Living After Foreclosure

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… and maybe preventing it




Don’t expect banks to be nice to you for buying their foreclosures

February 13th, 2010 · No Comments

We just purchased a new house this week.  It happened to be a foreclosure.  It was in excellent shape even compared to a house not in foreclosure.
I have to say, though, the seller jerked us around quite a bit throughout the whole process.  That wasn’t pleasant at all.  But we ended up getting the house, [...]

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Strategic default? Banks are on to you

October 27th, 2009 · No Comments

Few states have been hit harder by the foreclosure mess than Florida.  Properties in some areas are worth half of what they were at their peak.  A sizable number of underwater borrowers — those owing more than their homes are currently worth — have simply stopped making payments on their mortgages, using the extra money [...]

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Patron saint of foreclosures?

August 14th, 2009 · No Comments

Poor St. Joseph.  He can’t catch a break these days.
Folks are buying St. Joseph (husband of Mary) figurines and burying them, upside-down, near the For Sale sign in hopes of bringing a quicker sale.
Prayer sure doesn’t hurt but this is a bit off the deep end.  I had heard about this practice several months ago [...]

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Well, this is one way to get rid of unsold homes

May 13th, 2009 · No Comments

If this story is true, this is an ugly development.  (It’s a guy with a video camera, so who knows.)  Banks are allegedly paying to destroy new and unfinished homes that they own rather than pay mounting fines imposed by local government for allowing the homes to stay vacant and poorly maintained.
The only people winning [...]

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Big jump in foreclosures: Who’s immune?

March 13th, 2009 · No Comments

Probably not too many people.  Though California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida are still the poster children for the housing carnage, Idaho, Illinois, and Oregon are up-and-comers.  Foreclosures for February 2009 are up 30% from February 2008 levels.  Seven hundred thousand properties owned by banks haven’t been put on the market yet.
What may make the foreclosure [...]

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My workplace is turning into an MLS

February 10th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Maybe yours is too.
Over the past few years I’ve seen people occasionally posting a place for rent or sale.  Usually not too often.  For the past couple of weeks, I’m greeted each day with four advertisements for property.  Three of them are looking for renters.
It might be just that lots of people have vacancies now, [...]

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Upside down? Prepare now to keep your mortgage current

January 22nd, 2009 · No Comments

Plonkee Money is going upside-down a little bit on her mortgage, and is getting a little worried.  She can afford the payments, but she’s concerned that if she were to be laid off she might lose everything.
This is a valid concern, and she’s wise to consider how to allocate her resources to protect herself against [...]

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Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 3

January 7th, 2009 · No Comments

Here’s the last installment of Liz Pulliam Weston’s tips for dealing with the possibility of foreclosure:

Offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure. This is an option if the shortfall between your house’s value and what’s owed on it isn’t too much.  The lender can say, “Yeah, I’ll take the deed back, and you won’t owe [...]

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Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 2

November 23rd, 2008 · No Comments

Liz Pulliam Weston wrote recently on steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure.  There are smart ways to go about it, and not-so-smart ways.  Here are three more of her suggestions with some of my comments:
Be realistic.  A house is just a house.  It may have a lot of sentimental value but when all is [...]

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Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 1

November 5th, 2008 · No Comments

Liz Pulliam Weston wrote recently on steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure.  There are smart ways to go about it, and not-so-smart ways.  Here are her first three suggestions with some of my comments:

Make a budget.  If there are places that can be cut in your budget that will make the difference between losing [...]

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