Loss mitigation, also known as the loss mitigation department, is usually defined as a third party working on behalf of a lender to help homeowners that are facing foreclosure. It is a division within a bank that mitigates (synonyms – relieves, alleviates makes something less severe) the loss of the bank, or a firm that handles the process of negotiation between a homeowner and the homeowner’s lender.

Loss mitigation works to negotiate mortgage terms for the homeowner that will prevent foreclosure. These new terms are typically obtained through loan modification, short sale negotiation, short refinance negotiation, deed in lieu of foreclosure, cash-for-keys negotiation, or a partial claim loan or other loan work-out. All of the options serve the same purpose, to stabilize the risk of loss the lender (investor) is in danger of realizing. Immediate foreclosure can cause higher losses for banks and lenders. A loss mitigation team or department can help ease the potential risk incurred by a lender by working out terms or loans that may be more manageable for a homeowner thereby limiting the amount of loss by either party.

It has been my experience that the loss mitigation department has a lot of red tape and is not an easily accessible group of people to speak with; in fact if you contact your lender and ask to speak to the loss mitigation department and are not already delinquent on a loan you will be passed around or deferred to someone else with in the bank.

If you feel that your home may be in jeopardy of foreclosure due to a job loss or some other financial crisis and want to go straight to the loss mitigation department to try and negotiate new terms, your chances are very slim that you will get through. Loss mitigation specialists do not negotiate on “potential” losses. By this I mean, if you sense that your debt or bills are spinning out of control and you would like to negotiate new terms with your lender BEFORE you default, trying to contact the loss mitigation department may be a futile effort. They only deal in “current risk”; homeowners that are already behind or delinquent in their loan payments. With foreclosures rates on the rise, the reality is that they barely have enough time to work through terms for homeowner’s whose homes are set to go to auction, also known as a sheriff’s sale or trustee sale depending on what state you live in.

If you as a homeowner end up behind in mortgage payments and receive a default letter or notice of delinquency from your lender chances are the signature at the bottom as well as the contact information for further assistance will be from the loss mitigation department.

Should you find yourself talking to a loss mitigation specialist like I did, you’ll need to be prepared if your intent is to try to workout a repayment option or loan modification. Everything you say during this conversation will be documented in your file. Now is not the time to contact your lender without some idea of your financial status. Being prepared will not only give your a better result when speaking with a specialist but will help speed the negotiations and give you a much better chance of success.

If the lender is willing to work out an arrangement with you, most likely you will be asked to send in all your current financial information, documentation as proof/cause for the recent delinquency and a financial hardship letter.

It is extremely important that you have some idea of what to pull together if you want a chance to save your home from foreclosure. Pulling together random bills as a snapshot of your debt WILL NOT be enough in most cases to get you the relief you seek nor save your home from foreclosure. You must be well prepared if you want to be considered for a workout option.

Believe me I know…I was turned down twice for assistance. The first time I was told I made too much money to be considered. The second time I was told I didn’t have enough income to cover the payments even if I did receive a workout plan. Meanwhile the clock was still ticking on my impending sheriff’s sale until I finally figured out what to do to stop the foreclosure and get a remodification that saved my home. Should you find yourself in a similar situation or facing foreclosure, I’ve made a video that takes you through my personal foreclosure story and explains in detail after weeks and months of research how I over came foreclosure and saved my home by working with my lender’s loss mitigation department.

If you’re interested in finding out How to Save Your Home from Foreclosure – like I did! Follow the above link to watch my 20 minute foreclosure video.

You may be in danger of foreclosure if you fail to make payments on your mortgage loan on time. But you will definitely have a problem if you default on these payments. But don’t give up just yet because foreclosure avoidance is still possible if you take the right steps.

For any of the following options to help, one thing must happen. Your lender must agree to cooperate.

See if you qualify for what is referred to as a special forbearance. It may be set up if your financial situation changes. Your mortgage holder will have to agree to re-arrange your payments. They may be willing to do so if you can show that you will be able to meet the newly arranged payment schedule.

Another possible option is a modification of your current mortgage. This involves a refinancing of the amount that is owed and may also include an extension of the term of the mortgage. The goal is reducing your monthly mortgage payments so they become affordable for you.

You may be eligible for an interest free loan from the HUD agency in order to make your mortgage current, if you meet specific conditions. This may be referred to as a partial claim. Your lender can assist with the application process and should be willing to explain more about this type of loan. Or you can get in touch with your local HUD office for details.

A pre foreclosure sale is another possible way to avoid foreclosure. In this case you are trying to sell your property prior to foreclosure so you can pay off debt and keep your credit intact.

If you’re sure that you will be unable to make your mortgage payments even if they do get lowered, then a pre foreclosure sale may be something to consider. You will have to see if can get your lender to agree to give you some extra time to sell before they go ahead with foreclosing.

There is one final option to think about, and this should only be a last resort. It is called a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. With this you are essentially giving your house to your lender rather than paying off the mortgage.

Even though you’ll lose your home this still may be a better option than losing it to the foreclosure process. The reason is that your chances of being able to obtain a mortgage loan in the future are a lot better than if your home is lost because of a foreclosure.

Foreclosure avoidance is possible if you use one of these options. But always contact your mortgage holder at the first sign of financial difficulty. By doing this one thing, you greatly increase your chances of finding a solution.

If you are trying to prevent the foreclosure of your home, you may need some help. Get free foreclosure information and find out how to avoid foreclosure.

Many of us have heard about the homes short sale process but may not especially see why it is something they may need to look into at one time in their lives. Learning the way to arrange a short sale could literally save yourself thousands of bucks and a likely foreclosure marking on your credit history.

Short sales are usually used when householders try to sell their property but can’t get an offer for the whole amount of the mortgage note as the market has crashed or as the home has depreciated in price for one more reason. Perhaps there was heavy damage to the home or the entire street lately turned into a drug neighborhood during the past few years. Irrespective of what the rationale is, it is nearly impossible to sell for the amount required to pay down the mortgage in full and still cover realtor charges also.

You have got to know the easiest way to barter a short sale because unless you start the conversation with your home loan company, you could never hear them talk of it. Although it is an option that they offer, it’s not something you will hear the collection department talk a lot about. The thing is though , the short sale can be very favourable to the mortgage company too particularly if the buyer isn’t now making any payments on the mortgage. Some money is much better than no money.

If anybody gives you difficulty about it, remind them that it takes thousands of greenbacks on their end to foreclose and they might be stuck with a home that they too would have difficulty selling. This typically helps get it across that you are serious. And generally you want to chat with the special office that handles short sales because the standard collection dept that calls you isn’t routinely the dep. that handles it.

Don’t be confounded if you’re asked to fill out some forms. The mortgage company wants to be certain that everything is legitimate before they’re going and accept less cash than what you owe. Also, ensure that you are inquiring about the short sale as fast as you understand that there’s a problem so you can get the ball rolling. Many firms request that you list the property for sale immediately and set the ticket price high enough to where the loan could be totally paid off. If after so many months it doesn’t sell, they can counsel you that it is alright to go forward and attempt to get something lower.

Remember though; the mortgage company will have limitations on how low they are prepared to go with the homes short sale payoff amount. Don’t be outraged when they send out one of their own appraisers to record the existing price of the property. They’re simply attempting to protect their assets and to ensure that they’re making the right calls re the standard price and how much they’ll accept.

Even though it may seem like a lot of work to deal with, the homes short sale is worth it. You will be able to satisfy the mortgage loan and save your credit. With all of that in mind, you might want to get started looking into the short sale sooner rather than later.

homes short sale will help you to have lot of bugs and also foreclosure marking on your d\credit report. To know about homes short sale visit http://www.homesshortsale.org/

With the current financial crisis many people are faced with difficulties in paying their mortgage. For many if they don’t know what to do to avoid this situation it will result in them losing their home. However, below we offer a few tips that could help you to know how to avoid foreclosure on your home.

Tip 1 – It is important that as soon as you are faced with the difficulty of paying your mortgage that you don’t try to ignore the situation. It is far better if you contact the lender immediately and explain to them what your current financial situation is. By doing this they may well be able to devise a payment program that ensures that you can still pay the mortgage and so keep your home.

Tip 2 – You should immediately respond to any and all correspondence that you receive from the mortgage lender as promptly as you possibly can. In a lot of cases the first letter you will receive from the lender with regards to you payment problems will be one that may offer some ways to help you to know how to avoid foreclosure.

Ignoring such correspondence initially could cause you more problems in the future, as it may well contain information regarding legal proceedings the lender is about to take against you. This is not excuse you can use to the judge when you do end up in foreclosure court.

Tip 3 – Another thing that you should be doing as soon as you have any changes in your financial situation is to go through the mortgage documentation you have. It is important that you read it through slowly and carefully as you will then be able to see what will happen if you are unable to make the payments of your mortgage. For those who are unsure where they stand legally when it comes to foreclosure then they should seek out assistance from either a good lawyer or their local citizens advice bureau.

There has been a lot of news coming out of Washington lately. Thats why I am going to attempt to briefly explain the highlights of President Obamas plan to reduce foreclosures. It is estimated (by the government) that this plan will help up to 9 million homeowners. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, there are about 51 million first mortgages in the United States which means about 18% of the total might qualify. On March 4, 2009 we finally were given the details everyone has been waiting to hear. Please keep in mind that this is just a summary and that there are additional details. You can learn more about the plan by going to the US Government website: financialstability.gov.

We all know that the foreclosure problem is a very serious matter, but all of the new acronyms are starting to get a bit annoying. The new initiative is being called Making Home Affordable (also known as MHA); heres just a few of the government acronyms to keep track of: TARP, TALF, H4H, GSE, FNMA, FLHMC, PITI, FHA, VA, USDA, etc. Its starting to get a bit overwhelming even for real estate and finance professionals.

There are essentially 2 parts to the program: The first is a plan to refinance eligible mortgages and it is being referred to as Home Affordable Refinance. The other part deals with loan modifications and is known as…Home Affordable Modification. Its just a matter of time until these are called HAR & HAM I am predicting.

Lets review the HAR Program:

Requires the current mortgage to be guaranteed by either Fannie Mae (FNMA) or Freddie Mac (FLHMC). To see if you meet this guideline, call (800) 7FANNIE or (800) 7FREDDIE between 8am and 8pm, EST. The property must be your primary residence; second homes and investment properties do not qualify. You must show sufficient income to qualify. Mortgage payments must be current and a one-year history must reflect no payments being 30 days late. The amount owed on the first mortgage cannot be more than 105% of the market value of your home. If your home is valued at $100,000, then the most you can owe is $105,000 Additional lien holders, as in a second mortgage, HELOC or other liens, must be willing to subordinate to the first mortgage holder, in writing. Simply put, this means that the first mortgage holder will retain their superior lien position. The total of all liens can exceed 105% of the current market value; however, the amount refinanced cannot exceed this amount. This program officially began in March of 2009.

Now for the HAM Program:

Investor/Lender participation is optional and voluntary; your mortgage servicer must be willing to participate in a modification program. The purpose of this program is to avoid foreclosure whenever possible; each case is analyzed and evaluated to determine if the borrower has sufficient income to afford a modified mortgage payment. The current PITI (Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance) must exceed 31% of the borrower(s) gross monthly income. Thats right, another acronym! Borrowers can be behind on their mortgage payments as each individual case is analyzed and evaluated. The plan is intended to reduce the current PITI payment for all mortgages to an amount of 31% or less than the borrower(s) monthly gross income. This includes all liens and lien holders must be willing to subordinate their position to the new modified mortgage. The modified mortgage must be for your primary residence, second homes and investment properties do not qualify. The mortgage must have been executed before January 1, 2009 and the amount owed cannot be more than $729,750. Im sure there is a reason why this is the maximum; however, I have not found any information as to how the government came to this amount. The reduced payment is a result of either a lower interest rate, a longer mortgage term, or, as a last resort, a reduced principle balance. Remember, lender/servicer cooperation is both required and voluntary. There is a 90 day trial period for the modified mortgage where the borrower must honor all the terms, and then the modification is extended for a period of no less than 5 years. Starting in year 6, the interest rate can be increased by no more than 1% per year, until the rate reaches the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey Rate on the date the modification is executed.

This article briefly explains the highlights of these new programs; more detailed information can be found at financialstability.gov.

Lets all hope that this new initiative is more successful than the Hope for Homeowners Program (H4H) that started October 1, 2008. The following article was published recently by Time Magazine:

Grade: F The Plan: Enacted on Oct. 1, Hope for Homeowners was to be the main foreclosure rescue plan from Congress, which allocated $300 billion for the effort. Supporters in Congress, like Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, said the program would allow hundreds of thousands of borrowers, perhaps millions, to refinance into lower-cost loans by cutting the amount they owed, which for many at-risk-of-default homeowners was more than their house was worth.

The Result: So how many people have Hope for Homeowners saved from foreclosure? Zero. There have been 326 applications in the three months since the program started, but none of those people ” let alone the nearly 6 million homeowners who, by some estimates, may face foreclosure in the next few years ” have received a new mortgage or a modification for the one they have. What’s more, none of the major mortgage lenders, such as Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, has signed on to the loan-principal-reduction program ” which gives Hope for Homeowners little chance of being successful anytime soon. “Foreclosure is the problem we have to spend a lot more effort trying to solve,” says the Economic Policy Institute’s Robert Scott. “We need to put a floor under housing prices, and stopping foreclosures is the way you do that.”

Please keep in mind that this is my understanding of the guidelines and that all information should be independently verified. Finally,…please remember…since this is a government program, all rules and guidelines are subject to change. Stay tuned…….