So it is finally here …that point in time where the economy just does not seem to be cooperating and people are starting to give up on hope. It happens in virtually every cyclical downturn (last time it was in 2009/2010) …usually right before things start to turn around. I can see it clearly in our business this past couple of months. We have had a 30-40% increase in lead volume. People are becoming much more desperate. Even more telling, we have had clients contact us thinking there is absolutely nothing they can do. They believe they are going to get foreclosed out of their home and that is it …case closed.
Wrong. Don’t believe that for a second. Even if you are in too much debt to be able to save your home from foreclosure you should still fight back. The act of pushing back and sticking up for yourself will give you a psychological boost at a time when you need it most.
We recently had a client come to us desperate for a solution. They were at the end stage of the foreclosure process on an insured mortgage. In a few days, the bank’s lawyer was to attend court asking for a 1 day redemption period followed by an Order for Sale to Plaintiff. As part of the legal process, the bank’s lawyer commissioned an appraisal on the property. The bank appraised value came in at $190,000. The big problem here was they owed $233,500. The bank was asking for a sale of the house and a $43,500 deficiency judgment (the difference between what is owed and what the property is worth).
We spoke to the client and quickly identified a plan of action. We immediately had the client order an appraisal in their name. Often a bank appraisal will be lower than a retail appraisal because the bank is simply looking to get its loaned money back through the sale of a home. The sale only needs to go through slightly higher than what is owed. The court is tasked with achieving the highest sale price for the property to attempt to satisfy the needs of all parties in the action. The system is not perfect there is room for error. The client appraisal came in at a much higher value of $224,000. We walked the client through the process of how to submit that appraisal to court in the form of an Affidavit of Value. On the court date, they appeared in court and the Master (judge) granted the sale of the house to the bank …but the accepted price was increased from $190,000 to $214,000 thanks to the higher $224,000 value the client submitted. In this case, that $24,000 difference could have made the difference between going bankrupt …and staying solvent.
Don’t give up …even if you think it will never get better… it will. The best defense in a foreclosure action is a strong offense. Learn the rules of the game and fight back. You might be surprised how much better of a result you can have with a solid plan of action and some tenacity. Contact us today to get help.
