Missing Payments?

It is important to talk to your mortgage lender and tell them you're having difficulties. You may find they are open to revising your payments and/or extending the term of the loan, thereby reducing monthly repayments. Discuss your options with your lender as soon as possible. Then take action immediately. The longer you wait, hoping something will happen, the fewer options you will have. Lenders use foreclosure only as a very last resort. They make every attempt — within the confines of reasonable requirements — to develop an individualized solution that helps the borrowers get through a difficult time so they can stay in their homes. The key thing is not to stop making payments without warning - something that will really get your lender offside. If you find yourself seriously struggling to make loan repayments, do something about it sooner rather than later - definitely well before you miss a payment. The worst thing you can do is avoid the phone calls, letters and/or visits from your lender. There are many options. You can market your home as a short sale; get a mortgage modification agreement or even a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Communicate with your lender. Don’t try and ignore them because they won’t go away. And don’t lie to them. Be honest with them and they will help you work out the best solution.

Walking away from your mortgage?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are warning struggling U.S. homeowners to think twice about walking away from their mortgages. Mortgage lender Fannie Mae warns homeowners planning to walk away and stop paying mortgages that doing so will make it difficult to apply for your next home loan. Borrowers facing foreclosure will be unable to obtain a loan for up to five years through the mortgage giant, unless there is "documented extenuating circumstances” in which those borrowers would have to wait up to 3 years for a new mortgage, according to a release by Fannie Mae. Even after five years, borrowers with foreclosures in their files will be required to make at least a 10 percent down payment, and will need minimum FICO credit scores of 680. Freddie Mac, Fannie's rival, counts foreclosures as major credit blots for seven years, and a senior official said the company is now aggressively pursuing some walkaway borrowers "to preserve our deficiency rights" where permitted under state law.

Walking away from the mortgage is not your only option if you are having difficulty making mortgage payments. Talk to the Realtors or mortgage brokers for more information on avoiding foreclosure.

Insured Home Mortgage Defaults Reach Higher

Defaults by U.S. home-owners with private mortgage insurance rose last month to the highest since at least August 2001, adding to evidence that the housing slump is getting deeper at the start of its third year. According to data released today by the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America the number of insured borrowers falling more than 60 days behind on their home loans climbed to 59,308 in October, 28 percent more than a year earlier. The median price of new U.S. homes fell 13 percent in October from a year earlier, according to U.S. government data released this month. Treasury department is working with large financial institutions to come up with a plan that will freeze resets on certain subprime loans. Fed Chairman Bernanke indicated in a speech last night that more rate cuts are on the table.