Pre-Foreclosure

The Most Important Things to Know About Foreclosures

• The foreclosure WILL go to auction unless you do something to stop it.
• If the house is foreclosed on, you will have to leave.
• Foreclosures appear on your credit report for 7 years and can affect being able to
  purchase another house.
• You could still owe money after a foreclosure or taxes on the shortfall amount if you do
  a short sale.

This foreclosure information is taken from the Ohio Attorney General website.

What is foreclosure?

Foreclosure is the legal process a lender uses to take back a piece of property.

What should I do if I get behind on my house payment?

As soon as you know you won’t be able to make your payment, take the following steps:

• Call your lender. Ask for the loss mitigation department. Be honest about your situation so the lender can give you the best options.
• Stay in your home. If you leave your home, you may lose some of your rights. Also, vacancy can lead to vandalism, and you could be held responsible for those damages
• Open your mail. Government and non-profit agencies may mail you information to help you keep your home.
• Beware of scams. There are companies who will promise to help you for a fee, but often they take your money and do nothing. For more information or to report scams, contact the Attorney General’s Help Center online or at (800) 282-0515. For a government-approved housing counseling agency who will work with you in Ohio, contact Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) about Ohio Works First at 1-866-244-0071. They help with hardship cases.

If I’m in foreclosure, what help can I expect from my lender?

Your lender may be able to offer you one of the following (often for a fee):

• Forbearance: A temporary reduction or suspension of your house payment.
• Repayment Plan: A temporary increase of your house payment for a specific amount of time in order to catch up on missed payments.
• Refinance: A new loan at a lower interest rate to reduce your house payment.
• Mortgage Modification: A lower house payment achieved through a lower interest rate, a reduced principal amount or a longer term of your current loan.
• Short Sale: Your lender allows you to sell your property for less than full payoff.
• Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure: Your lender allows you to “give back” your property to satisfy your debt.

• Contact Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) about Ohio Works First at 1-866-244-0071 for hardship situations.
• Pay the default amount (loan, assistance, asking friends & family).
• Call your mortgage company. See the Attorney General page for more information.
• Look into Reverse Mortgages.
• Call a Real Estate Attorney. They may be able to help. They will cost money.
• Request a short sale. This allows the lender to sell it for less than you owe. Know that you could be responsible for the remaining amount or for taxes on the amount forgiven.
• File Bankruptcy.
• OR, Sell it Off Market quickly. This keeps it off your record, hopefully gives you some cash and/or tries to help you with whatever you need the most. THIS IS HOW WE HELP.

90% of people sell On Market, meaning the house is listed on the MLS through a realtor or For Sale by Owner. This is where you get the most money you can, but it takes time to get the house market ready, updated and sold. If there is an auction date, there may not be time.

10% of people sell Off Market for many different reasons: pre-foreclosure, divorce, too many repairs, re-locating, job transfers, job loss, health situations, death, inheritance, too much stuff to deal with, too overwhelming or any other reason they need or want to sell fast.
Off market is selling to investors to sell faster, for cash, for less, OR selling to investors for full price, but getting it paid monthly over time, OR having the mortgage taken over, OR other creative solutions that might work better for you.

How Can Lavender Property Solutions Help You?

• We can help you call your mortgage company if you don’t want to do this by yourself. We can do a 3-way call, us at our office, you at your house and the mortgage company. We would call you and then call them and add them into the call. We don’t have to be at your house. We can ask them (with you) if they will work with you. If they are not willing or able to come up with a solution, we would get your payoff amount and the amount to bring it current as those numbers are needed for us to make you an offer..
• We can talk through ideas or help you find people that might be able to help.
• WHY are we offering to help you? We would like to help you stay in your house. If that is not possible, then we would like to buy your house before the foreclosure and hope that you will be willing to work with us if we have tried to help you first…

Items needed if we buy your house…

• Knowing what kind of help you need most
• Auction date
• Amount needed to bring mortgage current
• Mortgage payoff
• Who is listed on the mortgage?
• Any other liens or taxes owed?
• Pictures of the structural condition of your house
• Agreement signed

Contact Us Today For Your Fresh Start