Underwater and no way out

Many of the calls we receive are from people who have situations so far from doable that they are days or weeks from losing their homes. By the time we hear about their situations, they have already tried to modify the loans, have worked with the lenders every way they can, and in some cases have succeeded in getting a modification, but the loans are still too much to handle.

Lenders can't just make the loan disappear. Often it seems illogical that they would not work with the homeowner and reduce the price to the current market value, but that is not something we have heard them doing. In fact, if it gets down to a short sale, they may reduce the price of the home considerably, but not for the homeowner. Banks only lower the price for a new buyer. They do this for the new buyer because that is what will happen anyway if the home goes all the way to auction.

We don't know the internal banking reasons why they won't work with the homeowner, but it makes some sense if seen from their point of view. If they reduce the price on my home then my neighbor will expect the same service. One or two people don't pose much of a problem, but a large bank would be looking at an incredible amount of properties, with no way to accurately gauge each homeowner's real situation.

There are some alternatives if a homeowner is willing to face up to the reality that he or she will probably not be able to stay in the home. Stay tuned for more.

Desert Cities Home Buyers offers no obligation information at http://www.socalforeclosureprevention.com as an affiliate of The National Prevention Center.