When trying to avoid foreclosure, it comes down to one main thing; you need money to pay your bills on time.  With today’s economy, low paying jobs and lack of available work every penny you earn counts.  It counts towards, keeping or saving your home and giving your family a secure future.

This is my third article on money saving tips to stop a foreclosure.  The first article tells you how you can save several thousand dollars a year on grocery’s, article number two tells you how to save on clothing and this particular article will deal with saving money on car repairs.  If you have a car it doesn’t matter if it’s a couple years or twenty years old — you going to spend money on keeping it in shape.  There are some tips and tricks of the trade though that may help cut down on some of your mechanical expenses.

Get A Second Opinion and Estimate If you were going to a doctor and they told you, that you would need to get this, that and this done; you would probably get a second opinion, before you just jump onto an operating table.  Treat your car the same way; get a second opinion.

By getting a second look at your car by a different mechanic, you can confirm what the first mechanic told you and you can get a second estimate of costs.  This is very important because most car mechanics prices can vary significantly.  One person may quote you $1800 for a job, while a second mechanic may do for only $900.  That is a big difference so it is very important to get a second opinion and estimate on your car’s repairs or maintenance.

Watch Out For Scammers How often have you gone into a car shop to get your oil changed and all of sudden you find yourself buying brake lights or a new spark plugs or a oil filter?  It is always something, isn’t it?  Make sure if someone is examining your car for one thing, they don’t try to up sell you something you may not need.

This is another reason why a second look at your car with another mechanic is important.  Especially if every time you visit your current mechanic for one thing, they prescribe ten things.  See how many times this happens where you do business; if it starts becoming a pattern, it may be time to look for a new mechanic.

Buy Your Own Car Parts Some mechanics have been known to charge a 50% mark up on parts.  This is good chunk of change and worth looking into alternative options for parts.  Even if you don’t know how to do the labor on a car, you can bring the parts you find for a cheaper price to the garage and just pay for labor.

Check out major auto parts stores since they will usually be cheaper then your mechanic’s garage.  Or look in the classifieds if it is a major part because someone may be selling just what you need.  Or possibly, check out a scrap yard and see what they have.  This could just save you several thousand dollars.

Learn To Do Some Of Your Own Repairs There are some simple repairs you can do on your own car, which can end up saving you saving you more than 80% on labor prices.  For instance, if your car light goes out, a dealer will charge your $20 just to change the bulb.  If you buy your own bulb at an auto store it is probably around $2.  Then just do a little online research or look at some auto repair books and learn how to replace the bulb yourself.

So if you have any money concerns or are possibly worried about facing foreclosure in your future, read of the money saving tip articles and make every penny count.  How would you like to have an extra $10,000 in your pocket every year?  This can happen, if you put the time and effort into learning the tricks of the trade.  If your boss offered you a pay increase of $10,000, but you would have to do more work, you would likely take it.  This is same thing, put the work into saving money and you will have more money.

We Can Help to Avoid Foreclosure in Raleigh, Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina

Are you a home owner in Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, Carolina Beach and surrounding areas who needs help to avoid foreclosure?

HomeSolutionsGroupInc.com understand better than anyone the situation you are in. We help people avoid foreclosure everyday and the different situations that happen that get you in this position.

Unfortunately, bad things can happen to good people. Thinking back to when you first purchased your home, we are certain that the thought of losing your house was the furthest thing from your mind. We have never met a home owner who actually planed to go into foreclosure. Yes, sometimes we are just put in unavoidable situations that we didn’t foresee.

We also know that there are several places you can go to sell your house fast and most often than not people first think of listing with a Realtor. In most cased however, listing with a realtor will not help you avoid foreclosure.

With the current economic situation, millions of homes are simply over financed. We also come across homes that need needs major repairs that would just make a fast home sale to help avoid foreclosure impossible. In most cases, we are behind on payments and need to sell fast.

Other situations we run across often include

Well, what if there was a faster way to sell you house when we are facing difficult situations? What if there was a company that actually took an actual investment in helping you sell your property fast and really could help you avoid foreclosure? Best of all, what if they didn’t charge you hefty realtor fees to do so?

Sound too good to be true? Well it is not. We help people avoid foreclosure every day in situations just like yours. Check us out, we can help you avoid foreclosure!

To qualify for our fast home purchase program please take a few minutes and complete our Home Seller Questionnaire Today

Home Solutions Group, Inc., is buying houses in one week or less in Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, Carolina Beach and surrounding areas. As one of the the nations largest house buying networks of investors, we have professional home buyers right in your home town! These home investors are trained to handle almost any situation that you may be in and buy houses in any condition, any price range!

The last couple of years have been quite unstable for the housing market. People are facing foreclosure and losing their homes. According to statistics, in Florida 4% of all the mortgages are facing foreclosure proceedings. It is obvious that the situation is really bad; however, a homeowner can seek the help of a foreclosure defense attorney to know his/her options.

The fact is that for vast majority of people foreclosures are stressful, confusing and overwhelming because they do not know much about the foreclosure proceeding. They are not aware of the fact that there are options available to them that can help them avoid foreclosure proceedings.

Loan Modification

A specialized foreclosure defense attorney can lay out the options available to homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Under the Housing Bill passed by President Obama, homeowners facing foreclosure can go for loan modification. Assistance of a foreclosure defense attorney can help a homeowner negotiate the mortgage modification with the lenders.

Short Sale

Still another option that homeowners have is that of short sale. Under this option the homeowner will sell the mortgaged property for less than balance owed on the loan. The proceeds of the sale are given to the lender. Before the sale, the short sale lawyer will negotiate with the bank. The short sale attorney will convince the bank that due to economic or financial hardship, the bank should agree to a discount the loan balance. Therefore, after the house is sold the remaining balance is discounted.

Deed In Lieu

Another way that a homeowner can avoid foreclosure is by opting for deed in lieu. The homeowner’s real estate attorney will negotiate with the lender.  The homeowner will sign over the deed or title of the property to the bank and the bank in return will cancel the mortgage.

Bankruptcy

Another option that a real estate lawyer can suggest to a homeowner is that of filing bankruptcy. This will not only stop all foreclosure proceedings but will also give a chance to the homeowner to repay some of the debt and retain the house.

Refinancing

A Florida real estate attorney can also suggest the option of refinancing to avoid foreclosure. Refinancing simply means that the homeowner replaces the existing mortgage with a new one. In most cases, the new mortgage comes with lower interest rates and better terms and conditions.

Reverse Mortgage

A very good option that a foreclosure defense attorney might suggest is that of reverse mortgage. This is simply a loan against the property. A homeowner does not need to repay the loan as long as he/she lives there. However, this option is mostly available to those who own the property and are over 62 years of age.

Contesting Foreclosure

In many cases it has been seen that homeowners can successfully contest foreclosure proceeding. A foreclosure defense Jacksonville lawyer can help homeowners find the legal grounds on which the proceedings can be challenged. It might be possible that the mortgage company has filed the foreclosure proceedings illegally. A cautious attentive homeowner with the help of a foreclosure defense Florida attorney will be able to figure out what is illegal about the proceedings.

The bottom line is that there are several options available to homeowners to help them avoid foreclosure. It is upto the homeowners to seek these options. A foreclosure defense attorney will act as a specialist guide in their efforts to avoid foreclosure.

The last couple of years have been quite unstable for the housing market. People are facing foreclosure and losing their homes. According to statistics, in Florida 4% of all the mortgages are facing foreclosure proceedings. It is obvious that the situation is really bad; however, a homeowner can seek the help of a foreclosure defense attorney to know his/her options.

The fact is that for vast majority of people foreclosures are stressful, confusing and overwhelming because they do not know much about the foreclosure proceeding. They are not aware of the fact that there are options available to them that can help them avoid foreclosure proceedings.

Loan Modification

A specialized foreclosure defense attorney can lay out the options available to homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Under the Housing Bill passed by President Obama, homeowners facing foreclosure can go for loan modification. Assistance of a foreclosure defense attorney can help a homeowner negotiate the mortgage modification with the lenders.

Short Sale

Still another option that homeowners have is that of short sale. Under this option the homeowner will sell the mortgaged property for less than balance owed on the loan. The proceeds of the sale are given to the lender. Before the sale, the short sale lawyer will negotiate with the bank. The short sale attorney will convince the bank that due to economic or financial hardship, the bank should agree to a discount the loan balance. Therefore, after the house is sold the remaining balance is discounted.

Deed In Lieu

Another way that a homeowner can avoid foreclosure is by opting for deed in lieu. The homeowner’s real estate attorney will negotiate with the lender.  The homeowner will sign over the deed or title of the property to the bank and the bank in return will cancel the mortgage.

Bankruptcy

Another option that a real estate lawyer can suggest to a homeowner is that of filing bankruptcy. This will not only stop all foreclosure proceedings but will also give a chance to the homeowner to repay some of the debt and retain the house.

Refinancing

A Florida real estate attorney can also suggest the option of refinancing to avoid foreclosure. Refinancing simply means that the homeowner replaces the existing mortgage with a new one. In most cases, the new mortgage comes with lower interest rates and better terms and conditions.

Reverse Mortgage

A very good option that a foreclosure defense attorney might suggest is that of reverse mortgage. This is simply a loan against the property. A homeowner does not need to repay the loan as long as he/she lives there. However, this option is mostly available to those who own the property and are over 62 years of age.

Contesting Foreclosure

In many cases it has been seen that homeowners can successfully contest foreclosure proceeding. A foreclosure defense Jacksonville lawyer can help homeowners find the legal grounds on which the proceedings can be challenged. It might be possible that the mortgage company has filed the foreclosure proceedings illegally. A cautious attentive homeowner with the help of a foreclosure defense Florida attorney will be able to figure out what is illegal about the proceedings.

The bottom line is that there are several options available to homeowners to help them avoid foreclosure. It is upto the homeowners to seek these options. A foreclosure defense attorney will act as a specialist guide in their efforts to avoid foreclosure.

1. In come cases, the borrower must attempt to sell the home for its fair market value for at least 90 days before the lender will consider this option.

2. This option may be unavailable if there are other liens on the borrowers home, such as judgments from other creditors, second mortgages, or tax liens.

Advantages of a Deed in Lieu:

o Possible tax considerations, talk to your tax accountant about the 1099 ordinary income for the gift of forgiven loans, as well as the insolvency exceptions.

o Problematic option if you have a 2nd or 3rd loan, line of credit secured by the property. Although the 1st lien holder of the property may agree to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure the subsequent lien holder have not. The subsequent lien holder loans can become unsecured debt that is attached to and stay with the borrower to pay off.

Example of a Deed in Lieu:

Sam lost his job, and after 2 months of attempting to find employment, decided he would move to another state. Sam called the lender to advise them of his situation. Sam decided to sign over a deed in lieu. In exchange, although months later the property sold for $69,000 less than the mortgage owed, the lender did not submit a 1099 tax statement for the difference. This saved Sam thousands in additional income, which would have been added in to his taxes.

K. Patrice Williams has a BA in Economics as well as a law degree. She has successfully managed both residential and commercial multi-million dollar income producing assets and budgets for more than 10 years. As a 1st year law student, Patrice established a real estate development and consulting business and acquired over 30 rental properties. As the housing market values decreased- like millions of other Americans-her properties were negatively impacted by shifting ARM’s, combined by a sluggish economy. Patrice has researched and personally implemented almost all of the pre-foreclosure techniques detailed in the book: “6 Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure”. http://www.avoidforeclosuremanual.com

1. It costs up to $100,000 to litigate a case. If a borrower could pay an attorney this amount of money, they probably would not be in the financial situation to be losing the home.2. Many financial Institutions and brokers are insolvent. At the time of the print of this article, over 217 institutions have gone out of business.3. An in ability for mortgage institution to resend the loan because values have decreased such that the home can not be refinanced.4. The surrounding facts and documentation in the case must be strong and the borrower has to have clean handsFor Example: When applying for their home loan, Tiffany and Theresa tell the mortgage broker that they make $120,000 annually. Both the borrowers and the mortgage broker knew otherwise, Theresa is a retail manager making $55,000 a year and Tiffany is completing her last year of Dental School. The mortgage broker puts the $120,000 income on the loan documents. In this scenario, the broker’s actions to process the loan with information that he knows to be false in order to collect his fees are actionable. However, Tiffany and Theresa do not have “clean hands” in the eye of the law, and will not have a viable case to sue against the mortgage broker.K. Patrice Williams has a BA in Economics as well as a law degree. She has successfully managed both residential and commercial multi-million dollar income producing assets and budgets for more than 10 years. As a 1st year law student, Patrice established a real estate development and consulting business and acquired over 30 rental properties. As the housing market values decreased- like millions of other Americans-her properties were negatively impacted by shifting ARM’s, combined by a sluggish economy. Patrice has researched and personally implemented almost all of the pre-foreclosure techniques detailed in the book: “6 Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure”. http://www.avoidforeclosuremanual.com

Calm your nerves and read the following tips before calling:1. See if your monthly statement contains the phone number to the lender’s loss mitigation department. If not, call the customer service number and ask for that department. At most lenders, the loss mitigation department helps borrowers determine which workout option they qualify for. Some lenders have their collections departments advise borrowers on workout options, borrowers may be sent to their collections department.2. Be ready to wait on hold for a long period of time. Its not a good idea to call on your cell phone to rap up your minutes, charge your phone in advance and be ready to hang on the line for a long period of time.3. Some representatives in the loss mitigation department are cranky, mean, over worked and not trained. If you are being treated badly or if the information that you are being told doesn’t sound or seem correct, remain calm and polite, get as much information as possible, hang up…and then call back.4. Share all details about your financial situation with your lender.Your lender will ask a series of questions to assess your financial situation. Some lenders, like Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, have specialists with both the training and technology to pre-qualify a caller for a workout option right over the phone. Other lenders do not have this technology and will send you a “work out package” to complete and send back to them.By preparing yourself in advance, and having the financial documents including income and expense numbers in front of you when you make the call, you might be able to get a resolution within minutes. The lender will probably ask you to fill out similar documents that describe your financial situation. They will review and analyze the documents before offering a solution to bring your loan up-to-date. So organize your bills, statements, and anything else that will help give an accurate picture of your current financial status.- An explanation of your current financial circumstances.- Details about your current income, including pay stubs, statements regarding unemployment, disability, social security, retirement, pubic aid, or and other similar documentation.- A list of your household expenses.- An explanation of what occurred to put you in this financial circumstance. Otherwise referred to, as your hardship.K. Patrice Williams has a BA in Economics as well as a law degree. She has successfully managed both residential and commercial multi-million dollar income producing assets and budgets for more than 10 years. As a 1st year law student, Patrice established a real estate development and consulting business and acquired over 30 rental properties. As the housing market values decreased- like millions of other Americans-her properties were negatively impacted by shifting ARM’s, combined by a sluggish economy. Patrice has researched and personally implemented almost all of the pre-foreclosure techniques detailed in the book: “6 Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure”. http://www.avoidforeclosuremanual.com

Homeowners are NOT powerless. Lenders are willing to provide retention, workout solutions (ways to keep your house). One of the most important steps to avoiding a home foreclosure is to react quickly and contact the lender, immediately upon realizing that your financial situation has changed.If you are unable to make your mortgage payment:- Immediately develop a financial plan to prioritize your spending. After healthcare, keeping your house should be first priority. Review your household finances to see where you can cut spending in order to make your mortgage payment. Look for optional expenses including cable tv, memberships, entertainment that can be eliminated. Think of alternative lifestyle changes that will allow you to slash your operational expenses, such as carpooling, walking or taking the bus to work; reviewing your insurance policies to make sure you are getting all of your potential discounts.- Delay payments on unsecured debt including credit cards until you have paid your mortgage.- Increase income.. Can anyone in your household get an extra job to bring in the additional income?- Sell assets. Do you have a 2nd or 3rd car, jewelry, a whole life insurance policy that you can sell for cash to help reinstate your loan?Even if these efforts don’t significantly increase your available cash or your income, they demonstrate to your lender that you are making sacrifices to keep you home.

K. Patrice Williams has a BA in Economics as well as a law degree. She has successfully managed both residential and commercial multi-million dollar income producing assets and budgets for more than 10 years. As a 1st year law student, Patrice established a real estate development and consulting business and acquired over 30 rental properties. As the housing market values decreased- like millions of other Americans-her properties were negatively impacted by shifting ARM’s, combined by a sluggish economy. Patrice has researched and personally implemented almost all of the pre-foreclosure techniques detailed in the book: “6 Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure”. http://www.avoidforeclosuremanual.com

• Never sign a legal document (quit claim deed, property deed, power of attorney, etc) under pressure and without reading and understanding all the terms. Take your time, get professional advice from an attorney, a trusted real estate professional, or a HUD approved housing counselor.• Its is your right and duty to think about offers and to ask questions, you cant ask too many.• Get all “promises” in writing.• Never give anyone a fee without receiving services.• Do not pay your mortgage payments directly to an individual or company other than your lender.• Beware of any loan assumption or home purchase contracts and offers where you are not formally released from liability for your mortgage debt and contracts of sales. Make sure you know what rights you are giving up and that you agree to give them up.• Never EVER sign anything with blank lines or spaces; information could be added later without your knowledge and consent.• Check with your lawyer or your mortgage company before entering into any deal.• If you are selling the house yourself to avoid foreclosure, check to see if there are any complaints against the prospective buyer. Contact your state Attorney General, State Real Estate Commission, local District Attorneys Consumer Fraud Unit, and Better Business Bureau (if the buyer is a business) for this information.• If you have been scammed contact your state Attorney General, State Real Estate Commission, local District Attorneys Consumer Fraud Unit, and Better Business Bureau (if the buyer is a business) and Department of Justice.REMEMBER that anything that sounds too good to be true usually is! If you suspect a predatory mortgage company is targeting you, call your local office of consumer affairs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an approved credit counseling agency.K. Patrice Williams has a BA in Economics as well as a law degree. She has successfully managed both residential and commercial multi-million dollar income producing assets and budgets for more than 10 years. As a 1st year law student, Patrice established a real estate development and consulting business and acquired over 30 rental properties. As the housing market values decreased- like millions of other Americans-her properties were negatively impacted by shifting ARM’s, combined by a sluggish economy. Patrice has researched and personally implemented almost all of the pre-foreclosure techniques detailed in the book: “6 Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure”. http://www.avoidforeclosuremanual.com

First, you need to understand how you got into trouble in the first place. This is something you want to have thought about before calling the lender or crafting a hardship letter. Have you had a loss of a job? Is your interest rate climbing in your adjustable rate mortgage? Have property values declined in your neighborhood making it difficult to sell. Once you put your finger on the problem, you need to face it head on. Ignoring the letters and phone calls from your lender won’t make the problem go away. In fact, it can make it much worse.Second, as soon as you realize you have a financial hardship, or problem that will prevent you from making timely mortgage payments, you need to contact your lender. If you’re in the position right now of being in trouble, contact your lender immediately. Most banks aren’t excited about having to resell your home. They’d rather work with you in most cases to keep your home.Third, determine if there’s a way for you to increase your income in order to put more money toward your mortgage payments. Can someone work a second job? Can you search for a job that’s higher paying?Fourth, it’s also important to see if you can refinance your mortgage at a fixed interest rate. This will keep your payments the same over the entire life of your mortgage. If you can refinance, you may be able to set up reasonable payments.Fifth, don’t be afraid to do a bit of thinking, “out of the box”, an option for your family, may be to rent your home if you can get enough rent to cover the cost of the mortgage. You may also want to consider allowing someone to rent a room to bring in extra income for your home.Sixth, if you can’t bring in more money and refinancing isn’t an option, you need to try to sell your home. As difficult as it may be to let go of it, it’s better to sell it than have a foreclosure. If you owe more than your property is worth, you should contact your bank. Many lenders will allow you to perform a “short sale” that will allow you to sell the house for somewhat less than its value and have the difference forgiven. Many banks allow this because in the long run it’s still less costly for them than trying to sell your home.Finally, if you’ve exhausted all of the possibilities and you can’t find a way to pay your mortgage payments and get out of trouble, you may have to walk away from your home. A foreclosure will be a dark mark on your credit for many years; however you should remember that you’re not alone. You simply have to take with you the lessons you’ve learned about home financing.K. Patrice Williams has a BA in Economics as well as a law degree. She has successfully managed both residential and commercial multi-million dollar income producing assets and budgets for more than 10 years. As a 1st year law student, Patrice established a real estate development and consulting business and acquired over 30 rental properties. As the housing market values decreased- like millions of other Americans-her properties were negatively impacted by shifting ARM’s, combined by a sluggish economy. Patrice has researched and personally implemented almost all of the pre-foreclosure techniques detailed in the book: “6 Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure”. http://www.avoidforeclosuremanual.com

If you are one, two or three payments behind on your mortgage then you would be wise to take immediate action regarding the following information. Homeowners, just like you, are often caught in unexpected hardships such as divorce, death in the family, job loss, or medical emergencies that lead them to falling behind in foreclosure. The good news is that there are ways to avoid foreclosure and save your home.
To avoid foreclosure you must prevent a Notice of Default (NOD) from being filed against you by the lender. A NOD is a public notice that states a homeowner is at least 60-90 days behind on mortgage payments and unless payments are made current the lender will seize the home. Lenders would much rather not file for foreclosure, it is a costly process for them (~$30,000 – ~$40,000) and they are not in the business of owning homes. However, most lenders will file a Notice of Default to protect their interests. If you feel that you will be unable to pay your mortgage due to hardships or an ARM-reset then you should consider the following solutions.
If contacted in a timely fashion a lender may be willing to reach an agreement that involves one of the following:
Forbearance agreement
A lender will give you time to get your finances in order before requiring you to make up back payments and bring your mortgage current.
FHASecure refinance or lender finance
The government provides FHA-insured refinancing loans to qualified homeowners who may be facing foreclosure due to adjustable-rate mortgages or interest-only mortgages that are set to reset. This program is available to anyone who has a non-FHA insured loan, regardless of their payment history. You also have the ability to roll your first and second mortgage into a single FHASecure loan. To find out more information about this program you should visit: http://portal.hud.gov/pls/portal/url/page/fha/fhasecure
Your lender may also be willing to refinance your existing mortgage, depending on your situation.
Repayment plan
Here, the mortgage company will let you payback missed payments over time by adding it to your mortgage bill. For instance, if your mortgage is $1,000, the lender will add $100 over the course of 12 months to repay a missed payment.
Partial claim
Under a Partial Claim the mortgage company will loan you the amount necessary to reinstate your loan. Currently, partial claims loans are interest free and not due until the homeowner pays off the first mortgage or sells their home. To qualify, you must meet certain criteria and have a government-backed loan.
Note modification
Under situations that involve adjustable-rate mortgages, the lender will freeze a homeowner’s interest rate to a more manageable rate. Alternatively, the lender may extend the amortization period, allowing you more time before the interest rate reset.
Debt forgiveness
This is very rare, but it does happen on occasion. Under this agreement the lender will waive your obligation for the missed payments so long as you make payments on time going forward.
To learn the 20 other ways you can stop foreclosure solutions and how to go forward with the ideas presented just visit: http://www.foreclosure-help-book.com.