Prevent Foreclosures

The family residence is the backbone of the American economy, the most valuable and enduring asset for those who have achieved a financial foothold. Yet today record numbers of households confront foreclosure. In the next year it is estimated that over two million Americans will lose their homes and almost two billion dollars of wealth will disappear in the process. How did the traditional "American Dream" morph into a nightmare for so many?

Real estate attorney and educator Shari B. Olefson, a recognized expert in the current mortgage crisis and its effects on homeowners, explains how America slipped to the edge of this dangerous stagnation-recession precipice. In plain language that is easily understandable to the average person, she clarifies legal and financial terminology and describes how our country's mortgage system really works. Utilizing real-life lender and borrower interviews, she exposes its intrinsic flaws and often discriminatory practices, from the mortgage application process to the securitization of bundled mortgages by large investment firms. She also provides evidence to show the government's and Wall Street's roles in both causing and solving the problem.

Above all, Olefson offers expert tips, tools, and resources to help you:

• Choose a mortgage professional and understand what's motivating him or her

• Decide what mortgage product fits best and when to refinance

• Get the best fees, interest rate, and service

• Create your own solutions for navigating the credit crunch

• Know what to do when you can't afford your mortgage

• Protect your home if you are at risk of foreclosure

• Understand how to proceed if you are already in foreclosure

• Capitalize on emerging opportunities and avoid the scams and mortgage fraud

• Prepare for coming changes

Foreclosure Nation demystifies the real estate bubble and the subprime mortgage crises that followed. With bold, clear visuals like inventory, absorption, and price trend graphs, Olefson pinpoints exactly when and why experts are predicting a recovery. She also cites statistics that strongly suggest the number of foreclosures will surge in the fall of 2008 and again in 2009, with increased reverberations felt throughout the US and global economies. Foreclosure Nation will prove indispensable to explaining what is happening and guiding readers through.

Whether you are planning on buying your first home, struggling to meet your current mortgage payments, facing foreclosure, or wondering how your investments will be affected, this comprehensive book will assuage the fear of the unknown, empowering you to make wise choices and protect your most valuable assets.

About the Author
Shari B. Olefson, JD, LLM (Fort Lauderdale, FL), is a partner and the head of her office's real estate department at a national law firm.

As we have already mentioned in many posts that there are many options that are available to homeowners who are facing foreclosure. However, you have to act fast. The faster you try to get help, the better your chances of getting out of foreclosure are. One of the biggest problem is that most homeowners in foreclosure are in denial about their situations until it is too late. Many homeowners do not tell anyone, do not ask for any help and just ignore the bank during the foreclosure process. Finally, a day or a week before the foreclosure auction, they speak up and ask for help. By that time, they only have very few options available to them, if any. This book called The Foreclosure Survival Guide: Keep Your House or Walk Away With Money in Your Pocket will help you understand what you need to do if you are going to stop the bank from taking away your home.

"Nolo's just published The Foreclosure Survival Guide: Keep Your House or Walk Away with Money in Your Pocket by Steven Elias "discusses the most recent laws designed to help homeowners deal with the crisis and points them to resources (nonprofit housing counselors, government agencies and so on) that may help," says Mary Randolph, Nolo's senior vice president of editorial.

Elias, a practicing attorney, former Nolo associate publisher and current president of the National Bankruptcy Law Project, advises that readers not panic. "Even if the lender does foreclose on the house, the process takes months at the least. You're going to have time to evaluate your options and make smart choices." (Publishers Weekly )

Bankruptcy attorney Elias targets the estimated two million American homeowners who are currently in default on their mortgages. Elias explains how foreclosure works, what options there may be for keeping a home when in default, and what to do when that is not possible. He includes instruction on negotiating a workout with a lender as well as chapters on how to use bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. Elias's section on fighting foreclosure in the courts helps readers understand the circumstances in which they may be able to delay or stop a foreclosure action. The appendixes provide summaries of each state's foreclosure laws, a glossary, and information on finding and working with lawyers and bankruptcy petition preparers. Straightforward and timely, this is recommended for most public libraries.

Description

Facing foreclosure? Know your options!

According to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, "the number of homeowners paying more than half their income on housing rocketed from 6.5 million in 2001 to 8.8 million in 2006... The number of homes entering foreclosure nearly doubled to 1.3 million in 2007 from about 660,000 in 2005."

If you're having trouble making your mortgage payments or are already in jeopardyof foreclosure, The Foreclosure Survival Guide compassionately gives you the practical information you need, step by step.

An essential tool for anyone at risk of foreclosure, The Foreclosure Survival Guide provides key information about: