month, 837 homeowners got notices that they were at least three months behind on their mortgage payments. Those notices mean their mortgage firms are getting ready to evict them and auction off their houses on the courthouse steps."

As you can see, more and more folks are feeling the pinch, as interest rates on Home Equity Lines, credit cards, and especially non-traditional mortgages like the ARMs are all having their interest rates climb. Of course, the minimum payments climb right along with the rates.

If you would like to read the entire article by Catherine Reagor of the Arizona Republic, click here:

Foreclosures are on rise in Valley

As you can see, if you're in foreclosure now, you're certainly not alone! If you'd like to hear about ways we can help work with you to resolve your foreclosure situation, please call our 24-hour free educational message at 1-800-433-8563 Extension 86186. This educational message will provide lots of useful information and tell you how to obtain your own free copy of our Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process, as well as a free gift when you receive the Guide.

New Free Recorded Educational Message - Stop Foreclosure Now!

2006-08-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

I recorded today a new free educational message that contains information about the Arizona real estate market and how it is greatly affecting the options available to Arizona property owners who are facing foreclosure.

I urge you to call and listen to this free recorded message. It also explains how to get your own free copy of our Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process, and another FREE bonus (revealed at the end of the message)!

Please call this toll free number to hear this important message today! The number is 1-800-433-8563 extension 86186! Call Today! Thanks.

We're Back from Scotland!

2006-07-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned that I play in a Pipe Band. I'm the Drum Sergeant and one of the snare drummers for the Glendale Police Department Pipes & Drums Band here in the Phoenix, AZ area, and our band recently returned from a couple weeks in Scotland. While there, in addition to doing a lot of wonderful sightseeing, we gave a concert at Stirling Castle (where this photo was taken) and also competed in the Stirling Highland Games. By the way, I'm in the front row, kneeling, second from right (next to the bass drum). Oh, and incidentally, my wife is the Pipe Sergeant in the band, and she's in the back row, third from the left! It's great to be able to do this together!

We had a great time there, and loved the scenery (everywhere you look is a postcard), the people, everything!

Now I have to dig out from under the piles of stuff that always accumulate when you're gone for a while!

As they say in the Hebrides Islands of Scotland: "Slainte!" (or Here's to You!)

Federal Reserve Chairman Watching Inflation - Watch What Happens to Interest Rates!

2006-06-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

In the press recently, the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, said a number of things relating to the Fed's watching of inflation in this country. Here are a couple quotes:

"Some survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations have edged up, on net, in recent months, as has the compensation for inflation and inflation risk implied by yields on nominal and inflation-indexed government debt.... These developments bear watching."

"The Committee will be vigilant to ensure that the recent pattern of elevated monthly core inflation readings is not sustained."

These two quotes make it seem especially evident that the Fed Open Market Committee, which has been steadily raising interest rates over the last couple years, will not hesitate to continue raising them if they think it will keep inflation from increasing.

What this means for homeowners who have adjustable rate mortgages, home equity credit lines, and even anyone with credit cards should watch what happens to their interest rates as the Fed increases the rates they control. For the ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) it means that when the lock expires and their rates can adjust up, the increase can be even higher (up to the annual max in the mortgage agreement), with the resulting (sometimes quite large) increase in the monthly payment. Of course HELOC and credit card interest rates (and minimum payments) can increase virtually at any time (subject to your loan/card agreement).

People who find themselves unable to make their payments when these increases happen may find themselves in danger of a mortgage default. See my other posts and articles on how to cut expenses if you need to in order to keep making that most important mortgage payments.

Here's the link to my article on this topic:

Five Ways to Cut Back on Your Expenses to Help Avoid Foreclosure

If your family is facing this situation, PLEASE, before it's too late, give us a call so we can give you our FREE NO-OBLIGATION FORECLOSURE AUDIT. Every month people wait till the last minute to call, and by then it's too late. The banks have made up their mind to proceed to the auction and there's no time to change their mind.

If you want to listen to an excerpt from our "Consumer's Guide to the Foreclosure Process" that deals with this situation, please call 1-800-433-8563 extension 86136. Then, please call us so we can see how we can work together to prevent the foreclosure from happening!

Here's a New One - Comedian Sells T-shirts to Prevent Foreclosure!

2006-06-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

I've never seen this before - a comedian is selling T-shirts on the Internet to raise money to save his house from being foreclosed! I must admit, this is taking action! You can read all about this story at the following link:

90s TV Star Faces Eviction

Unfortunately, most of the families we work with that are facing foreclosure do not have fans that would pay money for a T-shirt commemorating their effort to save their house from foreclosure. But, there is still realistic proactive action that can be taken. Our Consumer Awareness Guide to the Foreclosure Process has a number of chapters, one of which is "4 Steps to a Proactive, Positive Solution". If you'd like to hear that section, you can call our free 24-hour educational message for that section. Just call 1-800-433-8563 ext. 86166 right away!

After listening to the message you can follow the prompts to receive a fax copy of the entire Guide, leave us a message, or be direct connected to one of our staff. We're anxious to work with you to prevent the foreclosure so that you can move on to a brighter future!