Monday, June 7, 2010

Will County Foreclosure Mediation

Just hours ago, the Illinois Supreme Court announced a program that will use mediation as a means of possibly reducing the burden of foreclosures in Illinois. The program will begin in the Circuit Court of Will County. Court has proposed this new program as a way to prevent vacant and abandoned homes and to keep families in their homes. The program will require any residential foreclosure complaint to be scheduled for mandatory pre-mediation. The mediation will focus on determining, with an outside mediator, whether or not a loan modification or other resolution can be found. If not, the mediation can be used to facilitate a consent foreclosure or the waiver of any deficiency against the borrower. Lenders will be required to participate in the program in food faith or face sanctions, including the possible dismissal of the foreclosure.

The program will be paid for by an increase in plaintiff's filing fees for each foreclosure from $276 to $426.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Fannie Mae's new rules for post-shortsale buyers

Many people wonder "what is the effect of a short sale on the ability to get a loan in the future"?

Fannie Mae, the company that securitizes mortgage loans, making them more affordable and the entity largely responsible for the guidelines that regulate most conventional mortgages, has provided a bit of an answer. Fannie Mae has released announcement SEL-2010-05 which sets forth the new requirements for home buyers to obtain a new loan if they have participated in a "pre-foreclosure event" (ie. a pre-foreclosure sale, a short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure). Until now, there was no policy on short-sales. The new regulations go into effect on July 1, 2010.

For borrowers with a pre-foreclosure event in their past, there will be a waiting period before a new loan can be obtained. The amount of downpayment provided by the borrower will affect the length of the waiting period. The periods are as follows:

20% downpayment - 2 years
10% downpayment - 4 years
less than 10% downpayment - 7 years

The waiting period begins upon the completion date of the pre-foreclosure event. In addition, after 2 years with 90% LTV and with extenuating circumstances, a lender may be able to obtain an exception to the waiting period.

Guidelines can change on a regular basis, but for know, property owners considering a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure will at least have an idea of some of the consequences of the pre-foreclosure event.