Foreclosure consultants

[Ineedhelp2]

When my house was in foreclosure (before we filed chapter 13), I received several calls from companies which claimed to be able to work with my lender and negotiate a deal to prevent a sale.

One of them sounded like an outright scam from the start, since he wanted $1,000 up front and was not allowed to fax any paperwork until he received the fee.

Another one sounded legitimate, but it seemed that he could not have done any more for me thatn I could have done for myself. He wanted around $1,300 for negotiating a deal whereby I would probably pay half of the outstanding balance due (which was a lot more than I could come up with) and work out a new payment plan. But what he didn't know was that I had made a much better deal on my own with the workout department of the mortgage company.

To those of you in foreclosure who want to avoid bankruptcy and work out arrangements with your lender--I think you can do a better job on your own by contacting them directly and avoiding these "services."

[poorme]

That's true, and unfortunately a lot of homeowners who get into trouble don't know that they do have options. We tend to avoid the banks calls until it's too late. I went through two such workout deals which ended up costing me a lot more money before I found out the bank actually has the power to agree to what's called a loan modification - they can essentially move the entire arrears amount to the end of the loan and let you resume your normal payments - and do so without any 'fees' from you - ah, if life were just that simple. I was four payments into a 6-month catch-up plan when I sent the 5th payment in a few days late - I even called my assigned rep to let him know. HAH! I get a notice from Western Union they refused my Quick Collect payment. Can you believe that? That's when I knew I had to get smart and began making plans to do what I should have done a long time ago and file a 7. Best move I've made and I have no regrets.

[Ineedhelp2]

I was very anxious about the short amount of tie left before the sale of my house and my chapter 13 filing being at the last minute.

My lender offered to stop the sale for $3,000 and $100 extra per month modification.

I was ecstaticall happy with that offer, even thought I didn't have the $3k--I figured I'd find a way to get it, plus I had the issue of being substantially behind on a 2nd mortgage as well. But it seemed like a way to buy some time and some peace.

My attorney said is was a "bad idea" and I eventually saw the wisdom in his thinking about it, and went ahead with my chapter 13 work and filed two days before the sale.

It was very scary being so close, but I'm happy I did not throw away $3,000 and that I listened to my attorney.

I also received lots of letters offering to help me by buying my house before it went to sale, but after talking with one of them, could see that I would get very little out of a deal like that.