Hi, I’m Toni Patillo with Toni Patillo and Associates, your leading Venice short sale agents. Today we would like to talk about the borrower’s options when facing foreclosure. Borrowers typically have only two options when facing foreclosure. They have the possibility of staying or going from their property. If the homeowner decides to stay, they can decide how this will be done after speaking with their Venice short sale agent. They have the choice to reinstate their mortgage and bring it current. They may pay any late fees and penalties that have accrued. Next would be a forbearance in which the lender may agree to allow the homeowner to delay mortgage payments for a certain time period and/or decided on a payment plan. If the Venice short sale agent suggests a repayment plan, the homeowner will usually need to submit a portion of the past-due payment until the past-due amount and all penalties are paid off. There is also the option of a loan modification. This means there is a change in the term of the loan, interest rate, or type of loan. The goal is to lower the monthly payments to make the payment more affordable for the homeowners.
If the homeowner decides to go and get out from underneath the underwater mortgage, they also have a few options. One option is a short sale which is an agreement with the lender to accept less than the principal owed as a payment on the loan. There is also something called a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. This is when the borrower voluntarily transfers the title back to the lender to avoid foreclosure. At this point, the lender releases the borrower from the mortgage and repossesses the property. As your Venice short sale agents, we will be able to go over all of these options and help you choose the one that fits best with your personal situation. Since we are Venice short sale agents, we have seen just about all situations possible so we have the experience needed to help you with your decision. Also, an option is to sell the home in a traditional sale if there is enough equity to pay back all loans. Let us know if we can help make this decision easier for you and your family. We are your Venice short sale agents, ready to help.