Underwater? Negotiating a Settlement On a Second Mortgage
CoreLogic has found that 38% of homeowners with second mortgages (including home equity lines of credit) are “underwater,” or owe more than their home is worth. Charles Phelan, founder of SecondMortgageAdvice.com has been advising debt-burdened consumers for years and has been observing a recent trend where lenders are more willing to negotiate settlements on second mortgages. In fact, he’s seeing settlements as low as 10-15 cents on the dollar in some cases.
“It’s not a guarantee,” he warned. “It’s situational.” What kinds of situations might lead to a settlement on a second? “The main thing is
In a short sale, you sell your home for less than you owe. CoreLogic reports 62,000 short sales in the first quarter of 2010—tripled from the second quarter of 2008.
Today’s top news headlines feature the details of California State University’s tuition hike and strategies retirees can use to protect their nest eggs while they are supporting adult children. Plus, find out why dollar stores are seeing sales decline.
The government’s newest consumer watchdog agency plans to hit the ground running, enforcing new rules regarding the nation’s largest banks from the day it opens, even as attacks on its authority and its lack of a permanent director limit the agency’s power in other ways.
This week I had the opportunity to attend a fascinating forum in Washington, DC, to explore the myriad issues surrounding child identity theft, including foster care identity theft (a particularly cruel malady foisted upon children who already begin life behind the eight ball) and identity theft within families. The event was sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission and the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, and was attended by victims, businesses and representatives from federal and state governments, law enforcement, educational institutions, consumer advocates and legal service providers.
As a result of the moratorium on foreclosure actions many of the nation’s top financial institutions put in place late last year, there is a massive backup of about 1 million homes in mortgage delinquency that should have been foreclosed on by now, according to a report from USA Today. Currently, experts predict that about 2 million homes will be foreclosed on this year, down from the more than 3 million that would normally go through the process given current delinquency rates.