If no one tells these homeowners of their options, they simply don't know and therefore are at the mercy of the bank.
Seattle, Washington (PRWEB) January 21, 2014
Jonathan Smith, lead attorney and owner of Advantage Legal Group in Bellevue, Washington talks with New Day correspondent Margaret Larson on the potential foreclosures in 2014 for Washington state. Smith says that although the real estate market is strong in Western Washington there are a projected 24,000 potential foreclosures on the horizon for 2014. Advantage Legal Group sees many homeowners that must foreclosure due to circumstances beyond their control.
On a recent episode of New Day, a local resident was forced into retirement due to age and because of an ARM ( adjustable-rate mortgage) monthly mortgage payments became unable to pay. Smith says, " Many people try for loan modifications through their bank and because of missing paperwork, additional information, or plain misuse of documents, are often denied."
Smith says that many people are simply unaware of the Washington state foreclosure fairness act and because banks are not required to inform borrowers of this act, many are forced into foreclosure. " Banks simply avoid the topic altogether," says Smith. " once banks know that other attorneys are involved it helps them come to the table and renegotiate or provide an alternative to foreclosure. We were able to get our clients payment down from $2000 per month to $800 per month. These payments are first set up on a trial mod term in order to verify that the borrower can make the payment and then it converts to a permanent payment to the life of the loan."
Unfortunately, many Washington state homeowners are unaware of this fairness act that must be explained and carried out by a housing counselor or attorney. Advantage Legal Group has been assisting Washington state homeowners obtain modifications and negotiations with banks for several years.
