Your Home Loan Bailout is here! But not for long...

With the decline in real estate prices in recent years, many property owners now find themselves "upside down". I wanted to let you know now because there are two programs currently available that may offer some relief and I want to be sure that those who qualify for this relief are aware of it.

If you had a property foreclosed between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011 you may be entitled to a cash payment under one or both of the following two programs. You must act immediately! The deadlines to participate in these programs are approaching quickly!

Under Independent Foreclosure Review you may be entitled to a cash payment of up to $125,000 if the bank did not follow correct procedures during the foreclosure process, including if they foreclosed without offering a loan modification or while you were in the process of trying to modify your loan, or if they foreclosed while a military member was serving in a combat zone. For more information about this program, go to www.independentforeclosurereview.com. The application deadline for this program is currently set as December 31, 2012!

Under the Attorney General Settlement you may be entitled to a cash payment of $840 or more if you were unable to make your payments because of a financial hardship (which will apply to just about everyone). You may have already received a letter regarding this program. If so, be sure that you respond by the January 18, 2013 deadline. If you had a foreclosure during that time period but did not receive a letter, go to www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com or http://oag.ca.gov/nationalmortgagesettlement for more information about how to file a claim.

If you still own a distressed property you may qualify for a loan modification or short sale, even if you were denied in the past or were already granted a loan modification under a prior program! Contact your bank to inquire about these programs. A loan modification with principal reduction and/or refinancing may now be available, even if the property is "upside down", even if you were denied recently, even if you received a modification a few months ago! The five major banks agreed to participate in this program, but many other banks are voluntarily following the same guidelines. More information about the agreement made by the banks with the Attorney General can be found at www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com.

If you already completed a short sale there may be a program in the near future to compensate you for some of your loss. Information will be available on the www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com website as it becomes available.

Both of these programs are FREE. The claim forms can easily be completed by the borrower. You should NOT pay anyone to assist you with your applications. However, if your bank is unresponsive even though you believe you qualify for one of these programs, a referral to a nonprofit attorney can be obtained by going to the website of the Housing and Economic Rights Advocates of California, www.HERACA.org. Contact them directly briefly explaining your situation, and including your zip code, so that they can refer you to a legal aid group in your area (fees will be based on your ability to pay).

I got most of this information from my tax guy so please check with yours if you have any questions on the tax implications of these various programs.

Remember that the deadlines for some of these programs are approaching very quickly! Act now!

For more information on this or other important real estate topics please feel free to contact me or ad your comments below

Kevin Prince

SVP National Sales
Liberty One

M: 858-926-8904
F: 800-659-4986
Corporate: 267-507-6016
kprince@liberty1amc.com
www.liberty1amc.com