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Recent Blog Posts
What Role Do Inspections and Appraisals Play in Selling a Home?
There are many reasons why you may wish to move to a new home. You may be pursuing job opportunities in a new area, you may need more space for your growing family, or you may simply be looking to make a fresh start in a new community. While moving can be exciting, the process of selling your home can sometimes be lengthy and complicated, and you will want to understand the factors that can affect your ability to complete this transaction. Home inspections and appraisals can often have a significant impact on the purchase price of your home and the closing costs you will be required to pay, so you will want to be sure to understand the best way to approach these events.
Appraisals Vs. Inspections
An appraisal will determine the market value of your home, while an inspection will address its condition and identify any issues that may need to be repaired or addressed. An appraisal will typically be scheduled by the buyer’s mortgage lender, and if the appraised value of the home is lower than the offer made by the buyer, the buyer may attempt to renegotiate the price, or they may back out of the sale if contingencies in the purchase contract allow them to do so. Steps sellers can take to ensure that their home is appraised properly include making improvements and fixes to minor issues and ensuring that the property is clean and well-maintained.
Is a Short Sale a Good Alternative to Home Foreclosure?
Many people and families throughout the United States are struggling with debt, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the loss of jobs, reductions in the income that people are able to earn, and other financial difficulties. Homeowners who are struggling to pay ongoing expenses may be concerned about what will happen if they default on their mortgage, including whether they may face foreclosure. While some homeowners may be able to avoid foreclosure through a loan modification, others may find that they will be unable to avoid losing their home. In these cases, a short sale can sometimes be beneficial.
What Is a Short Sale?
A homeowner may owe more on their mortgage than their home is actually worth. If the homeowner is experiencing financial hardship, they may be able to sell their home at a fair price and avoid owing additional money to their mortgage lender. In many cases, a lender will need to approve a short sale, although it may be possible to complete a transaction without lender approval.
What Should I Expect During My Home Closing?
Homeownership is an important goal for many American families. Buying a home is an exciting prospect, but the process of doing so can be very complicated. Once you get pre-approval for a mortgage, sign a purchase contract, and put down earnest money, this process begins, and you will spend the next several weeks working to complete the necessary steps to close on the home. As you prepare to move in, you will want to understand exactly what will happen at your home closing. With the right real estate attorney on your side, you can make sure the closing process proceeds smoothly, and you can make sure you are ready once your closing date arrives.
Steps Followed at Your Closing Date
Multiple people may be present at your closing, but the parties will usually include you (the buyer), your attorney, your real estate agent, and a closing agent who works for your mortgage lender or the title company. The seller or their real estate agent may also attend the closing. You will want to bring a cashier’s check in the amount of your closing costs, along with proof that you have obtained homeowner’s insurance and completed a home inspection, as well as any other documentation required by your lender.
What Is the Difference Between Foreclosure and Repossession?
The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been significant. Many people throughout the United States have either taken a pay cut, been temporarily furloughed, or lost their jobs completely. As a result, renters and homeowners are struggling to make their monthly housing payments. While repossession and foreclosure are both processes used by creditors to reclaim property that is used as collateral for a loan, the procedures followed in each type of case are different.
Defaulting on a Loan
Repossession is common in vehicle loans. Once a person becomes delinquent on payments and the borrower is in default on the loan, the lender can take back possession of the property at any time. The foreclosure process, on the other hand, is more complicated than repossession. If someone is 120 days delinquent on his or her mortgage, the lender can begin official foreclosure proceedings by filing a complaint in court. The homeowner has 30 days to respond to the complaint.
Financial Relief Extended for Foreclosures and Evictions in Illinois
The impact of COVID-19 has been widespread, with public health concerns as well as an economic downfall. In response to stay-at-home and quarantine orders issued by local governments, non-essential businesses were forced to close. As a result, many people throughout the United States have lost their jobs. This has resulted in a record-setting number of unemployment claims, but it also left millions of people facing housing insecurity because of lost income. For families, even one parent losing his or her job can be devastating if they rely on that income to pay their rent or mortgage. When too many payments are missed, the lending institution can take possession of the home through legal foreclosure proceedings. If you are facing foreclosure on your home, you may be eligible for a loan modification.
What Is Involved in the Foreclosure Process?
Top Tips for Avoiding a Home Foreclosure in Illinois
Buying a home can be a dream come true for many people. Even if you worked hard and saved a substantial amount for a down payment, you will likely still need to take out a loan, which is known as a mortgage. If you fail to make your monthly mortgage payments, you could be at risk of losing your house. Foreclosure is the legal process by which the lender or bank can repossess your house. This means you will have to vacate the premises within a certain amount of time.
If your house is worth less than the amount you owe on your loan, a deficiency judgment may be entered. Not only do you lose your home, but you may owe your lender additional money to make up the difference in value, and your credit score will go down. The global coronavirus pandemic has impacted many homeowners financially. Fortunately, there are ways you can avoid going through foreclosure.
How Can Forensic Loan Auditing Help My Illinois Foreclosure Case?
Buying your first home can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming to take on such a major responsibility. Regardless if you are single or married, it is important to carefully consider your mortgage and what you can afford in terms of a loan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been furloughed or laid off from their jobs for an indefinite period of time. Although they may be entitled to unemployment, those funds may not cover their monthly mortgage payment. The federal government has issued protections for tenants and mortgage loan borrowers under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. However, once this moratorium expires, home owners may still be struggling to keep afloat financially if they cannot return to work. Forensic loan auditing can help reveal any violation of the law with regard to the loan package. An experienced attorney can help determine if this specific type of auditing can help in your foreclosure defense.
What Is the Difference Between a Loan Modification and Refinancing?
Are you having a difficult time making your monthly mortgage payment? If so, the first thing you need to know is that you are not alone. At any given time, thousands of homeowners are encountering situations in which they have trouble meeting their mortgage obligations, and for a myriad of reasons. For many homeowners, 2020 has been especially difficult, as the economic impact of the COVID-19 health crisis continues to cause problems even now.
If you are struggling with your current mortgage payment, you have a few options. Two of the most common are refinancing your loan or modifying your existing loan. Loan modification and a refinance might seem similar at first glance, but they have very important differences that you need to keep in mind.
Refinancing Your Home
How to Handle a Loan Modification Denial in Illinois
Across the country, moratoriums have been placed on eviction and foreclosure proceedings as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. At the end of August, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it was extending the foreclosure moratorium for federally-backed single-family home mortgages until the end of the year at the earliest. The moratorium was set to expire on August 31, but the FHFA recognized that many homeowners still face serious struggles when it comes to making their mortgage payments. While non-federally-backed mortgages are not directly affected by the moratorium, most private lenders have followed suit and are holding off on foreclosure proceedings for the time being.
If you have fallen behind on your mortgage due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, you are probably not going to face foreclosure in the immediate future. You will, however, need to get caught up, as foreclosure will be a possibility at some point down the road. In order to bring your mortgage current, you will most likely need to request a loan modification. Most lenders are willing to work with borrowers who ask for a loan modification, but the application process can be challenging and confusing. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for a borrower’s first request to be denied. The good news is that a loan modification denial is not the end of the story.
Should I Ask for a Loan Modification If I Am Behind on My Mortgage?
Have you missed a few mortgage payments because of COVID-19 or for any other reason? If so, you might be inching ever closer to defaulting on your loan, which means that foreclosure could soon become a possibility. While many lenders—including most federally sponsored lending programs—put a moratorium on foreclosures during the COVID-19 health crisis, these moratoriums will soon be coming to an end. With this in mind, you will need to address any payments that you might have skipped, regardless of the reasons.
The good news is that you will almost certainly have options that can help you get your loan back in good standing so that you can keep your home. One of the most common of these options is a loan modification, and an experienced Libertyville attorney can help you with your application.
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