Mortgage Crisis - Paralysis or Self Analysis
The Mortgage Crisis has led Americans into an unprecedented chapter in American history. Some Americans have not felt the agonizing frustration, the depression and loss of self worth. Many more have.
As this Crisis unfolded many American home owners had to suddenly face the fact they had a mortgage that was not affordable. Banks were trying to get a handle on what they were experiencing in the increase number of late payments leading to foreclosures. They were allowing some short sales begrudgingly. Unemployment began its creep into double digits. Banks started having to look at staffing issues to face the crisis of increased defaults. Homeowners scambled to find work to keep up with their mortgage. Government started making unprecented intrusions into the free market to try and stave off a depression and developing programs to help ease the real estate market. Government programs did not work. Banks were staffing for foreclosure processing, even farming out some of their work, that lead to injustice to some home owners losing their homes inappropriately.
I give a brief review of where we have been to get where we are today. Many people listen to the negative news and cannot see hope as they face the future of their mortgage. They are paralyzed. Those that remain paralyzed are going to lose their home to foreclosure. It does not matter whether government imposes moratoriums or not, the lack of the ability to act will cause these homeowners to deal with foreclosure.
Banks are currently staffing and developing policy that help home owners facing default to sell their homes in a short sale. They have found foreclosure costs and eventual sales are returning on average 30 percent less on the value of the property being sold versus an average 15 percent loss if they work with the mortgage holder through a short sale. Government has revamped its programs so that more home owners will be able to restructure their mortgage to allowing them to stay in their home.
The Real Estate industry has even gotten into providing special training to agents to understand the short sale process. They have a designation for those agents as SFR or Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource. This designation helps ensure a homeowner that the agent knows the process of a short sale and foreclosure. The other designation, while not given through the National Association of Realtors (NAR) training, rather the Distressed Property Institute (DPI), is a CDPE or Certified Depressed Property Expert. These agents are trained to help a person stay in their home if at all possible. They are knowledgeable on government programs, refinancing, up to date stategies to getting short sales approved and foreclosure. Some agents call themselves short sales resources. Homeowners need to know their options. Remaining paralyzed leads to foreclosure. Doing some confidential Self Analysis can give home owners hope and a beginning to an end of a dark time in their life.
Homeowners willing to take action, be proactive and get information about their options can receive confidential self analysis assistance by going to an SFR or CDPE website. Simply do a search for agents in your area. Go to the website, read the content available, compare what they offer and contact them.
Remember, you are not in this situation alone. It will take years for the Mortgage Crisis to be a memory captured in our American history books. How homeowners, personally involved in this Crisis, handle their circumstances will determine how quickly they put this Mortgage Crisis behind them.
Robert Courtney RA, CDPE,MCRE,CIAS