washington state foreclosure fairness act Archives - Advantage Legal Group Bellevue Bankruptcy Law Firm

How the Foreclosure Fairness Act Works for You

Posted on June 14, 2020June 15, 2020 by Jonathan Smith

The number of foreclosure listings in Washington State and all over the country is on the rise again, but there is hope as many homeowners have made it possible to hold on to their home through the Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act.

The Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act is little known by both homeowners and employees of mortgage holders. To have this protection work for you it is best to hire an attorney.

What many homeowners are unaware of is that there are many different modification programs they may be able to qualify for. These programs include the HAMP Tier 1, the HAMP Tier 2, the HAMP Standard, FHA Modifications, VA Modifications, Non-GSC Modifications, modifications that mirror HAMP, internal modifications, the National Settlement Act, Washington State Settlement with pick a payment program and much more.

There are many lawsuits against banks in the courts today for failure to adhere to these settlement programs. The problem lies with banks not telling homeowners about these programs or not even considering homeowners for these many various modification opportunities.

It is very important to know where the mortgage on your home stands and who is the actual owner of the loan on your home. Many people are unaware that the bank processing their payments may not actually own the loan. Where your loan is actually owned determines what modification programs you are eligible to apply for.

The Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act allows a counselor or lawyer to work on your behalf to stop the foreclosure process while you try to apply for a qualifying loan modification. This law allows for a slow down of 6 to 9 months on the foreclosure process and gives time for legal help to find who owns the loan and just what programs you qualify for and your rights as a homeowner.

It is impossible to make any headway with the Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act on your own as the program is set up for you to work through a housing counselor or attorney. The program sets up a series of mediation with the county through the Washington State Dept. of Commerce.

In many cases, you can lower your payments through a qualifying modification program. In some cases, payments may go up but interest rates can greatly lower without extending the term of your mortgage. Each case is determined by the income of the homeowner.

If you are facing foreclosure and feel unheard please contact Advantage Legal Group immediately! We offer free consultations. Don’t settle for the bank telling you you will have to short sale or settle for a deed in lieu. Let us take a look at your case or free first.

Contact Us Immediately

Where to Start in Mortgage Mediation?

Posted on January 9, 2020July 24, 2020 by Jonathan Smith

If you have no idea where to start with mortgage mediation and you’re on the brink of losing your home, there are options and steps to take immediately in order to save your home and reduce your mortgage.

Many people may not even know about the Washington State Fairness Act. This is largely due to the fact that banks and lenders won’t tell homeowners their rights and options and simply let the home fall into foreclosure.

Most banks want to push foreclosure out beyond the first of the year so over the last 6 weeks many of these notices have gone out, more than 3 times the amount we saw in summer. For those that are receiving, I notice now they will be foreclosed on until February or March. This is because lenders don’t want to be the bad guy around the holidays. The Washington state fairness foreclosure act forces banks to come to the table with the assistance of an attorney or a housing counselor in order to modify or mediate the current mortgage. Not even the state will inform people about it because they just don’t have the money to advertise this law, so many homeowners lose out on their home when that could be saved the mortgage mediation.

Start the Process or Learn More

Banks, housing counselors or bankruptcy attorneys negotiate to find some way that the homeowners can stay in their home and this is usually through mortgage modification. At Advantage Legal Group, many people have Artie tried to do this on their own and without a qualified housing counselor or bankruptcy attorney legally cannot be done. You must have one of these two mediators with you when negotiating with the bank according to the fairness act.

When you enter into mortgage modification you can save the homeowner hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year. One of the most recent examples was an Ocwen loan where the original payment was $2087 at an interest rate of 4.65%. Advantage Legal Group was able to negotiate a new payment of just $1100 at a new interest rate of 3.375%. This helps people to become current on their mortgage again and save their home.

Even if we can’t lower the payments significantly we sometimes can negotiate a lower interest rate. One recent loan through Bank of America with an FHA loan with an interest rate of 6.275%. Advantage was able to lower that to 2%.

If you’re struggling with what to do first, simply call Advantage Legal Group. We offer free over the phone consultations to find out if you qualify for mortgage mediation. If you’ve been told that you don’t have the right paperwork or documents or simply do not get a response from your lender, it’s time to make the move and contact a mortgage mediator or housing counselor necessary and required in order to negotiate your mortgage payment.

Start the Process or Learn More

MORE: Where Do I Begin with Mortgage Mediation?

Mediation is when the lender and the borrower sit down with a court-ordered mediator, a third party, to look at options. Modification programs are often limited and hard to execute. Mediation is a good way to play it safe when you’re almost out of options to help cure any deficiencies in the process. With so many delinquent borrows currently nationwide, there are many opportunities for mistakes to be made. Borrowers can also get lost in the process and mediation personalizes for expedition and avoidance of mistakes.

Once the lender initiates foreclosure, you have the right to request mediation. The lender must send a “request for foreclosure mediation” form. You then have 25 days to complete the form and file it with the circuit court in the county or city where your foreclosure has been filed to have your request granted. You must also send the form to the attorney handling the foreclosure for your lender.

THINGS TO KNOW:

1) a non-refundable fee of $50 must be paid by homeowners to the circuit court when they file a request for mediation.

2) The fee and the “request for foreclosure mediation” form must be sent to the same circuit court that your foreclosure was filed in.

3) This is your one and only chance to request foreclosure mediation. If you do not submit your fee and form within the 25 days, you will NOT be given another chance.

4)Homeowners must be living on the foreclosed property to participate in the mediation program. It must be your primary residence. The mediation program is not for owners of foreclosed, rental or commercial properties.

You can get excellent legal help from Advantage Legal Group. Contact us today and check out our blog for more information and related topics.

For more information on related topics check out:

–Should I File Bankruptcy?

–What If I’m a Year Behind in My Mortgage Payments?

Mortgage Modification Lawyer in Bellevue and Seattle

Posted on September 28, 2015July 24, 2020 by Jonathan Smith

Advantage Legal Group is that helping people for four years with the Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act. It is helped many homeowners stay in their home and avoid foreclosure by forcing these banks to have face-to-face communication with the homeowners. These meetings are mediated and overseen by someone that is qualified with the Washington state Foreclosure Fairness act to make sure that the banks are doing what they should be doing in order to to help homeowners. This helps them modify their existing mortgage into a payment they can actually afford.

Homeowners need an attorney or housing counselor to actually ask for the meeting, which is something a lot of homeowners don’t realize. Many people feel that they can simply call up the lenders and ask for this meeting directly but that’s not the case. The meeting will happen in the county in which the homeowner resides. The housing counselor or your attorney will set up the meeting in a unbiased and neutral location. If you’re being called into the lender’s attorney’s office or the lender is setting up this meeting, this may not be the mediation meeting that you want.

Advantage Legal Group has completed many of these mediations by helping homeowners lower their monthly mortgage payments and keep them in their homes. Lenders such as Nationstar met with the attorneys at Advantage Legal Group and moved to their old payment of $3907 with an interest of 2.75% to a new interest of 2% lowering their payment to $2564. This was a savings of over $1342 every month.

We Are Mortgage Modification Lawyer in Bellevue and Seattle

Advantage Legal Group states that one of the lenders that is difficult to deal with is Wells Fargo however, they were able to moderate and mediate a mortgage payment of $1609 down to $1411 with a reduction of nearly $200 and interest reduction from 3.5% to 2.75%. The couple in this scenario was actually 19 months behind in their mortgage payment so it really doesn’t matter how far behind you are, Advantage Legal Group can get the job done.

Another scenario showed an adjustable-rate mortgage of 9.1% and a payment of over $3100 down to a fixed interest rate of just 2% with a new payment of $1732. These are the type of stories that really makes sense to struggling homeowners that may risk foreclosure if they don’t do what they need to do in contact a lawyer or housing counselor immediately.

Mortgage Modification Lawyer in Bellevue and Seattle

Jonathan Smith of Advantage does more people that you don’t want to wait too long. The longer you wait the higher the interest rate you might end up getting. Jonathan mentions that people can have a free consultation to figure out if this Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act actually will work for their situation so don’t wait; give them a call today and find out if this mortgage modification can work for you. 425-452-9797