Posted on October 20,2020 in Foreclosure

The impact of COVID-19 has been widespread, with public health concerns as well as an economic downfall. In response to stay-at-home and quarantine orders issued by local governments, non-essential businesses were forced to close. As a result, many people throughout the United States have lost their jobs. This has resulted in a record-setting number of unemployment claims, but it also left millions of people facing housing insecurity because of lost income. For families, even one parent losing his or her job can be devastating if they rely on that income to pay their rent or mortgage. When too many payments are missed, the lending institution can take possession of the home through legal foreclosure proceedings. If you are facing foreclosure on your home, you may be eligible for a loan modification. 

What Is Involved in the Foreclosure Process? 

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 Posted on October 14,2020 in Arlington Heights Foreclosure Attorney

Buying a home can be a dream come true for many people. Even if you worked hard and saved a substantial amount for a down payment, you will likely still need to take out a loan, which is known as a mortgage. If you fail to make your monthly mortgage payments, you could be at risk of losing your house. Foreclosure is the legal process by which the lender or bank can repossess your house. This means you will have to vacate the premises within a certain amount of time.

If your house is worth less than the amount you owe on your loan, a deficiency judgment may be entered. Not only do you lose your home, but you may owe your lender additional money to make up the difference in value, and your credit score will go down. The global coronavirus pandemic has impacted many homeowners financially. Fortunately, there are ways you can avoid going through foreclosure.

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 Posted on October 06,2020 in Foreclosure

Buying your first home can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming to take on such a major responsibility. Regardless if you are single or married, it is important to carefully consider your mortgage and what you can afford in terms of a loan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been furloughed or laid off from their jobs for an indefinite period of time. Although they may be entitled to unemployment, those funds may not cover their monthly mortgage payment. The federal government has issued protections for tenants and mortgage loan borrowers under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. However, once this moratorium expires, home owners may still be struggling to keep afloat financially if they cannot return to work. Forensic loan auditing can help reveal any violation of the law with regard to the loan package. An experienced attorney can help determine if this specific type of auditing can help in your foreclosure defense. 

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 Posted on September 29,2020 in Loan Modification

Are you having a difficult time making your monthly mortgage payment? If so, the first thing you need to know is that you are not alone. At any given time, thousands of homeowners are encountering situations in which they have trouble meeting their mortgage obligations, and for a myriad of reasons. For many homeowners, 2020 has been especially difficult, as the economic impact of the COVID-19 health crisis continues to cause problems even now. 

If you are struggling with your current mortgage payment, you have a few options. Two of the most common are refinancing your loan or modifying your existing loan. Loan modification and a refinance might seem similar at first glance, but they have very important differences that you need to keep in mind.

Refinancing Your Home

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 Posted on September 23,2020 in Loan Modification

Across the country, moratoriums have been placed on eviction and foreclosure proceedings as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. At the end of August, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it was extending the foreclosure moratorium for federally-backed single-family home mortgages until the end of the year at the earliest. The moratorium was set to expire on August 31, but the FHFA recognized that many homeowners still face serious struggles when it comes to making their mortgage payments. While non-federally-backed mortgages are not directly affected by the moratorium, most private lenders have followed suit and are holding off on foreclosure proceedings for the time being.

If you have fallen behind on your mortgage due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, you are probably not going to face foreclosure in the immediate future. You will, however, need to get caught up, as foreclosure will be a possibility at some point down the road. In order to bring your mortgage current, you will most likely need to request a loan modification. Most lenders are willing to work with borrowers who ask for a loan modification, but the application process can be challenging and confusing. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for a borrower’s first request to be denied. The good news is that a loan modification denial is not the end of the story.

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 Posted on September 17,2020 in Mortgage

Have you missed a few mortgage payments because of COVID-19 or for any other reason? If so, you might be inching ever closer to defaulting on your loan, which means that foreclosure could soon become a possibility. While many lenders—including most federally sponsored lending programs—put a moratorium on foreclosures during the COVID-19 health crisis, these moratoriums will soon be coming to an end. With this in mind, you will need to address any payments that you might have skipped, regardless of the reasons.

The good news is that you will almost certainly have options that can help you get your loan back in good standing so that you can keep your home. One of the most common of these options is a loan modification, and an experienced Libertyville attorney can help you with your application.

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 Posted on August 28,2020 in Real Estate

As the Chicago region begins to emerge from the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market is flooded with prospective buyers looking to get a great deal on their next home. If you are searching for a new house, family members and friends may have suggested the possibility of buying a foreclosure property. A foreclosure property is real estate—in this case, a home—that is for sale by a lender because the current owner defaulted on the mortgage. Most defaults and foreclosures are caused by a failure to make the required payments.

A foreclosure sale is usually an auction, which means that it is possible to score a great deal, depending on the condition of the property. If a foreclosure property is put up for auction but not sold, the property reverts back to the bank and becomes a “real-estate owned” or REO property.

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 Posted on August 27,2020 in Foreclosure

In March of this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a moratorium on foreclosures for all single-family mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The moratorium was in response to the anticipated financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households across the country. The move was shortly followed by a similar directive from the Federal Housing Financial Agency (FHFA), which ordered the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Company (Freddie Mac) to suspend foreclosures for at least 60 days.

Shortly thereafter, federal lawmakers passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial assistance to millions of American families. In the months that followed, the foreclosure moratoriums were extended several times. Though they are set to end on August 31, 2020, in Chicago, Gov. Pritzker has extended the moratorium to last an additional 30 days. However, the financial assistance offered by the CARES Act already expired earlier this month, leaving many Illinois residents wondering if there is any other help available.

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 Posted on August 14,2020 in Foreclosure

Even if you have never owned your own home before and do not have a track record of missed payments, the failure to make mortgage payments will eventually lead your lender to file for foreclosure. Foreclosure is the legal process through which a lender can seize a home from a borrower who has failed to live up to his or her obligations set forth by the mortgage agreement. While there are other violations that could lead to foreclosure, the overwhelming majority of foreclosure filings are prompted by the borrower failing to make payments.

The foreclosure process can be intimidating and extremely challenging for the average homeowner. It is very easy to make mistakes under such confusing circumstances, and a single error could end up costing you thousands of dollars. If you are behind on your mortgage, and foreclosure is looming, be sure to avoid these common mistakes that many homeowners make.

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 Posted on August 07,2020 in Real Estate

Over the last few months, the lockdown and the slow reopening caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced many families to spend countless days and weeks in close proximity to one another. In many cases, the extra family time has been a blessing. In others, the time together served as a notice that the family home is starting to feel a bit small—or perhaps a little too big. If you are in the latter group, you may be thinking that it is time to start looking for your next home. Or, maybe you were already in the market for a new home before the pandemic started. Either way, now could be a good time to buy a house, despite the challenges presented by the “new normal.”

Is It a Seller’s Market?

Many real estate experts suggest that this vague period of reopening after COVID-19 is shaping up to be a seller’s market in the residential real estate industry. The last few months have offered many would-be sellers the chance to tackle projects that they have been putting off, in some cases, for years. By finishing such projects, prospective sellers have been able to add substantial value to their homes, which is likely to be reflected in the asking price.

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