Many prospective home owners get conned with regard to too good to be true mortgage deals. Mortgage deals that are too good to be true often involve negative amortization. This is when the principal amount you owe goes up every month because you are not even paying the entire amount of the interest on your home. Interest-only mortgages also should be avoided if possible. In an interest-only mortgage the amount you owe never decreases.

Locking In Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates can change on a daily basis. They can go up or they can go down. If you like the mortgage rate that has been offered to you, you should speak to the mortgage broker or the individual handling the mortgage and have the rate locked in. Once the rate is locked it is guaranteed for a specific period of time. You should also make sure you receive the lock-in of your mortgage rate in writing.

Hire The Right Lawyer

Buying a home may be the largest single purchase you make in your lifetime. You should speak to friends, relatives, and do online research to make sure you are hiring an experienced and well thought of attorney. The attorney will be in a position to assist you in through all aspects of your home purchase as well as advise you with regard to the mortgage process.

Foreclosure Lawyers

If you have foreclosures problems, the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo can help you. Our law office represents individuals with regard to all aspects of mortgage modifications and foreclosure related issues. We attend foreclosure settlement court conferences for our clients. We litigate issues concerning defective foreclosures law suits, predatory lending, foreclosure fraud, and other real estate problems. We represent our clients in filing foreclosure related bankruptcies when appropriate. The filing of a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop foreclosures from moving forward. In some situations these bankruptcies can eliminate second mortgages, stop debt collection practices and eliminate creditor harassment. At the end of the bankruptcy process we can assist our clients in reestablishing credit. Call us for a free consultation. We can help you save your home!

Applying for a mortgage can be a complex process. How much to ask for, how much you will qualify for, getting approved and closing on the sale of a home can be difficult to say the least. There are a number of potential problems that you should avoid when looking to obtain a mortgage. Here a list of some of those problems.

Credit Check

First thing you should do before applying for a mortgage is buy a credit report for yourself. This can be easily obtained online. You should ascertain what you credit score is. If your credit score is low there are procedures that can be taken to raise your credit score.

Maintaining Assets

Banks will look to the assets you have in your checking and savings accounts when you apply for a mortgage. Should a family member, friend, or loved one be making a cash contribution towards the down payment it would be in your interest to let those funds stay in your account for a period of time to boost up your standing with the bank you apply for a mortgage with. Underwriters do not like to see transfers of funds into your bank account shortly before you apply for a mortgage. They will think it is fishy!

Steady Employment

Mortgage underwriters like to see that you have a stable job. Individuals who frequently change jobs have difficulty in obtaining mortgages. It is less problematic if you are moving within the same general field. Mortgage lenders do not like to see individuals recently making a career change and then applying for a mortgage.

Total Housing Payments

Many potential homeowners do not understand what compromises a mortgage payment. Mortgage payments consist of principle, interest, taxes and insurance on the dwelling. New homeowners often make the mistake and only think about the cost of the repayment of the principle and interest on their home. They do not take into consideration property taxes, interest and insurance payments.

Don’t Apply For New Credit And Then Apply For A Mortgage

Mortgages lenders do not take kindly to individuals applying for other types of credit at the same time they’re applying for a mortgage. In an underwriters eyes this makes you a greater risk a credit default. If you should be applying for new credit cards or personal loans at the time you are applying for a mortgage the duplicate applications may have a negative impact on your credit report.

Hire Experienced Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo are currently litigating numerous foreclosure defense cases throughout the metropolitan New York area. For more then 45 years the law firm has been representing individuals with financial difficulties. The first step in a foreclosure lawsuit is to put in a written answer. Affirmative defenses such as defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, foreclosure fraud, defective mortgages and a variety of other real estate based defenses can be plead depending on the circumstances involved in the case.

After an answer is submitted, the court will schedule a foreclosure settlement conference. At the conference the court will seek to have the parties amicably resolve the case. The court will inquire as to whether mortgage modifications have been applied for. Our law firm’s experienced in handling foreclosure defense cases for numerous clients has established the firm as being one of the premier foreclosure defense law firms on the East Coast of the United States. We have an excellent success rate in keeping our clients in their homes. Feel free to call our law office to discuss your foreclosure defense options.

Are you losing your home? Certainly this would make you unhappy, but can it make you sick? A recent study shows that the foreclosure crisis is having more than just an economic toll on Americans. It is making Americans sicker! Janet Curry, co-author of a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research states “our findings prove that yet again economic well being and physical well being are connected. The foreclosure crisis is having a significant impact on mental health as well as on a wide range of preventable conditions that are susceptible to stress.”

Studies Regarding Foreclosures and Health Problems

Researchers conducted studies in California, Arizona, Florida and New Jersey. These are states that have significant foreclosures problems. First, the studies showed that for every one hundred foreclosed properties in a community the emergency room and admission rates in local hospitals increased by almost seven and a half percent. This is the greatest areas of increases were related to hypertension and diabetes. Hospital admissions and outpatient care related to anxiety increased to over twelve percent.

Louis Allen, the mental director at the Florida Hospital Center for Behavioral Health stated, “[w]e’ve seen more patients under financial stress whose mood, hypertension and diabetes are worsening. Often these patients feel so overwhelmed they don’t do what they need to do to take care of their conditions.” He stated further that “when stress hormones rises these conditions get worse.” Allen pointed out that “the housing crisis is forcing more families to move in together. This often causes increased friction and arguments. This can lead to the consumption of alcohol, and substance abuse problems, high levels of anxiety and even suicides.”

What To Watch Out For

Financial problems and stress related to these problems can affect virtually every area of your health. They can create eating disorders and sleeping disorders. They can push you into consuming alcohol or other drugs. Individuals under financial stress need healthy outlets for their anxiety. Physical activity, going to a gym and participating in all types of athletic programs are healthy ways of dealing with stress and anxiety. So if you have problems related to your finances, consider seeing a debt counseling center and a therapist. Don’t let your financial problems drive you to drink or other inappropriate activities.

Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy

If you are served with a summons and complaint or threatened with foreclosure you should contact a foreclosure defense lawyer. The foreclosure defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo for more than 45 years have been helping clients deal with foreclosure problems. We submit applications on behalf of our clients for mortgage modifications. We handle forensic audits. We litigate issues such as defective mortgages, defective foreclosure law suits, predatory lending, foreclosure fraud and other real estate related legal problems. We appear in court for foreclosures settlement conferences on behalf of our clients. We also file foreclosures related bankruptcies for our clients.

Bankruptcy

Individuals have two types of bankruptcies they can file, either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is a straight bankruptcy. While a Chapter 13 is a repayment plan of between three and five years. Either of these types of bankruptcies can help. Filing bankruptcy can eliminate second mortgages, stop foreclosures from moving forward, stop debt collection activities and eliminate creditor harassment. At the end of the bankruptcy we can educate you on how you can reestablish your credit. Call our office should have foreclosure or bankruptcy questions or you are worried about losing your home! Our office phone numbers are 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 and 718-350-2802.

New York Senator Chuck Schummer seeks to bring foreign real estate buyers to the United States. He has proposed a new bill in Congress which would allow foreigners to qualify for a resident visa (green card) in the United States if they buy a house in a cash purchase of at least $500,000.00. The purchase also applies to town houses and condos.

Richard Smith, the Chief Executive Officer of Realogy, the parent organization for ERA Realty, Century 21 and Caldwell Banker, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal oppressed the bill proposed by Senator Schummer. Mr. Smith claimed that this was unnecessary because even without any of incentive foreigners are buying American property at record levels.

Between March of 2010 and March of 2011, a little over a trillion dollars was spent on the purchases of existing homes in the United States. Forty one billion dollars of this amount was spent by foreign investors. Foreign investors utilizing the favorable exchange rates purchase many of their homes on an all cash basis.

Schummer’s Bill Helps Housing Industry

Senator Schummer claims that his new proposed bill would have an affirmative affect on creating further demand within the real estate industry in the United States. In addition, this would cost the Federal Government absolutely nothing. Schummer indicated to the Wall Street Journal in an interview, home sales to foreigners would be an excellent way of absorbing the large inventory of unsold homes in the United States.

I think this is an excellent idea. Foreigners with half a million dollars in cash to put down for a home would likely not only help the housing industry, but have an overall affirmative affect on the economy in general in the United States. Americans have been spending their money overseas fighting wars and investing in foreign countries for decades. I look forward to foreigners spending millions and millions of their dollars here. It’s kind of a pay back situation.

New York Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo help New Yorkers and Long Islanders with regard to keeping their homes should they fall into foreclosure. We represent clients regarding mortgage modification applications. We litigation foreclosure cases and interpose sophisticated answers involving legal defenses, such as defective foreclosure lawsuits, defective mortgages, predatory lending and other related real estate defenses. Our law office has more than 45 years experience in dealing with Federal laws and foreclosure. In some instances foreclosure related bankruptcies are the appropriate way to deal with our client’s needs.

Long Island Bankruptcy Lawyers

Our law office files for our clients, both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The filing of these bankruptcies stops foreclosure from moving forward. Bankruptcy filings also can eliminate second mortgage, stop debt collection activity and gives the clients a fresh start. There are a variety of bankruptcy myths that are not true. One of those is that after filing bankruptcy you will never to be able to reestablish credit. That is not true. We help our clients who file bankruptcy reestablish credit. Call us for a free consultation. We will discuss all your bankruptcy and foreclosure options at our initial meeting.