If you are preparing to move to a new home, you may be focused on meeting your requirements to obtain financing for a new home mortgage, packing up your belongings, and getting ready for your move. However, if you will also be selling your current home, you will want to make sure you can receive a good price while also avoiding any complications that could affect the sale.

Preparing Your Home For Sale

As you prepare to sell your home, taking the following steps will help you get the best return on your investment and ensure that you can complete the sale successfully:

1. Clean and declutter the house - To make sure your house is appealing to potential buyers, you will want to do a deep clean. Make sure to mop floors, wash windows both inside and outside, wipe shelves and countertops, clear away cobwebs, fully clean all kitchen appliances, and remove trash from the garage. You will also want to remove as much of your belongings as possible and make sure the space throughout the home is clear and open so buyers can consider how they will be able to make the space their own.

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UPDATE: If you are considering reinstatement as an option for avoiding foreclosure, you will want to be sure to understand your rights, the deadlines that you will need to meet, and what other options may be available. The deadline for reinstating your loan is 90 days after you were served with a foreclosure notice. By this deadline, you will be required to make up the missed payments and pay other fees and expenses. In addition to late fees, you may need to pay other costs related to foreclosure proceedings, such as attorney's fees, recording fees, court costs, and the costs of a home inspection. You will need to request a quote from your lender for the total amount that must be paid to reinstate the loan. If you disagree with the amount provided in this quote, you can send a notice of error disputing the amount. Once you have met the requirements for reinstatement, the foreclosure case will be dismissed. It is important to note that after you have exercised your right to reinstatement, you will not be able to use this form of relief for five years after the date of the dismissal.

Another option that may be available is to pay off your loan in full. This is known as "redemption." To pay off the loan, you may be able to refinance your home through a loan from another lender, or you may receive a personal loan or gift from a person such as a family member. Typically, the deadline for redemption of your loan is seven months after the date you were served with a notice of foreclosure, although there may be some exceptions depending on your individual situation. As with reinstatement, you can request a payoff quote from your lender that will detail the full amount that will need to be paid, which will include the principal of the loan, any applicable late fees or interest, and foreclosure-related expenses.

If you have questions about reinstatement, redemption, loan modifications, or other options for foreclosure defense, contact our Waukegan foreclosure lawyers at 847-549-0000 to schedule a free consultation.

A residential real estate transaction can be very complicated, and both buyers and sellers will need to meet multiple different types of requirements to ensure that ownership of the property can be transferred on the closing date. In some cases, issues related to the home’s title may be uncovered, and these will need to be dealt with before the transaction can be completed. By working with an experienced real estate attorney, buyers and sellers can determine their best options for addressing these concerns.

Resolving Property Liens

A lien gives a person or organization the right to foreclose on a property if a debt is not paid. The most common liens are mortgages, and in these cases, lenders will release their claim to the property when the loan is paid off during the sale of the home. However, other types of liens may exist that may prevent the sale from being completed. These include:

• Mechanic’s liens - A contractor or subcontractor who performed work on the home may establish this type of lien to ensure that they can receive the amount owed for the work they performed.

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When a family experiences financial difficulties, they may be unable to make mortgage payments, which may cause their lender to begin the process of foreclosure. While the possibility of losing a home can be hard enough for a family, in some cases, they may be required to make additional payments even after the foreclosure process is completed. If the sale of a home during foreclosure does not fully cover the amount owed on the mortgage, a lender may pursue a deficiency judgment against the borrower and attempt to collect the remaining amount. However, borrowers have a number of options that can help them avoid a deficiency judgment and additional financial obligations.

Options for Avoiding Deficiency Judgments

The best way to eliminate the possibility of a deficiency judgment is to stop the foreclosure process altogether. There are a variety of foreclosure defense strategies available, including negotiating mortgage loan modifications that will allow a borrower to become current on their mortgage and continue making payments. However, if foreclosure cannot be avoided, borrowers may have other options for avoiding further liability, including:

• Consent foreclosure - A borrower may make an agreement with their mortgage lender in which they will not contest the foreclosure of the home, and the lender will waive their rights to a deficiency judgment once the foreclosure process is complete.

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Any family can experience financial difficulties that cause them to be unable to pay some or all of their ongoing expenses. Those who are struggling to make ends meet may face the possibility that they could default on their home mortgage, which could result in foreclosure. Fortunately, families in these situations have options, including applying for loan modifications that may reduce the amount of their payments and ensure that they can cover these and other regular costs. Homeowners will want to understand their options for modifying a mortgage loan and the steps they can take to ensure that these modifications will be approved by their lender.

Applying for Mortgage Modifications

There are multiple types of modifications that may be available to ensure that a homeowner can continue making mortgage payments. The loan’s interest rate may be lowered, or a loan may be converted from an adjustable-rate mortgage to one with a fixed interest rate. The term of the loan may be extended, allowing it to be paid off through lower payments over a longer period of time. In many cases, it is in a lender’s best interests to work with a borrower, since they will be likely to suffer financial losses if they need to foreclose on a home and place it up for sale.

To qualify for a loan modification, a borrower must usually have missed at least one payment, and they must have experienced financial hardship that has made it difficult or impossible to meet their obligations. Applicable forms of hardship may include an illness that has resulted in significant medical expenses, a long-term disability, the death of a family member who provided income used to pay ongoing expenses, or a natural disaster that has resulted in catastrophic property loss.