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Foreclosure Attorney Virginia

If you need extra cash to pay off those nagging credit card bills or medical bills, have you thought about applying for a West Virginia home equity loan? If you have been paying on your home for a while, then you may be able to get a considerable amount of cash from a home equity loan. First, let's look at what a West Virginia home equity loan is.

A home equity loan is a loan against the value of your home and what you owe on your home. For example, let's say you paid $100,000 for your home. You made a lot of improvements to your home and it is know appraised at $180,000. Then you could get a home equity loan for $80,000. This is cash loaned to you on the promise that you will pay it back. If you default on your West Virginia home equity loan, you may lose your home to foreclosure.

It is important to look at your financial situation carefully before you apply for a home equity loan. Will you be able to afford the additional payments easily? If the additional payment is really going to stretch your budget, then maybe a home equity loan is not for you. You don't want to risk losing your home.

If the additional payment is no problem, then do some shopping around for the best rates for you on a West Virginia home equity loan. Most banks are very competitive and you may be able to lock in a very good rate if you comparison shop, whether you are in West Virginia or any other state.

Always make sure that you know what is in your loan contract before you sign it. The best thing to do would be to take it to your attorney and have him look over it thoroughly before you agree to sign it. Make sure that your rates will be fixed so that your payments will not increase over the years.

Be very suspicious of lenders that contact you out of the blue, offering you a great deal on home refinancing. A lot of these lenders are predatory lenders and will do you no favors. They are trying to get as much money from you that they can and they may also be trying to get ownership of your home.

A West Virginia home equity loan can be a great deal for some people because it is tax deductible and may save you a ton of money. If you use the money to pay off higher interest debt then you can only get ahead.

Just always do your research and never jump into a West Virginia home equity loan without the advice of your attorney or someone that is knowledgeable about home equity loans. Always remember the phrase "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

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By the way, you can learn more about a West Virginia Home Equity Loan as well as more information on everything to do with home equity loans and home equity lines of credit by visiting http://www.HomeEquityLoansA-z.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Is a West Virginia Home Equity Loan Right for You?

Richmond Lawyers Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

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Foreclosure Lawyer In Virginia

Ashburn, Virginia - November 13, 2009 -- Some mortgage lenders are springing a “loan modification trap” of criminal prosecution against homeowners who try to avoid foreclosure, says a mortgage expert firm, Mortgage Fraud Examiners. Rather than cooperating with homeowners needing loan modifications, some lenders report struggling homeowners to the FBI or State authorities for bank fraud.

Storm Bradford of Mortgage Fraud Examiners states:

"The Obama Administration warned that most loan modification companies take advantage of borrowers in danger of default by charging upfront fees of $1,000 to $5,000 for help with loan modifications that rarely, if ever, pay off. Such private firms are competing with the Obama Administration's own loan modification service. Thus far, that government service also "rarely, if ever, pays off".

Government officials evaded the question of why loan modification efforts "rarely, if ever, pay off." Mortgage lenders are refusing to cooperate with struggling homeowners - unless forced to re-negotiate terms by legal challenges. The root of the problem is that lenders are not agreeing to lower monthly payments, even to avoid foreclosures.

Instead, when homeowners submit financial information to renegotiate the terms of a mortgage or a short-sale, lenders are comparing their new request with the original loan application. If salary and employment information are inconsistent, many lenders are turning this information over to the FBI to prosecute homeowners for bank fraud.

Mortgage Fraud Examiners CEO Storm Bradford explains, “Homeowners must be careful to retrieve a copy of their original loan application before requesting a loan modification. Information on the new request must match the original application, or else be clearly explained and documented.”

Congress and the White House have pinned the nation's hopes for the housing market on homeowners renegotiating their loan payments. Yet this strategy is failing. The government criticizes private firms, but “free” government programs are also failing.

Lenders are not cooperating with loan modifications; Homeowners have no leverage when talking to mortgage companies and banks. Bank officials will not take responsibility for cutting loan payments. As a result, using a loan modification firm often means paying several thousand dollars for a simple phone call, to which the answer will predictably be “no.” The primary fault, however, is with uncooperative lenders who would rather foreclose than take responsibility for lowering interest rates or forgiving principal.

A study by Alan M. White (Valparaiso University - Law School) exposes the failure of loan modifications in general. Professor White found that “more than nine out of ten voluntary mortgage modifications in 2008 involved no cancellation of principal, past due interest or even late fees or expenses. The typical modification requires the homeowner to capitalize unpaid amounts or to convert them to a balloon payment.” (Payments are merely shifted to the end of the loan term.) Because mortgage lenders are not genuinely providing any real relief, half of restructured loans default within 6 months.

Professor White's study found that servicing contracts encourage loan servicing companies to foreclose. “Mortgage servicer compensation (for securitized mortgages) is governed by pooling and servicing agreements (“PSAs”). Servicers receive income from a fixed portion of monthly interest payments actually received, from late fees and other default charges, and from the interest on funds held for investors or escrow.”

“On the other hand they typically must advance interest to investors when the borrower doesn't make a payment. They also advance funds to third parties, like lawyers, during the foreclosure process. The servicer recovers its advances only when the borrower eventually brings payments current, or when a foreclosure sale is completed. However, if a delinquent mortgage is modified, the servicer will not recover the advances made to investors on that account until the borrower repays the servicer. This is particularly problematic for the servicer when the advances are deferred in a balloon payment due in thirty years.”

So, these contracts misdirect actions toward destructive foreclosures. Dumping more houses on the market then drives down neighborhood market values even further, creating a “death spiral.”

Instead, Bradford and his team of lawyers perform forensic appraisals and document examinations, documenting legal violations. These "audits" can then be used by locally-licensed attorneys in each State to take legal action, or used as leverage for meaningful loan negotiations.

Bradford estimates that “up to 95% of mortgages may be legally unenforceable due to defects like lost documents, improper notices, appraisal and/or mortgage fraud. When facing a possible lawsuit after our examinations, lenders suddenly get religion and become much more cooperative in renegotiating the terms of a loan.”

"You need to take advantage of every conceivable resource that you can find to use against your lender," Bradford says. "We do a forensic document examination, along with a forensic appraisal, to examine whether or not there are any legal violations. We give you another piece to use against your lender that nobody else does."

Several homeowners who have used what Bradford preaches, have won million dollar lawsuits against lenders, or have received other such favorable outcomes."

For more information contact: Mortgage Fraud Examiners, by phone:800.540.EXAM (3926), and visit their website: http://www.MortgageFraudExaminers.com.

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Mortgage Lenders Bringing Criminal Prosecutions Against Homeowners In Loan Modification "Trap"

Bankruptcy - FREE Evaluation with an Attorney - The Merna Law Group, P.C.

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Foreclosure Law In Virginia

Question: What are the Virginia laws in regards to foreclosures? Can the lender come after your other assets?

I have an investment property that I can no longer make payments on and wanted to see if the lender can come after my salary, 401k, etc. in Virginia if I walk away from the house.

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Answer: If the lender forecloses and sells the property for less than you owe (including all the foreclosure fees, interest, per diems, selling costs, etc.), it can sue you for the balance. If the lender then gets a judgment against you, your pay is subject to garnishment, your real estate can be liened and your bank accounts can be seized. Your 401k is probably exempt.

Also, be aware that judgments are valid for a very long time - 20 years in some states. They also accrue interest until paid - at much better than market rates.

Stop Foreclosure Virginia Beach County VA, Stop Foreclosure

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