1. How can Second Chance Investing help me?
At Second Chance we understand that as a homeowner, falling behind on your mortgage payment or dealing with the dreaded possibility of foreclosure can be a traumatic experience and an extremely stressful prospect. If for whatever reason you are currently behind on your mortgage payments or foresee that you will soon be unable to continue making your payments take heart: you do have options. The best thing you can do in this situation is to get fully educated on your options and to be proactive about solving them.
Second Chance is here to help you identify and implement the best possible solution and to help you avoid a foreclosure following a thorough analysis of your situation. We will work with you and your Lender to come up with the appropriate solution for your particular situation.
2. I am late on my mortgage payments and might be heading to foreclosure what options are available to me?
Reinstatement: the homeowner brings the mortgage current by making up for all the missed payments, and paying any late fees and penalties.
Forbearance: when the foreclosure is a result of a temporary loss of income, the Lender may agree to allow the homeowner to delay payments for a short period of time or negotiate a payment plan to make up the missed payments over the course of several months but you must still make your regular mortgage payment as well as the payment plan. The Lender may also agree to some combination between reinstatement and forbearance.
Loan Modification: the Lender will agree to allow the homeowner to add the amounts due to the back of the loan, and some combination of interest rate reduction or term reduction to make the payments more affordable
Deed-in-Lieu: Also known as voluntary conveyance. The borrower voluntarily transfers the property back to the Lender to avoid foreclosure. The Lender then releases the borrower from the mortgage and repossesses the property.
Short Sale: Also known as short payoff or pre-foreclosure workout. It is an agreement with the Lender to accept less than what is owed by the borrower via a third party sale.
Also known as a real estate short payoff or a pre-foreclosure workout. It is an agreement with your Lender to accept less than the amount owed by a borrower via a sale of the property to a third party.
4. How do I qualify for a short sale?
In order to qualify for a short sale, in most cases the homeowner must be able to prove to the Lender that they are a victim to a "hardship" and are therefor unable to continue making payments on their mortgage.
A "hardship" situation is one that is the result of some extenuating circumstance that forced the borrower in a position where they can no longer afford their mortgage payments. Every situation is unique.
5. What do I need to get started?
Each Lender requires a specific set of supporting financial documents to consider a short sale. Contact Second Chance today and we will help you get started.
6. When should I begin the short sale process?
As soon as possible. The sooner we can begin negotiations with your Lender, the greater the chances of a successful resolution. Please contact us today for a no cost no obligation consultation.
7. How much will a short sale cost me?
Absolutely nothing. Our fees are never paid by the homeowner, and we are only compensated if we successfully negotiate a short sale approval. Please contact us today for a no cost no obligation consultation.
8. How long does a short sale typically take to complete?
Every short sale situation is unique and follows its own timeline. Typically a short sale is completed within 1-4 months from the time we have a complete short sale package ready to present to the Lender. Having said that, we have successfully negotiated a short sale in as little as 2 weeks and as long as 13 months. Please contact us today for no obligation no cost consultation so that we can be of immediate assistance to you.
9. What effect will a short sale vs. a foreclosure have on my credit?
Foreclosure can remain on your credit for up to 7 years while a short sale usually gets reported as a "settled debt" and is slightly less damaging. You will also be able to get a new home much sooner. As of today Fannie Mae requires someone with a foreclosed home on their credit to wait 5yrs before they will give them another mortgage while if that same person did a short sale instead the wait would only be 2yrs. Second Chance is not a credit counseling agency so we cannot give credit advice. Please seek the opinion of your own credit counselor.
10. What is my potential liability after completing a short sale?
There are some but Second Chance will diligently apply ourselves to every short sale case with the goal of negotiating with the Lender to eliminate any deficiency judgement or tax liability and to consider the debt as settled. When this doesn't work there is the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 and Form 982 (Debt Cancellation) from the IRS. Also see publication 4681 from the IRS. We at Second Chance are not CPA's nor Accountants and by law cannot give tax advice. Please consult with your CPA/Accountant to make sure this applies to your situation. Please contact us for your no cost no obligation short sale consultation.
11. Why should I use Second Chance Investing to help me?
Our expertise and experience is what differentiates us, our commitment to our clients is what sets us apart. It is this unique combination of industry leading expertise, impeccable professionalism and extraordinary customer focus that enables us to offer the highest level of service to our clients. Contact us today for your no cost no obligation consultation.