Can I stay in My house once I am served foreclosure papers?

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The Florida Foreclosure Process

Florida Foreclosures

Foreclosures happen in Florida when a homeowner is severely delinquent in payments or can no longer make payments on the mortgage. Any hardship can contribute to the foreclosure process beginning: an injury preventing work, the loss of a job, a divorce or other financial strains. Foreclosure is the process of the bank or lending institution getting the property back and reselling it to recoup their money.

Florida is a judicial state. This means that all foreclosures must use the court system for processing. Since banks differ and the courts are involved, the foreclosure process time line varies slightly between individual cases. The average time frame is five to six months from the beginning steps until the finalization of a foreclosure.

Steps Taken to Foreclosure

The first steps fall under the pre-foreclosure period. The mortgage holder is late with payment, but remain in the property while the foreclosure proceedings progress.

Notice of Default

The Notice of Default is the first indication of late payment. It is a written notice sent to the mortgage holder by the mortgage lender. It will state how much money is owed and how late the payment is. A Notice of Default will state what you need to do in order to become current on your payments and prevent foreclosure from happening.

Lis Pendens

Lis Pendens is Latin for "suit pending." [1] This may refer to any pending lawsuit or to a specific situation with a public notice of litigation in this case it is paperwork filed by the mortgage lender in the county courthouse. It states their intention to sue the property owners if they do not receive the mortgage monies. The court then creates the paperwork that notifies all parties involved about the upcoming lawsuit and the terms.

Notice of Action

Notice of Action is the next step in the foreclosure process. When a mortgage holder cannot pay the terms stated in the Notice of Default and goes further in delinquency, a Notice of Action is posted in the local newspaper. It states the mortgage lender’s written demands to be paid on their loan and their intent to take back the property if the payment is not made.

Once the Notice of Action is posted, the formal foreclosure process takes place.

Foreclosure Action

A foreclosure action, which is a lawsuit filed under the county where the property is located, is made. This states the intent of the mortgage company to evict the residents and take over ownership of the property. They will post the date and time of the auction where the property will be sold, anywhere from three to six weeks in the future.

Redemption

At any time before the auction of the property, the mortgage holder can take back the property if they can pay off the mortgage in full. If they can pay for the mortgage in full, the proceedings are halted and the mortgage holders can move in and reassume ownership of the property.

Sheriff’s Sale

The last step of the foreclosure process is the Sheriff’s sale. This is where the property is auctioned off to the highest bidder at the county courthouse. The price is low to begin, but can escalate if it is in a hot location. Once another bidder has won the auction and the property, the former mortgage holder has terminated all of their rights to the property. Within ten days of the successful sale, the title is transferred to the winning bidder.



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Staging tips to make your house stand out.

Making Your House Stand Out in Today's Market As the real estate industry continues its downward trend, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sell your home. Prices have dropped, there are more listings than ever to choose from and sellers are giving incredible deals to buyers.
Here are a few tips to make your home stand out.

Curb Appeal Curb appeal is the first way to draw attention to your home. Since it is the first thing that anyone sees, you want the “WOW” factor. I know people that have bought houses just because of the spectacular landscaping. I also know people who have not even bothered looking inside of a house because of the condition of the exterior.
Make sure the exterior of the house is in tip-top shape so the potential buyer immediately wants to see the inside.
The following is your list of items to maintain curb appeal:
• Cut grass
• Trim all hedges and bushes
• Add mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch to beds
• Have flowering plants or potted flowers on the porch
• Keep junk out of sight and place in the backyard or in a shed
• Clean all cluttering debris such as sticks, garbage, old magazines, etc.
• Replace all the light bulbs surrounding the house
• Check the doorbell!
You want the inside of your house to wow potential buyers just as much as the outside. The following checklist gives ultimate interior appeal.
Make sure all items are completed before the first showing of your house is scheduled.
• Clean! Every floor, window, closet and cupboard!
• Remove excess clutter, toys, paperwork and knick-knacks. Clutter makes counter tops and rooms appear smaller than they really are.
• Paint the walls in dirty rooms or where a room needs brightening. Bright rooms give the appearance that they are more spacious.
• Make repairs to anything needed – hinges, doorknobs, plaster, steps, plumbing, etc.
• Replace all burned out light bulbs.
• Wash all window coverings. Open all of the curtains and blinds before a showing. Natural light makes a room appear bigger.
• Open the doors and windows before a showing to fill the home with fresh air.

When the inside and outside are clean and neat, you may need to provide a bigger incentive to your potential buyers. If the house has repairs that you didn’t have the time or cash to fix, you can offer credit towards the purchase price. That way, you acknowledge the repairs and give the buyer a discount for accepting the home as is.
Another option is to offer an allotment if your house needs new carpeting or flooring. Buyers like allotments because they get the item new, plus they get to pick out their colors. A win-win situation for everyone.
The time spent cleaning, making minor repairs, and providing incentives for major repairs, will make your home stand out above the competition.
Although these little fixes may require some time and effort, selling quickly in a tough market will be worth the effort in the end!


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If you have sold a property in a short sale are other properties you own at risk for the deficiency?

You should not have a deficiency after a short sale.
Unless you have a previous foreclosure on your record.

That is just what short sale is all about.

Here is and extract out of one of the lenders approval letters:

"Lender or its investors will not pursue a deficiency judgment if the shortsale closes on the referenced loan. If the shortsale does not close, then the referenced loan secured by the Note and Security Instrument shall remain in full force and effect and we will pursue all remedies under the Note and Security Instrument."

It says clearly "no deficiency judgment", so you won't be pursued.

The beauty of the short sale is that it creates a win/win for everybody:
- The seller/borrower gets debt forgiveness and has no deficiency judgment against him. On top of that his credit report will show the debt as settled so that's not bad.
- The Lender does not have to spend $50,000 or more in foreclosure fees.
- The new buyer is getting a steal of a deal.
- The Realtor gets a commission out of the proceeds.

Isn’t that sweet?

So, don't worry, if the short sale is handled by a licensed professional then you should be having no problems afterwards.




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A Foreclosure advice to stay maried for life

A TIP TO HELP YOU STAY MARRIED FOR LIFE, Even when Foreclosure papers are served to you or your spouse:

Don't Panic

If you have the tendency to panic when unexpected news comes your way, work on changing that behavior. Your spouse may fear telling you certain things because of your reactions. Your panic could be harming communication.

Just be proactive, read carefully what you are being served with, seek advice of a lawyers or real estate agent and act accordingly.

It's so important to stick together in though times that I just wanted to share this with you.

Check out our website for more info on short sales, deed in lieu and foreclosure.

Be strong, there are more important things in life that a house.



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have to work on it

One of the conditions of a short sale is that the seller/borrower does not receive any proceeds from the sale.

In a recent short sale agreement the lender wrote the following:

"The sellers will not receive any proceeds from this short sale transaction. If there are any remaining escrow funds or refunds they will not be returned to the seller, they will be sent to Countrywide to offset the loss"

Most lenders will ask you to sign an assignment of unearned premium refund. This is a document signed by the seller/borrower addressed to the insurer whereas the insured cancels the policy and requests the insurance company to refund to the Lender all unearned premium and or unpaid claims.

Unfortunately, you will not see any money coming back to you and I understand that, in a situation where you lose your home and also your down payment, all extra income is welcome.

But look at it this way, you won't have a deficiency judgment filled against you and the payoff will show up in your credit report as a partial payment and a settled debt.

With a successful short sale the seller/borrower will be able to get a new mortgage after 18 months. Not bad when you look at the loss that the lender takes.

That is why I recommend a short Sale as the best solution to people that are facing a hardship and are 'upside down' on the mortgage.


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Foreclosure on White House avoided thanks to Short Sale

It is a fact that when you don't pay the mortgage you are facing foreclosure.

And not everyone can print money to bail out...

On the other hand, what's the point for the bank to foreclose on a property when it is worth less than the mortgage?

In today's market more and more people have properties that are 'upside down' and there are many advantages for both lender as owner to find common grounds.

That's what happened to Bobby A. who bought a beautiful white house in Windermere, Florida.
He could not pay the mortgage anymore and was facing foreclosure when he got a letter in the mail from MonkeySold.
He decided to try and use the solution offered in the letter and two weeks later an open house was organized with a bidding process on the house.
This resulted in a contract on the house that could be submitted to the bank for a short sale.

Short sale is a great solution for people facing foreclosure because in that case the bank does not need to spend money on the foreclosure process, nor does it need to buy back the property and maintain it to further sell it at a bigger loss.

More and more people are coming to MonkeySold for help.
We have developed a processing system that reduces the time to get a response from the bank on a short sale by 50 to 70%, says Timothy Swider.
Timothy, who is one of the leading partners in MonkeySold, has put his airline pilot training to work in the company. By creating checklists and standardizing documents and processes he has turned the administrative heart of the company in a well oiled production machine. With state of the art technology, powered by Apple, the company now processes 10times more short sale files than when it started 6 months ago.

The company will handle more than 200 short sale files a month and is ready to take on more.

What are the benefits of selling your home in a short sale?
Besides of avoiding the hassle, costs and fear of going through a foreclosure procedure there is a much greater benefit. People can stay in their home until the sale is closed and notice will be sent to the credit bureau agencies to report the mortgage as "settled for less than the amount due' On top of that there are no fees charged for the program as all related costs are paid out of the proceeds of the sale.

So why wait?
Get that Monkey of your back now and call 866 614 6993 or visit www.monkeysold.com





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