Should you be in foreclosure and have spoken to your bank, it’s possible you’ll feel you are being neglected. This neglect comes in the form of not returning phone calls, short responses on the phone, and counsel that may not be in your best interest. The case is that the bank assumes you are usually in default because of something you did and under the terms of the mortgage, or deed of trust, it’s your difficulty. This sometimes-disdainful thought fills the banking industry and makes it complex for an easy resolution to your foreclosure. This is sometimes why householders consider that banks would like to steal their houses, in particular when there is equity in them.
Actually, the bank does prefer to have the equity from your property if there is any. In the recent real estate market declines, this is not fairly often the case. The sub-prime crisis has triggered the collapse of many banks that were disobliging with borrowers who were sold residences they couldn’t come up with the money for through the use of Adjustable Rate Mortgages (“ARM’s”). The larger issue is that the banks have to manage so lots of individuals who have numerous stories that they have become anesthetize towards homeowners’ individual circumstances. More significantly, the banks are in business to produce an income, so sadly which means helping foreclosure victims is only secondary to what is in their best interest.
The banks earn money from both interest differential on their loans, as well on the points charged at closing, or the advertising of their loans for a profit. How many individuals are you aware who have had their lender changed after they obtained their mortgage? The quantity is incredibly towering because there is a lot of money to be made in selling and repackaging these small loans into multi-billion dollar bundles.
If a bank has to acquire a property back from a foreclosure or a “deed in lieu of foreclosure”, it becomes a Real Estate Owned (“REO”) property for the bank. This is exactly a difficulty due to huge jump in the cash reserves the bank must have by Federal Reserve requirements. So generally speaking, the banks don’t want your house except they can immediately sell it and produce a profit. From the moment a home-owner is 90 days late the banks apply computer programs to work out if your house has equity plus they even send out a realtor to do a Broker’s Price Opinion (“BPO”) to work out its value. If it has equity that the bank believes considers it quickly marketable, it’s possible you’ll be handled differently. than a homeowner, that has no equity. This “equity stripping” of the home is not a predictable income for the bank, but when it becomes accessible, the bank has a “responsibility to its stockholders” to reap the benefits of the situation. While in the southeastern states and California, this was a typical practice for years when there were rapidly increasing markets.
Some banks became pro-active in trying to facilitate homeowners by sending out field reps to look at their personal situation and suggest solutions. Though, the programs we have experienced required the lender’s agent to be a licensed realtor which caused a arguments with his wanting to list the property for the higher commission versus the small fee for having the homeowner fill out a form and getting an answer from the bank that assigned the homeowner to keep his home.
In summing up, the bank has motives to mistreat the home owner. Most banking institutions are not inside the business to try and steal homes from foreclosure victims but if the chance avails itself, it’s a real prospect. Banks will not give homeowners legal counsel mainly if it is not in their best interests. Consequently, the homeowner must pay attention to what questions to ask his bank concerning what applications are available as solutions for his foreclosure problem. Not at all, sign any documents either from a bank or from someone else without obtaining the documents reviewed by an attorney.
Another great article by North Bay Waterfront Free reprint avaialable from: Dealing With Your Bank During Foreclosure.
