"Hope for Homeowners" is a voluntary program offered country-wide by a few major companies, including Wells Fargo and City Financial. The program takes back notes and issues new mortgages to individuals facing foreclosure or when the value of a home drops below the value of the mortgage. While on its face, the program appears to offer an advantage through more affordable loans to homeowners, it is important to be wary of the new terms before you refinance.
Protect your security and your rights. Contact attorney Richard Croak today by calling 518-213-3359 or contact the office by e-mail.
Strategic Advocacy and Support for Debt Relief
Richard Croak and the lawyers working in his bankruptcy practice have extensive experience with the complexities of new laws and programs involving homeowners' rights, including the FHA, H4H and sustainable loans. Assuming that you have a reasonable loan to equity ratio, even though you have fallen behind on your mortgage or are at risk of default, you may be at risk of being put at a disadvantage under this program.
How "Hope for Homeowners" Works
The program is intended to assist homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. The banks will reissue a mortgage, including the arrears payments in the value of the loan. When assessing the terms of the mortgage, with the exception of the fact that they are including arrears into a new loan, the banks are probably changing the terms so that they are more adverse than your original mortgage. For example, if you are paying 8% on a $160,000 loan and you have $20,000 in arrears, you will be paying 9% on an $180,000 loan. Most of the time you will find that your interest rates have gone up.
The prime rate right now is zero, so banks borrow money from the government at 0% interest, then loan it out again. Banks don't make loans, private lenders do, so the bank makes money off of administering the loans. Giving you a new mortgage at a higher interest rate is not helping you, but bolstering the long-term benefits for the bank.
How to Protect Your Rights
If you are behind on mortgage payments and are interested in exploring debt relief options and catching up on your mortgage payments, make sure you know your rights before taking a new mortgage under the Hope for Homeowners program. Instead of a new mortgage, you could negotiate with the holder to lower or reduce the payments. With an attorney, you can be certain that you rights and long-term interests will be protected.
For more information about bankruptcy options and your rights, please contact lawyer Richard Croak at his Albany, New York, office for an initial consultation by calling 518-213-3359.
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