• Can you no longer afford the mortgage payments on your Colorado Springs home?
• Are you afraid your bank will foreclose on your home?
• Do you want to KEEP your home?

If you answered “YES” to these questions, you may be able to get help.

Here are some tips for possibly lowering your mortgage payment, avoiding foreclosure and KEEPING your home.

1. DO NOT PAY ANYONE to help you “modify” your mortgage.

Unfortunately, in times like these, there are “scammers” out there trying to take advantage of Colorado Springs homeowners in desperate situations. They charge and up front “fee” and then RARELY (if ever) follow through with helping the homeowner. Now the homeowner is out even MORE cash and may still lose their home to foreclosure.

Read the FTC Report: Federal and State Agencies Crack Down on Mortgage Modification and Foreclosure Rescue Scams

If you are interested in possibly modifying your loan to a payment/interest rate that you can better afford, YOU need to call your bank YOURSELF … for FREE. (Or see Below: Don’t Know Where to Start?]

If you think you have been the victim of a loan modification scam, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission: Visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Check out  our Colorado Springs Real Estate and Mortgage Scams and Fraud Section

2. Contact your bank and ask about refinancing to a lower rate or modifying your mortgage.

Specifically, you may qualify for the Making Home Affordable Act if your loan was insured by Freddie Mac (www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage) or Fannie Mae (www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup):

From their site:

Refinancing
Many homeowners pay their mortgages on time but are not able to refinance to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates perhaps due to a decrease in the value of their home.

Modification
Many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments perhaps because their interest rate has increased or they have less income.

For More Information, Visit their Site: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/

3. Contact Your Congressman.

“Several lawmakers whose districts are drowning in foreclosures are taking unprecedented steps to help people stay in their homes, including picking up the phone themselves to negotiate with banks on behalf of their constituents.” – Can’t refinance? Call your congressman (MSNBC 6/5/2009)

If you live in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District (to include Colorado Springs, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Monument, Canon City, Woodland Park, etc.) your congressman is Representative Doug Lamborn.

Be ready to share the details of your situation and how you think he may be able to help. Have all your loan information available as well as a record of all the attempts YOU made that the bank denied or ignored.

How to Contact the Congressman for Colorado Springs (and the rest of the 5th Congressional District)

Doug Lamborn

Don’t Know Where to Start?

If you are overwhelmed and don’t kow where to start … Call the FREE Colorado Foreclosure Hotline:

1-877-601-4673

“The Colorado Foreclosure Hotline connects borrowers with non-profit housing counselors who can provide information on a borrower’s options when facing foreclosure. Counselors can also act as [FREE] facilitators for communication between lenders and borrowers.” - Colorado Department of Local Affairs

Last Resorts – If you cannot refinance or modify the mortgage on your Colorado Springs home, but still want to avoid foreclosure, you may want to consider either SELLING your home (short sale) or renting it out. If this is the case, act immediately. Call us for a FREE, no-obligation, confidential consultation regarding your current situation.

We are a team of Certified Distressed Property Experts and have an EXCELLENT track record of helping folks sell their home to avoid foreclosure:  1.719.434.7525

Times are … interesting. We wish you the best of luck in your situation.

… and don’t forget to breathe.

Thanks for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog!
Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Pictures of Colorado Springs
(719) 434-7525