Are you in foreclosure or facing a possible foreclosure proceeding against your home? If so, are you looking for ways to stop foreclosure? If this is you, then you may want to keep reading this article.
Mortgage Paperwork 101 - The Mortgage Note Explained
When you got your mortgage, one of the documents you signed was the mortgage note. The mortgage note proves who has legal ownership of your home. In a sense, when you signed the note you agreed to give your lender legal ownership of your home in exchange for their money - your mortgage. The note is their legal proof that they have a legal interest in your home and stipulates that they have grounds to foreclose on your home if you fail to meet the terms of the mortgage i.e stop paying them. As long as you pay them, they let you stay in the home, if you stop, they can legally make you move out of the home because legally it is their's until you pay off the mortgage in full.
To Stop Foreclosure Ask Your Mortgage Company To Produce The Note
But now for the rub for some of the mortgage companies.
Stories are flooding the newswires and the Internet about homeowners stopping foreclosure, or at least slowing it down, with a strategy of asking their mortgage lender to produce their original mortgage note aka "Produce The Note". In some cases this strategy is working as some lenders are having a hard time finding the notes on homes in their portfolios. Watch the following clip from ABC News found on YouTube to learn more about this, and then keep reading the article below.
Why Lenders Cannot Find Mortgage Notes
It seems like the mortgage note would be a basic piece of paperwork a mortgage lender would have readily available. However, with the way mortgages (primarily subprime mortgages) have been sold, re-sold, and re-sold again over the past 5 years the paperwork hasn't always kept up with the sales transactions. If this is the case with your mortgage company and you ask them to produce your original mortgage note and they cannot, then they may not legally be able to proceed in a foreclosure against you until they can locate the note. If this is the case you may have some time to work something out to keep your home.
Slow Down The Foreclosure Process - Use Time Wisely To Remedy Your Housing Problems
Be smart about your situation if you are able to slow your mortgage company and the foreclosure process down. Try to work something out with your financial situation like find another job, or try to sell your home on a short sale, or find a relative to help you out. You may be able to work some other payment arrangement with your mortgage company like a mortgage loan modification. The key here is to use the delay in the foreclosure proceedings to take some positive action on your part.
While it is true that your lender may be slowed down if they cannot find your note, it may not be a permanent solution for you in preventing foreclosure. You must keep in the back of your mind that they may find your mortgage note in the future. You can bet on a your mortgage company to move forward with legal foreclosure action against your home once they find the note if you haven't worked something out with them in the meantime. Have a contingency plan or remedy in place.
One word of caution here - do not be nasty with your mortgage company - remember no matter what if they find the note and you have been nasty they probably won't show much mercy in working out a solution with you.
To make sure that you are covered by this course of action to stop or slow down the foreclosure process you should seek out the help of a real estate attorney as soon as possible. Do not put this off if you plan to use this strategy. Another resource to checkout is the website called: Consumer Warning Network.
Article by Dale Stouffer, Mortgage Broker. Dale has a been a mortgage broker since 1996. This Article is designed to be of general interest and should not be considered accounting, legal, or tax advice. The specific information discussed may not apply to you. Before acting on any matter contained herein, you should consult with your personal attorney, tax adviser, or accountant.
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