With nearly half of all mortgages under water in South Florida be careful taking the plunge or be prepared to swim with the sharks.
Plenty of residents wonder if their home lender can garnish their wages or suddenly go after assets if they are late on their mortgage. It can happen in Florida, especially if a bank sells a foreclosed house and doesn’t recoup the full loan amount. The rules vary by state and depend on the terms of specific loans and accounts. Problems on typical home loans usually don’t crop up before foreclosure. They tend to come after the bank sells the home and ends up short. In Florida, banks can go to court for a “deficiency judgment” to collect the rest of the money owed on a mortgage after foreclosure. Banks can pursue other assets with that judgment. They can file a lien on your boat or car, but “they can’t jump priority on a loan” so the lender for that boat or car has first dibs to collect. Florida banks usually don’t target other assets after foreclosure if they don’t see much to tap. Collecting on judgments is time-consuming and costly, so banks pay more attention to borrowers with multimillion-dollar homes or businesses that default on big commercial properties.
There’s another risk for smaller borrowers. Banks may sell their deficiency judgments to a collection agency. The judgments are valid for up to 20 years which leaves an agency focused on collections ample time to come after you for the balance still due. That’s why it’s so important for people to deal with these mortgage problems upfront. If you have the chance to do a short-sale through the bank, or if you have the chance to negotiate with the bank and clear up the loan — rather than have this financial time-bomb ticking over your head for years — you’ll be so much better off working with the bank. If you are behind on your mortgage and facing foreclosure, the “Save Your Home Program” can help. Through a loan modification you may be able to negotiate a lower payment, lower rate, restructure late payments and save your home.
Too many times homeowners are taken advantage of because they are desperate to save their home. Get the truth and learn how to save your home without the risk. Avoid scams by getting legal advice. Avoid sites that claim or try to appear to be government run, that do not have the domain ending in .gov. Do NOT sign your deed over to a third party, Do NOT send your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender, Do NOT sign any documents you don’t understand. Bank owned homes have become popular among potential homebuyers because of their discounted prices, which is significantly lower than current market rates. (http://www.bankownedproperties.org/) Search for bank owned properties by state and click on a state in the list to find bank owned homes for sale around your area and contact your Happy Herald Real Estate Head Quarters at (561) 394-7466 to assist you.
