Denver Fresh

It’s not too late for a struggling home owner to turn a bleak mortgage situation around.  Borrowers across the nation have been hit hard and a huge chunk of them aren’t able to pay up when the monthly mortgage bill comes. 

I have clients looking to purchase their first home in Denver county and eight of ten homes for sale that we walk into are in short-sale, foreclosure or bank-owned properties.  Distress is usually the theme when we walk into the run-down homes that have be left for dead by the previous owners-appliances ripped out, soiled carpet & walls, water damage, missing doors.  You name it we’ve seen it.

Foreclosure is an inevitable problem that the Denver real estate market can & will weather but it’s not something a home owner has to.  If you are in trouble and are financial stretched past the limit or you are facing an ARM that is about to hike up and adjust out of your financial cabpability–there are options.

Avoid Foreclosure by knowing your options:

Get Counseling.  A foreclosure counselor will gather information about your situation and let you know how and if you qualify for their solutions.  Some options are refinancing into a more appropriate loan, a temporary rate freeze on your mortgage or loss-mitigation solutions.  Click out www.hopenow.com for all the details.  Different counties through Denver also have individual programs so check with your county’s housing authority.

Call Your Loan Servicer.  Make the call and let them know about your situation many mortgage lenders are more flexible to work with borrowers than they were before the big mortgage meltdown. Many loan servicers have specific departments that deal with customer retention and programs. 

Do Your Home Buying Homework. Before you buy know what you are getting into and make sure it’s the absolute best step for you to take.  Sit down with your Realtor and learn about different programs available in Colorado.  There are special first-time buyer loans, down payment assistance and/or closing cost assistance, bond programs, pre-purchase counseling, foreclosure prevention counseling.  Your Realtor can give you direction as to which program fits your needs and which programs are available in the areas that you are looking to buy a home.

 Some extra effort on a home owners part will keep them out of being just another unfortunate number added to the foreclosure statistics.