Are You In Foreclosure or About to Go Into Foreclosure?

We can save you from Foreclosure by Buying your Home. We can buy very quickly, pay cash, or terms.

If your house is worth less than the balance owing, we can negotiate with the mortgage company

We can help save your credit! But you must move fast ... calls us today, 678 421 9466, or e-mail us, to see how we can help.

We can help you.

We can save you from foreclosure. We'd like to help you solve your foreclosure problem by buying your house. This will usually be a good deal for both of us, you'll save your credit and be able to start over much more easily, we'll get an investment house. However, you should consider all your possible options, since we only want to buy your house if its the best thing for you, if we can make it a win-win deal.

This page will tell you something about the foreclosure process in Georgia. Please note, we are not attorneys or accountants, and we are not offering you specific legal or accounting advice. We are talking about what usually happens. These notes are simply our observations about the foreclosure process from having been involved as investors and from talking to lots of people in foreclosure. Speak to your attorney (preferably an attorney who specializes in Real Estate), or accountant if you need more specific advice. Please note also, foreclosures are very different in different states, we've only seen it working in Georgia.

We buy houses threatened with foreclosure, and they are usually good deals for us and for you the seller. For you as a seller in foreclosure, we can buy from you very quickly, save you from foreclosure, and help save your credit history so that it is easier for you to start over.

If you are not yet in foreclosure, but may be soon: Don't Go There! Read what we have to say below carefully. If you think you may be headed for foreclosure, then the sooner you take action the better, because the longer you leave it, the more money you will owe, and the harder it will be for you or anyone to save the situation. Selling your house may be a good option, but there may be a better one for you if you catch the situation fast enough. You might want to try Consumer Credit Counseling if you have plenty of time.

How To Stop The Foreclosure

Being in foreclosure can be difficult - not only is there the financial distress that led to the foreclosure, but there is now the additional stress of the threat of foreclosure, the possible loss of your home, and the possible effect on your credit history in the future.

However, you must think clearly and make the best choice for you, despite the stress you may feel. Your worst option is to do nothing at all - you must take some action! The information given here is designed to help you do that.

Please consider selling your house to us. This often works well for us and for you. However, selling your house is only one option you have, and it may not be the best one for you. We don't want to buy your house unless you've looked at all your options and decided that selling is the best thing to do. If we buy your house, then we want it to be a win-win.

So, what can you do now you are in foreclosure? The main options that you have are:

1. Do nothing and let the house be sold off at auction.
2. Come up with the money to make up your back-payments.
3. Negotiate with the mortgage company.
4. Declare bankruptcy (if you have not done so already!).
5. Sell your house.

Lets take these options one by one and look at the advantages and disadvantages:

1. Do nothing and let the house be sold off at auction.

If you do nothing, this is what will happen: once the mortgage company's attorney sends you a letter warning you that you are being foreclosed on, then you have less than a month. On the first Tuesday of next month, sometime between 10am and 4pm, your house will be sold to the highest bidder at the Courthouse steps in your county. The opening bid, on behalf of your mortgage company, will usually be the amount you owe on the mortgage, plus back payments, plus attorneys fees.

How much money will you get?

Usually, NOTHING!, And, you may often end up still owing the mortgage company money.

If the house sells for more than the opening bid, then you will get back the difference between that bid and the sales price. For example, if the mortgage company wants $80,000, and if at the auction your house sold for $100,000 - then you would get $20,000 back.

However, your house is very unlikely to sell at foreclosure auction for anything near the full appraised value. More likely, it will go for, at most, 60 cents on the dollar.

Why? Because:

• You have to pay cash to buy a house at the foreclosure auction. There are not many people who can pay cash for a house.
• People who buy a house to live in (and who might pay full price), want to see the inside of the house, have an inspection, etc. Not many people will have seen your house
• This means that, unless you are very lucky, the people bidding at the foreclosure auction are investors. All they are interested in is dollars: how much does your house cost to buy, fix up, and sell. They are only interested in your house if they can buy it cheap and make a profit selling it.

So all of this to say, unless your house is worth a lot more than the mortgage and other payments owing on it, you are unlikely to get any cash out of selling your house in a foreclosure auction.

Foreclosure causes you other problems:

• A foreclosure can stay on your credit history for up to seven years.
• For the rest of your life, whenever you apply for a mortgage, you will have to own up on the application forms that you had a foreclosure.
• Lenders will think you are a bad risk to lend money to. Anytime that you want to borrow money - a credit card, an auto loan, or a mortgage to buy a new home - the lender will see the foreclosure on your credit history. Either they won't lend you the money, or they will charge you more interest to make up for the risk they see in lending you money.
• These days, even landlords will often want to see a credit report before they will lease a house or apartment to you - so you may have difficulty finding a house to rent, or may have to pay more for one in increased security deposit or rental rate.
• And one final problem: If no one bids on your home at the auction (this happens a lot) - then the mortgage company ends up owning your house. If they have to sell if for less than you owe, you still owe them the money. (Truthfully, they are not likely to come and try to get it from you unless its really a lot of money, but they do have the right to keep chasing you for it).

All in all, letting your house go to foreclosure is a very bad thing to do.

So let's carry on looking at the other options you have:

2. Come up with the money to make up your back payments.

If you can come up with the money to pay off the back payments and attorneys fees, then this is usually your best option. Note that if you can come up with the cash, then the mortgage company has to accept it and the foreclosure will stop.

So, if you can get some cash from somewhere - have something you can sell that would raise the money, or have a relative who will give you some money, or something - then you should strongly consider doing it. You will save your home and your credit history.

The only circumstances where you might decide not to do this is where your mortgage and back payments are worth a lot more than the value of your home. You could decide that its better to just let it go rather than own a house that cost you a lot more than it is worth. However, this would be very unusual circumstances, and you should talk it over with an accountant and/or an attorney before you decide to deliberately let a house go to foreclosure.

For most people, however, coming up with the cash is not a viable option. After all, if you had the cash, you wouldn't be in foreclosure would you?

3. Negotiate with the mortgage company.

If you think you could come up with some of the cash, then you may be able to negotiate with the mortgage company and save your house from foreclosure.

You may be surprised to hear this, but its likely that the mortgage company does not really want to foreclose on you! They are only interested in getting the cash, and they do not want to end up owning your house. Mortgage companies do not want to own real estate - they don't want the hassle of managing houses, and also, due to Fed rules, owning houses lowers their ability to make loans.

If you can come up with a good sum of money - say 50% of what you owe, and if you can promise to make good payments from now on, then the mortgage company may listen and give you a new chance. You may be able to negotiate restarting payments, and adding back payments you owe to the end of the mortgage. If you can do this, its worth trying.

Note however, by the time you get into foreclosure it may be too late - they may be fed up with you, and it may be difficult to find the right person to talk to in the mortgage company once they have handed over the paperwork to the attorneys. But try if you can. (This is especially true if you have previously declared bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure).

4. Declare bankruptcy.

This is a complex area, and if you are thinking of bankruptcy you must talk to a bankruptcy attorney.

If you declare bankruptcy, then the foreclosure is stopped while the bankruptcy court and you try to sort things out. Assuming that your debts are basically your mortgage and maybe some credit cards etc., there are two types of bankruptcy which you are most likely to choose, called Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 after the chapters in the bankruptcy law that describe them. Depending on what you do, you may or may not be able to keep your house, and you may be able to get rid of a part or all of your debts.

Bankruptcy will stop the foreclosure, and may be a good option. However, you will now have a bankruptcy on your credit report instead of a foreclosure, which may be just as bad in terms of getting credit in future. Note that often a bankruptcy will only delay a foreclosure if you are still unable to pay all your debts. After one late or missed payment the mortgage company can again resume foreclosure proceedings.

(Of course, if you have declared bankruptcy before, then this option may no longer be open to you).

5. Sell your House.

If you want to sell your house, then you may be able to clear your mortgage debt, and move on with a fairly clean credit history.

You can sell your house to anyone who wants to buy it and who will give you the price you want, quickly enough to close before the foreclosure. However, unless you already have a friend or relative who wants to buy the house from you, your problem is going to be finding someone who can and will buy your house quickly enough.

You can try listing your house as you would normally, through an agent, or putting it on the market for sale yourself. However, remember that for most normal house sales, it can take weeks or months to find a buyer, and normally a month to close any contract you sign - especially if your buyer needs to get a mortgage and has to go through the mortgage application process. You probably remember how long that took you when you applied for your current mortgage!

So you might find someone to buy your house and give you close to the appraised value for it. But its unlikely to happen fast enough - if you are in foreclosure now, then you have less than four weeks left by the time you read this!

The other main group who will be interested in your house are investors, such as us, and such as the people who might bid on your house if it goes to the auction. Once again, for investors the only thing that is really important is dollars. They are looking for bargains. However, even if you have to sell cheaper than you want to an investor, this may still be your best option because it will save your credit history.

In Summary

If you can make up the back payments, or partially pay them and negotiate with the mortgage company to solve the problem, this is probably your best option.

If you think bankruptcy seems like a good idea, consult a bankruptcy attorney. However, if you have already declared bankruptcy then you may be on longer able to do this, and if you still can't make your payments, you'll likely just delay the foreclosure a couple of months.

If selling your house seems like the best option, then unless you are really lucky and can find a buyer who can and will give you full price, then your choices are likely to come down to selling to an investor, or letting it go to the auction steps. You might be really lucky and get more money at the auction steps, but in practice you are likely to get much the same deal whether you sell at auction or to an investor before the auction. The advantage of selling before the auction is that your credit history will look better and starting over will be a lot easier for you.

We hope this information has been useful to you and helps you to decide what to do. Please consider your choices carefully. If you are interested in selling to an investor, or if you would like to discuss any of the above information, please contact us. Or call us today on 678 421 9466 to discuss your situation.

But please hurry, if you're already been given notice of foreclosure, then you have less than three weeks left. The longer you leave it the more difficult it gets to find a good solution. Call us today 678 421 9466.