3 Reasons the Term “Strategic Default” Is Misleading in Bergen County.

In a recent study, the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index found that a full 36% of Americans would consider “strategic default”—another term for walking away from your mortgage—if they were underwater (owed more on their home than what it was worth).


Avoiding foreclosure in Bergen County should be the goal of anyone with difficulty, especially now. Now that more than one in four American homeowners is “underwater,” I feel that it’s important for the community to know the truth about strategic default.

The truth is the foreclosure process carries with it credit issues, current and future employment challenges, issues with security clearance and possible debt collections.

That’s why it is vital to explain the 3 reasons why the term “strategic default” is misleading:

1. There’s nothing strategic about defaulting on purpose, especially when you have options like short sales, mortgage modifications, and refinance (just to name a few) that may keep you from foreclosure.

2. The waiting periods to apply for a new mortgage loan are at least five years less in a short sale vs. a foreclosure.

3. A foreclosure will show up on your credit report every time you apply for a home loan, car loan, new job, etc., and will affect your financial situation for many years to come.

While in the first quarter of 2011, more than 60% of the closed sales in Bergen County were distressed sales, that doesn’t meant they were sold foreclosures. Many short sales are included in this percentage. One should note that avoiding foreclosure is not only possible, it is probable depending on what stage you may be in. Short sales in Bergen County should be aided by an expert. A good point to remember here is that with time really isn’t on your side. While the Bergen County market is stable on the whole, one has to remember it’s a pocket game. Simply put, some towns are doing well and some towens are not doing well in Bergen County. See our market statistics on Bergen County and some local towns.

If you are underwater and can no longer afford your mortgage payments, you need to create a genuine strategy to avoid foreclosure, helping to provide stability for you and our community.

If you have any questions about what steps you or someone you care about should take next, contact me today!

Short Sales and Avoiding Foreclosure in Bergen County & all of New Jersey

 
Avoiding foreclosure and doing a short sales brings up a lot of questions.  It is always nice to have local media give out the correct information.  Well, on Sunday, April 17 The Record of Bergen County did it again! The headline: “Short Sales come with long waits” which I am sure invigorates a lot of people…NOT!


The truth is not as complicated as it seems and this newspaper continues to publish poorly documented information. To avoid foreclosure in Bergen County or anywhere, an option is a short sale. Simply put, a short sale occurs when your house is worth less than your loan/mortgage amount, you have a hardship and are having difficulty if you are paying the mortgage at all. The bank is asked to accept less than the mortgage amount as a final payoff, hence short sale. Another fact that is rarely explained properly is the many possibilities of how this can affect a credit score of the person short selling the home. It may not be a credit score nightmare.

First off, short sales stink for real estate agents. They require much time and much more effort. This article pointed out a real; estate agent that actually will “dissuade” her buyers from looking at short sales. The process can be long and tedious, no question, but for an agent to actually say this is inexcusable.  What this article doesn’t tell you or suggest to you is that there are trained agents that are actually certified in short sales in our communities. Yes, that’s right, trained and certified.

There are several designations out there, one is a Certified Distressed Property Expert CDPE(I have that)and the Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Certification –SFR (A National Association of Realtor designation) .

Avoiding foreclosure and deciding to sell a home short is a very important decision. Should you love your home and can afford it, don’t sell it. Macro Markets forecasts that within a few years, there will actually be some appreciation. (This information is discussed at our monthly town hall Bergen County real estate market meetings). If one is in a situation where they need information, you need to talk to a certified professional and not just any real estate agent. Our company’s agents are certified and are available for a no obligation consultation. Selling a home short can take a long time, but you have a better shot at coming out of this faster and in better shape using someone who actually does this work and is certified!
To find out about the myths of short sales, click here.

Housing troubles is troubled by CBS' 60 Minutes

 
People are working their you know whats off to stay afloat in this economic situation we are in.  When avoiding forecloure in Bergen County New Jersey is your number one priority, the news teams of our life take license with the fact that they can say anything they like with or without foundation and in any way they please.
April 3, 2011's edition of 60 Minutes had a lead story about banks and mortgage fraud depicting forgery and criminal practices.  The lead in to the story was about the doom and gloom of the housing market which really had nothing to do with the story.  Yes, it is true that the signs are there for some difficult times still to come and yes, the housing industry is a direct correlation to mortgages and how we finance the largest purchase of our lives.  That does not give CBS or any other news outlet, be it TV, radio or print the right to sensationalize a story with unrelated rabble rousing prior to a story about something else. 
How do you get the right information?  Talk to a professional that knows.  The company I work for and own, CENTURY 21 Eudan Realty, trains its real estate professionals to not only understand the numbers, but how to explain them. 
For an informative undersatnding of this local information as it pertains to you the home owner, join the movenment by coming to the April edition of the Bergen County Real Estate Market