Homeownership is an exciting moment, especially for individuals and couples who are looking to own their very first property. Perhaps the easiest—and most fun—part of the entire process is finding the home that you like the most and preparing to make an offer. If you are purchasing a home for the first time, we recommend… Read more »
Read More »Getting to Know the Good-Faith Estimate
The housing crisis has left any veritable home-buying benefits few and far between. However, if savvy buyers look closely enough, they’ll find that there are some good things leftover from an unfortunate situation. One of those things is the drastic revision made to the HUD-1 Settlement Statement filled out on every real estate transaction. The… Read more »
Read More »Short Sale Requirements for Homeowners
Questions are coming in all the time from homeowners wanting to know how they can qualify for a short sale. There are no simple answers to what may seem like a fairly simple question. All distressed property situations are unique; it is rare to find two homeowners with the same property description, hardship, loan types,… Read more »
Read More »7 Short Sale Buying Tips
The number of short sales grew by 26,000 in 2011 and that figure has been projected to increase in 2012. Servicing lenders prefer short sales over foreclosure because they save money and reduce the impact of their loss. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports losses in excess of $50,000 on each foreclosed home, or as much… Read more »
Read More »Where there’s Desperation, there are Scams
WARNING: mortgage default, negative equity, and foreclosure do not come with a “WARNING” label. Unfortunately, there are individuals in every distressed community finding ways to make money off of homeowners who are missing mortgage payments, living in upside-down properties, or who are going through foreclosure. The success of foreclosure rescue scams relies heavily on the… Read more »
Read More »Dispelling the National Media’s Short Sale Myths
Homeowners can avoid foreclosure by seeking the education and resources they need to make the right decisions. As the Ucloser team diligently scans the Internet for relevant information for distressed homeowners, we often discover articles, posts, tweets, and comments about short sales, loan modifications, and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure that are inaccurate and quite misleading. While… Read more »
Read More »Deed in Lieu (aka, “I surrender!”)
Most banks will offer distressed homeowners a variety of ways to avoid foreclosure. Some of those options will keep them in their home, and others are designed to help them exit the property without having a foreclosure on their credit report. The most common alternatives that keep homeowners in their houses are loan modifications and… Read more »
Read More »The Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Short Sale
1. The buyer is in love with the house Scenario: your agent takes you to a house. The moment you walk in the front door you immediately say to yourself, “This is the one.” Your agent proceeds to explain to you that the property is being sold “as-is” and any offers will be subject to… Read more »
Read More »How to Qualify for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)
Since the financial crisis began, distressed homeowners have looked to the government for steeper regulations on foreclosure alternative solutions. The government’s involvement in foreclosure alternatives dates back far beyond the most recent mortgage crisis, mainly because of its investment in U.S. mortgages via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More recently, the government has responded to… Read more »
Read More »Short Sales: A Guessing Game of Mystery
n the U.S., sports captivate our attention and feed our competitive spirit. Stadiums fill beyond capacity to watch our nation’s best athletes go toe-to-toe to be crowned champions of their sport and heroes to their fans. Champions are remembered and losers are forgotten. While some sports fans resemble the likes of screaming animals and caged… Read more »
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