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Buy and Bail An Upside Down Mortgage Solution

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By bbbb7500


Buy and Bail - A Upside Down Mortgage Solution

Most people have no idea that it can't be done.  They just plugged away with their upside down mortgage without finding a solution.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw it happening far too often and too notice. They changed the rules and made it extremely difficult for homebuyers.

What where homebuyers where doing with their Upside Down Mortgages?

Well to put it frank, homeowners were manipulating the system. They knew that there were homes in the marketplace that they could purchase and in turn get themselves a much lower payment and get the same size home or larger and they knew that once they had their new home that they could walk away from their old home. A new term was coined, Buy and Bail.

I have written several different articles on the subject but this will be a refresher.

Ok so pulling this off with the old rules all you had to do is qualify for the new mortgage while telling the new lender that you would be renting out the old property. The guidelines said that you could use 75% of the potential rent on the old home to qualify for the new home. That has all changed.

The new mortgage guideline say that you can buy a new home and keep the old one but to qualify for a new home there are some new guidelines:

1. If you are Upside Down in your mortgage then you would have to qualify using BOTH house payments, the new house and the old house together. Simply stated, you need to qualify with two house payments.

2. If you have equity in your home it would need to be 30% equity or more in order to use 75% of the rent on the old property. Most people wouldn't walk away from a home with equity so this stands as a logical solution.

Back when this was popular people where doing whatever they could to make ends meet. They were scrambling to juggle the house payments and every other payment they had thanks to the incredible increases in home equity and cash out mortgages or home equity lines of credit. They were doing no closing cost refinances at a torrid pace eating into their equity and ultimately leaving them on the hook for something they could repay.

Now the only solution to an Upside Down Mortgage is to deal with a refinance, loan modification or make enough money to buy a new home by qualifying for two house payments.


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Refinancing an Upside Down Mortgage

Here is a very common email I get aboutrefinancing an upside down mortgage:


I found your info online and it looks like you are trying to help out with your knowledge of mortgages, refinances, short sales, short refi etc.

Here’s my situation:

My husband and I purchased our home in 2004 for $367K and put $125K down, with a 30-year fixed loan from the bank for $242K at 5.625%. Currently, we owe about $225K, but our home value has decreased (like everybody else!) and is showing on Zillow.com for $221K (which, quite frankly, is higher than the last time I looked). Therefore, we are upside down in our loan. We took out a 2nd loan (10 year, fixed rate of 7.25%) about 2 years ago for $17K with no prepayment penalty and have accelerated our payments on that and figure to pay that off by January, 2012. Our credit score (last time I checked) was in the high 700’s or low 800’s.

We both work and our salaries have not decreased, although our bills certainly have (goods and services are still going up). We don’t want to take advantage of the system just so we have more in our pockets, but if there’s a better way for us, I thought you might have some suggestions.

We contacted our lender (and others) to do a regular refi just to lower the interest payment (they were down to about 4-4.25% at one point) and were willing to go back to a 30-year fixed just to lower our monthly payments. Because of the “upside down” status of our loan, the lenders said we didn’t qualify for anything.

If you’ve got any suggestions, I’d be happy to listen.

Thanks

T.

What do you think the solution should be?

What would you tell them to do?

Refinance or Loan Modification?



Upside Down Mortgage Solutions

  • Upside Down Mortgage Refinance, Buy and Bail Rules, and 3 Emails to Real Mortgage Issues

    Brent,I 'm coming into the Mod game a little late and a bit uninformed but since I have been laid off once again I have been seeking this very simple advice you are offering so I can make a decision about what I want to do, need to do, or what you might suggest I consider doing after I provide more details. Really, the biggest hardship (besides possibly having to move one more time) about this whole scenario is trying to figure out the players and their games. It's funny but although there is a price to pay, it can go either way, and ultimately It will be my decision if i want to accept their offer. I have a choice and where they think they will be deciding for me. It will be interesting to see the final outcome. Things that brought me to where I am today, if nothing else all the factors that came into play are interesting; at least from my CSI thinking. I need to contact BOFA and ask if my loan is a freddie or fannie. I know they are carrying 100% (LTV) of a 40 fixed (mortgage) for the first ten 5.75% interest that rolls into the last 30 and I believe they can not sell it. There is more..... TILA and RESPA play a part too, I think. I have a bit of a busy schedule tomorrow but they all seem to be that way with two young jacks (JRT's) these two are to smart as children. (There was more but this is the most important part)Signed, CC Dear CC, Thanks for the email! I know that times like this are tough and finding the right solution is never easy but don't be discouraged, there is hope. I think the easiest thing I can suggest you do is to find out if your loan is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac Loan. I put together some videos on this subject that will come in handy. When looking at your options regarding an Upside Down Mortgage Refinance start with my videos. On Page 2 you have a choice to watch the videos or read the letter so choose wisely. The videos will show you how to find out if your mortgage is a Fannie Mae Loan and what to do if it is a Fannie Mae Loan or if is NOT. Each situation is so different that it would be impossible to answer here but this is a great start to finding your answers. Be in touch,Brent ============================================= Brent, I have some questions: We have a "new" twist on an upside down mortgage. We were part of the horrible Jan 2009 floods. We have a 9.4 acre "farm". On it we have our main house (that we have spent tons of money remodeling), a one bedroom cottage (that we rent out as a "farm get-a-way") and 6 acres are planting in u-pick flowers and vegetables. When the flood occurred it shut down the Cottage and we lost 6 months of rent (over $1500 a month), and the flood washed away all the seed crop (over $28,000) and covered 3 acres in 1-3 feet of weird clay mud. (The River runs along the south edge of our property) So the cottage was shut down, we did not have any seeds to sell and received no help for the massive clean up and damage needed on the property. We received about $5000 from FEMA and flood insurance to fix the main farm house. In Feb 2009 we contacted our mortgage holder, Ocwen (horrible, customer service in India) and told them we would run out of savings by May and it would be late fall when the harvest was in before we could catch up. They said no problem, they would do a loan modification and help us out. By June (2 months late on mortgage) Ocwen was still holding out doing anything, but said these things take time and not to worry they would not foreclose, but we DID have the cottage reopen and the bookings were coming in. On July 16, 2009 (exactly 3 months, 1 day late) we received an email from Ocwen saying we did not qualify, but they would do their "own modification". It was over $1000 more a month than we already couldn't afford on top of the original payment. We contacted an attorney, he found out that Ocwen had been reporting us late every month, ruined our credit AND the modification they wanted us to sign was something he said no matter what DO NOT SIGN! It gave away all of our rights AND he told us they couldn't foreclose anyway since we were a farm and it takes approx. 2 years to foreclose on a farm. All this was bad enough, then; The EPA did sampling of soil on our property from the flood. Late July 2009 they released their report. We have extremely high naturally occurring asbestos on the land. All that weird mud was and is filled with asbestos. When it dries it becomes airborne and had permanently contaminated our property and homes. We had to shut the Cottage down (again, just when we were starting to make money), we had planted the crops, but now had to shut the U-Pick down due to the problems also with asbestos in the soil. We have little children, we can not operate our businesses or farm. Our land is permanently contaminated with asbestos. The EPA and the (City) County Health department say that our land and home are not destroyed since we can still live here (as prisoners in the house), if we do not disturb the soil and take our shoes off when entering the house. They are more concerned with the fact that all the agencies knew of the asbestos for many years, never required sellers to inform buyers (we brought the place in 2006) and might have to move all 500 plus families along the asbestos laced river. SO...our mortgage holder has ruined our credit (bad credit mortgage), will not and (can not) take the house back, we can't sell it due to the asbestos, no agency will help us (FEMA, SBA, EPA, FSA and soooo many more) have all said no to helping us since "YOU CAN STAY, JUST DON'T disturb THE SOIL" Our place was worth over $750,000 last year, now real estate people say maybe at $400,000, but they do not want to list it since they say it will not sell due to the asbestos. (That is a VERY upside down mortgage 2009) It is not safe to be here. We've talked to banks about buying a new home, most (at best) think we are nuts since no "have to move" declarations have been made. We can't find a loan to get into a home, have horrible credit and NEED TO MOVE ! Suggestions? Thoughts? How do we purchase a new home with this white elephant still in our name? How do we get a new mortgage? We want to move "home" to M. and leave (BLANK) behind! We found a perfect home, right schools, down the street from friends and at the right price. $249,000 in (CITY). We need a pre-approved loan, need to buy this home, move in, get the kids in school, (my husband will stay in (OTHER CITY) and keep working his good paying job) while I find employment in (NEW CITY), get everything settled, then he will look for work in the (NEW CITY) area also. We know the steps we have to take... But we need to get pre-approved (for a mortgage) (and have it go through) and purchase a home now. Any help you can give us would be wonderful. J. Hi Jennifer, That was a sad email that you wrote! I wish I could tell you I had an answer but from what I can tell you don't need me you need an Asbestos Attorney to help you deal with the land issue and you need a Real Estate Attorney to help you with your lender. Unfortunately with bad credit, mortgage loans is no longer available. The days of Subprime mortgage lenders has gone the wayside leaving people who have late mortgage payments on their credit report holding the bag while struggling to make it all work. All that said, the only option you have at this point the pre-approval world is to get you current lender to remove your late mortgage payments and then, and only then, apply for a new mortgage. Until that time, rent a nice place, save money and great things will happen. Sorry if that isn't what you were looking for. Upside Down Mortgage or not Renting is the only choice you have! Be in touch.Brent Lane ============================================= Hello, I am contacting you in hopes of some other insight on the Buy and Bail issue. I came across your article and this has been something my boyfriend and I have discussed regarding our home but know it is not ethical thing to do. It is hard finding the right solutions and trusting the correct people without getting yourselves in any deeper. We live in (CITY NAME), one of the areas that has very high unemployment rate. I had purchased my own home as a single female in 2001, 6 months later I was layed off. The result after 7 years and being layed off a total of 3 times I had to sell my home thru a short sale. My perfect credit was no longer and almost destroyed. I moved in with my boyfriend who had his own home in a not so great neighborhood. He was on the very edge and so it was the more decent area even having 2 correction officers, a probation officer, sheriffs sister and 2 retired couples just on our short block. It was a good street. He has owned the home for 8 years and the area has now become bad having foreclosures and condemned houses all around our street. He purchased the home around 50,000.00, a good deal back then. Now houses around us are selling for under 10,000.00. We lived on a good street, but now the bad is moving in with a lot of crime. July 3rd of this year I walked in our home in the middle of the day while we were being robbed. The intruders were still in our home and I was very lucky to be able to get out before they could hurt me. They jumped out the back window while the cops were pulling up, they have yet to be caught. We still lost thousands of dollars. So now we are in an upside down mortgage and cant sell because we would have so much more debt. I am afraid to leave the home feeling it's so vulnerable and everytime I walk in I don't know what I will find. I take the dog out and carry pepper spray with me because i've been harassed by other bad neighbors. My boyfriend had been layed off last summer and now makes a lot less than he once did, I just finally got a job this last May after a 15 mo lay off. We are thinking of leaving our home but he doesn't know how long it will effect his almost perfect credit and how long it can take to restore it. I am still working with creditors and paying off my debts and have a low score just over 500. We find a lot of foreclosures for cheap in good places that we are interested in but don't think we would ever be approved for another loan. If we do leave, we want to do everything right and in ways it wont hurt us as much as it could. But is that possible? We cant afford to sell it at what it would have to sell for, but we also can't afford to stay if we keep getting robbed and we dont feel safe here. We are in a situation that is more than just an upside down mortgage. Would a bank try to help someone if they were in this kind of situation? Would banks deny us down the road because we did this at one time? We don't know who to talk to because we don't want anyone to know what we may be doing, We feel like we will be comitting a crime if we do this. Have you heard of this kind of situation from other people? Thank you very much for your time and I hope you will have some insight on some of our concerns and what to expect if we go about this option. Sincerely, N. and C.=== Hi N. and C. Interesting situation you find yourselves in. Here is a great solution given your unique circumstances. Given your Upside Down mortgage is so far Upside Down I would suggest keeping the property as an investment. I may be off base here but I would guess that since home prices are so low that the payment is more than affordable. The Buy and Bail Rules say that if need to qualify for two houses if you intend to buy another home while owning a property with limited equity. At $50,000 on your current home and another $10,000 on the new property I am guessing you can pull that off! If that doesn't make sense, just go apply for a new loan and keep the old property on the loan application, full payment and all, and see if you can get pre-approved for a new mortgage. With Prices that low I don't blame you one bit. I hope that answers your question. Sincerely, Brent Lane =================================================================================== Is it possible to refinance a Upside Down Mortgage? There are so many Americans who are facing financial issues. Job loss and cut backs are causing many families to feel the financial crunch. Topping that all off you have the slumping real estate market that has slipped in some areas 50% below previous highs. The sheer number of upside down mortgages is mind boggling and banks are struggling financially to keep things together. So many homes are headed to foreclosure that's if they haven't lost their home or walked away from their upside down mortgage. So many people now have bad credit second mortgages just to make ends meet. This only compounded the issue digging you deeper into a hole with your Upside Down Mortgage. I am here to give some of you a light at the end of the tunnel. There are a couple refinance programs available to those with an Upside Down Mortgages. Take a minute and head over to see which Upside Down Mortgage Refinance Program is best suited for you. There you will find a video clip of me and yes I know I am not the most beautiful man but what I have to give you is FREE. After you put in your email address I will send you to an book that I have put together with my attorney BUT if that doesn't suit you look for the No, thanks button and head straight to the videos. The first video alone will be worth the trouble. It will walk you through how you can qualify for the Fannie Mae upside down mortgage refinance program by showing you how to find out if your mortgage is insured by the mortgage giant. That alone is worth your time and could save your home. Check it out at Refinancing an Upside Down Mortgage.

  • Refinance an Upside Down Mortgage in 2009 - FNMA Program - Obama Refinance

    There are big things happening in the world of Refinancing Upside Down Mortgages these days. I met with a friend from a VERY large bank the other day and after I pumped this guy full of some beer he told me all about some new programs that are set to hit the market. You see this guy is a guy in the know. He is upper management in the mortgage division of this big HUGE bank and has some great inside scoop. What did he tell me exactly? Well if you are one of those unlucky people who have an extremely upside down mortgage and are looking into Refinancing an Upside Down Mortgage then you could be in luck. FNMA is rolling out an even newer product outside their Current FNMA Upside Down Mortgage Refinance Program that you find at that link. These are all Obama Mortgage refinance Programs that most lenders will not have a problem with but may not even know about. Ok so what is so different, well currently the FNMA Upside Down Mortgage Refinance Program tops out at 105% loan-to-value while the new program will top at 125% loan-to-value. This shift is significant in that it will open the door to a whole new wave of people searching for a way to do an Upside Down Mortgage Refinance. To some this may not be significant but to those who are struggling to make payments on an ARM loan that is out of control, this could be your ticket. Now there are several rules that apply to this loan and I took the time to put together 6 videos on this program the first time and now the only change will be the 125% loan-to-value on your existing first mortgage without regard for your second mortgage instead of the current 105% loan-to-value. An extra 20% should help quite a few people. Things to consider moving forward: 1. Having an option ARM will almost automatically eliminate you from this program. You will need to find a more non-conventional way to handle your mortgage like a Loan modification for Options ARMs 2. You Must have a FNMA Loan - in video #1 I walk you right through the process of verifying if your mortgage is serviced by FNMA. 3. Late mortgage payments for refinance will be a HUGE deal with this program. If you are late on a mortgage payment within the last 12 months I suggest you look into a loan modification versus refinancing your upside down mortgage. 4. First and Second Mortgages are Upside Down and this situation can create problems. The Second mortgage can be difficult to deal with but it's important to understand how these companies think. They are sitting on a huge loss and need to recoup as much of it as possible. They know that if you go into foreclosure the second lender receives very little if anything in the way of a payoff or cash. They could potentially lose everything and this is scary for them. They are completely willing to settle in almost every case but you need to show them your need and see what they expect from you. Being prepared to negotiate and settle the balance is an excellent place to be, even if that means lumping the settlement into a newly refinanced first mortgage. 5. Be prepared to work for yourself. I say this to everyone I meet doing this, "You care more about your home than anyone you can hire to handle your mortgage issue" and that is the truth. You will work hard, stay more focused and not treat your file like another one in the stack of 100 files they have on their desk this month. You need to be in charge and rely on good information for the help you need getting to the next level. So go check out Refinancing you Upside Down Mortgage and watch the 6 FREE videos and see what is possible for you and your family. As usual you may contact me with additional questions Brent [at] brentlane.net

  • Upside Down Mortgages: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Humor

    For all of you out there with Upside Down Mortgages I know you could use a little stress reliever! This is just a little humor about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and why we got into this mess in the first place! If you need more serious guidance on Upside Down Mortgages - Find information here and at my Refinancing Upside Down Mortgages page!

Refinancing an Upside Down Mortgage

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