Foreclosure Specialist - Loan Modifications, Short Sales, Trustee Postponement, Hard Money Loans for Homeowners in California.

Loan Modification, Forbearance Agreement, California Mortgage Relief Program, Repayment Plan, Short-Term Equity Loan, Bankruptcy or Sale are different ways to Avoid Foreclosure.
Which is Right for You?

Loan Modification:
A loan modification is a permanent restructuring of the mortgage where one or more of the terms of a loan are changed to provide a more affordable payment. With a loan modification, the lender might agree to do one of more of the following to reduce your monthly payment:

reduce the interest rate
convert from a variable interest rate to a fixed interest rate
extend of the length of the term of the loan up to 40 years
reduce the principle balance if there is no equity in the property

There are many different loan modification programs available, including proprietary (in-house) loan modifications, as well as the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Flex Modification program.

If you're currently unable to afford your mortgage payment, and won’t be able to in the near future, a loan modification might be the ideal option to help you avoid foreclosure.

Forbearance Agreement:
While a loan modification agreement is a permanent solution to unaffordable monthly payments, a forbearance agreement provides short-term relief for borrowers.

With a forbearance agreement, the lender agrees to reduce or suspend mortgage payments for a certain period of time and not to initiate a forelosure during the forbearance period. In exchange, the borrower must resume the full payment at the end of the forbearance period, plus pay an additional amount to get current on the missed payments, including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. The specific terms of a forbearance agreement will vary from lender to lender.

If a temporary hardship causes you to fall behind in your mortgage payments, a forbearance agreement might allow you to avoid foreclosure until your situation gets better. In some cases, the lender might be able to extend the forbearance period if your hardship is not resolved by the end of the forbearance period to accommodate your situation.

A forbearance agreement, unlike a repayment plan, the lender agrees in advance for you to miss or reduce your payments for a set period of time.

California Mortgage Relief Program:
The California Mortgage Relief Program uses federal Homeowner Assistance Funds to help homeowners get caught up on past-due housing payments and property taxes.

Eligible Homeowners for the California Mortgage Relief Program must meet the following criteria:

Homeowner must currently own and occupy the property in California as their primary residence.
Homeowner must not own and occupy more than one property.
Must have faced a Qualified Financial Hardship due to COVID-19 after January 21, 2020.
Homeowner must be at least two payments past-due by June 30, 2022, and are currently delinquent.
Past-due amount must be $80,000 or less at the time of application submission.
Homeowner’s loan servicer must be participating in the California Mortgage Relief Program.
Combined income of all household members over the age 18 is at or below 150% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Homeowners cannot have cash or assets on hand (excluding savings in a retirement account) that is equal to or greater than the relief funds needed + $20,000.
The original, unpaid principal balance of the homeowner’s primary mortgage loan, at the time of origination, cannot be greater than the “conforming loan limit” (as determined under the provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008) in effect at time of origination.

2nd Program for Property Tax Relief with a maximum grant amount of $20,000.

UPDATED February 08, 2023
The California Mortgage Relief Program has expanded and now offers additional assistance,
even for homeowners who previously received funding.

The mortgage assistance and property tax assistance delinquency date requirements have been reset. Eligible homeowners who missed at least two mortgage payments or at least one property tax payment before March 1, 2023, and are currently delinquent may apply.
Homeowners can apply for additional assistance, up to a maximum of $80,000 in total assistance, even if they already received a grant from this Program. Applicants must meet all other program requirements.
Assistance is now available to reduce or eliminate a partial claim second mortgage or loan deferral. This applies to partial claim second mortgages or loan deferrals accepted due to COVID anytime during or after January 2020. Eligible homeowners may receive this assistance in addition to assistance to cover any past due housing payments.
Properties with up to four units are now eligible for assistance. Eligible properties, which must be the applicant’s primary residence, may include houses, condos, permanently affixed manufactured homes, ADUs, duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes.

Repayment Plan:
A repayment plan is an agreement to spread the past due amount over a specific period of time.

Here’s how a repayment plan works:

The lender spreads your overdue amount over a certain number of months.
During the repayment period, a portion of the overdue amount is added to each of your regular mortgage payments.
At the end of the repayment period, you will be current on your mortgage payments and resume paying your normal monthly payment amount.

This option lets you pay off the delinquency over a period of time. The length of a repayment plan will vary depending on the amount past due and on how much you can afford to pay each month, among other things. A six-month repayment period is typical.

Short-Term Equity Loan:
If you do not qualify for any of the three options above an alternative for homeowners with 65% Equity (including the new loan amount) is a Short-Term or Hard Money loan. By using the equity in your property you are able to Reinstate your loan and bring it current with the proceeds of the Short-Term loan.

The downside to a Short-Term loan is the expense in upfront costs, high interest rate and cost to extend the term of the loan if applicable.

Bankruptcy:
By filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy you can stop a foreclosure sale of your property either temporarily or permanently by having the Court agree to your bankruptcy repayment plan. Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy may provide the following:

repay missed mortgage payments (your mortgage arrears) over the life of the repayment plan, typically three to five years
pay a fraction (or sometimes, nothing) of your unsecured debts during the plan period and probably eliminate these other debts entirely when you complete your plan, freeing up money to pay your mortgage
ask the court to reduce (“cram down”) certain secured debts to the value of the collateral (for instance, reduce your $20,000 car note to the actual value of the car, say $12,000, reducing your monthly payments)
contest the legality of the proposed foreclosure in the bankruptcy court
contest any claims for costs and fees that are added to the missed payments you’ll repay as part of your plan (these costs are commonly made erroneously), and
get rid of (strip off) liens on your home created by second and third mortgages, as long as they are wholly unsecured by your home (that is, if your home were sold the proceeds would be insufficient to pay back any portion of the lien).

Sale
If you decide to sell your property it is important to know the foreclosure timeline. In California, you have 121 days from the date the Notice of Default was recorded until your house can be sold at auction. Working with an experienced Real Estate Agent has many benefits, one of the most important is their ability to work within the time constraints given and to seek the cooperation of your lender or lenders if more time is needed to close the sale.

There are many strategies to extend the foreclosure time frame if needed. We work with Real Estate Agents throughout the state to implement those strategies on behalf of their clients.

Why California Homeowners Work with Us:

We have more experience. For over 13 years we've been helping California homeowners modify their loans and lower their monthly payments.
We understand the California Homeowner Bill of Rights and how it applies.
We know when Service Company employees are telling us wrong information and what to do about it.
We know how each lender works. We've worked with almost every lender and Service Company there is, the majority of them on a daily basis.
We know the different modification programs and guidelines available per Service Company.
We understand the situation from both borrower's and lender's point of view and work to mediate a successful solution for all parties.
You don't have to worry about something going wrong. We have the experience and knowledge to guide you through the process.
We will address your concerns and worries throughout the process and update you on a weekly basis.
We position your case to take advantage of the best possible terms your lender can offer.
We keep you updated throughout the process. Modifications take anywhere from 30 to 90 days.
We don't take NO for an answer. We demand your lender offer a modification that's doable and affordable.
Even after you've signed your modification documents we make sure your lender implements your modification correctly.
You can call us anytime. We're available from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday to Friday and Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm PST.

Let us be your Advocate.
We are Licensed Real Estate Professionals with the experience and knowledge of the lending industry to resolve your situation in the most favorable terms possible.

Although lenders in most cases do not want to foreclose on your home, you may be experiencing frustration in dealing with their bureaucracy and having your concerns and questions addressed in a professional and competent manner.

A recent Freddie Mac, Roper survey of delinquent borrowers found nearly two-thirds were unaware of their workout options. Why? Because their lender didn't bother to inform them.

In many cases, borrowers end up agreeing to a workout plan, far less favorable than otherwise possible, due to a lack of experience and knowledge in negotiating with lenders.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: This site is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan. If you stop paying your mortgage, you could lose your home and damage your credit rating.

Disclaimer - All information is provided for informational purposes only and is Not legal advice, consult an attorney or financial expert for legal advice. This is general information and is not intended to provide advice on any specific question or transaction. Parties to any real estate transaction should seek competent legal and/or tax counsel to determine the legal, credit and tax consequences of buying or selling a home. Listing your home for sale and attempting to do a California Short Sale is a possible solution to avoiding foreclosure but not a guarantee that your lender won't foreclose or pursue other means of collecting the unpaid debt between what you owe and what the home may sell for.