The Law Office of Monica T. Centeno, Las Vegas bankruptcy attorney.　

Because credit reports contain information about you, it only seems fair that you should have the opportunity to examine these reports for accuracy and truthfulness. Fortunately, Congress agrees with this. Therefore, the FCRA guarantees you access to the information contained within your credit reports. Credit reports aren’t required to show you the actual report that they send to creditors, but they’ll generally allow you access to most of the information.

There are several ways for you to get your credit reports for free. First, everyone is entitled to a free report from consumer reporting agencies every 12 months. In addition, you can get free credit reports if someone used the credit report to deny you something. Finally, you can get free credit reports pursuant to state law in several states. Let’s look at each of these methods.

Among other things, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (“FACTA”) requires consumer reporting agencies to provide a free consumer report to consumers every 12 months. This applies to all consumer reporting agencies, including the Big 3 and the specialty consumer reporting agencies.

To comply with FACTA, the Big 3 – Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union, set up one central web site, one toll-free number, and one mailing address through which you can order your free credit reports.

The easiest way to get your free credit reports from the Big 3 is to order them online at the centralized web site – www.annualcreditreport.com. At this site, you can order one, two, or all three credit reports. You must provide your name, Social Security Number, and date of birth. In addition, for privacy purposes, each credit bureau will request identification information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment or when you opened an account.

(www.annualcreditreport.com is the only web site authorized to provide free credit reports from the Big 3 pursuant to FACT. There are many web sites that have sprung up to take advantage of consumers seeking to get their free credit reports. These sites typically have similar sounding names, but then attempt to sell you reports or credit monitoring services. Don’t get fooled by this!)

You can also request your free credit reports by telephone, by calling 1-877-322-8228.

Finally, you can order your free credit reports by mail. To do this, you must mail the “Annual Credit Report Request Form” to the following address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service

P.O. Box 105281

Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

The FCRA provides that you are entitled to a free credit report if some “adverse action” was taken against you, based at least in part, on the credit report. This could include having a request for credit, insurance, employment or rental housing denied. It could also include a current creditor’s action in raising your interest rate or lowering your credit limit.

Whoever took the adverse action against you must tell you why, and give you the name and address of the credit bureau that supplied the credit report. Then, you have 60 days to request a free credit report from that credit bureau.

In addition, you are entitled to a free credit report for the following reasons:

(1) You certify in writing that that you are unemployed but that you intend to apply for employment within the next 60 days;

(2) You are a recipient of public welfare assistance;

(3) You have reason to believe that your credit file contains inaccurate information due to fraud; or,

(4) You have received a notice from a debt collection agency affiliated with that credit bureau that your credit rating may be, or has been, adversely affected.

For your use, we have included sample letters that request your credit reports for free in Diagrams 5-2 and 5-3.

Some states have laws that allow you to get additional free credit reports. At this time, if you are a resident of Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, or Vermont, you are entitled to one free credit report from each of the Big 3 during any 12-month period. This is over and above the free credit report that you’re entitled to receive under FACT. And, if you’re a resident of Georgia, you’re entitled to TWO free credit reports each year, over and above your free FACT credit report.

If you’ve already received your free credit report under FACT, and it’s been less than 12 months since you received it, and you’re not entitled to a free report for some other reason under FACT or state laws, then you’ll need to pay for additional reports. How much you pay varies by state. For your reference, I’ve included a current chart of fees, by credit bureau and state. (But remember, these fees may change, so make sure that you check with each credit bureau before you order your report from any of the credit bureaus. For the current fees, assuming that the web sites don’t change, check these sites:

https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/consumer/sitepage.ehtml?forward=elearning_credit14 (Equifax);

http://www.experian.com/credit_report_basics/check_your_credit.html (Experian);

http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/tu/stateDisclosure/stateSelection.jsp (TransUnion).

To order your credit reports, other than your free credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com, contact the credit bureaus with the following contact information:

Equifax

You can order your Equifax credit report online at the following address: www.equifax.com. For now, just order your “Equifax Credit Report.” Don’t order any of the other products – I’ll tell you why in a later chapter.

If you’re requesting a free or reduced fee credit report, you cannot order you’re your report online. Equifax charges a $10.00 “service fee” for accessing your report online. Therefore, you’ll need to order you report by phone or mail.

You can order your Equifax credit report by phone by calling 1-800-685-1111.

You can order your Equifax credit report by mail. Make sure you include with your request your full name, current address, Social Security Number, and most recent former address, and if applicable, a check made payable to “Equifax Information Services LLC”, based on your state’s fee. Send your request to:

Equifax Information Services LLC

P.O. Box 740241

Atlanta, GA 30374

You can order your Experian credit report online at the following address: www.experian.com/reportaccess/. You CAN order a free or reduced fee credit report online. For now, don’t order any other products, just your credit report.

You can order your Experian credit report by phone by calling 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742).

You can order your Experian credit report by mail. Make sure you include with your request your full name, current address, Social Security Number, and most recent and former addresses within the last two years. Experian also requests that you enclose with your request a government issued identification card, a driver’s license, for example, and a copy of a recent utility bill. If applicable, send a check made payable to “Experian” based on your state’s fee. Send your request to:

Experian

P.O. Box 2104

Allen, TX 75013

You can order your Trans Union credit report online at the following address: www.transunion.com. You CAN order a free or reduced fee credit report online. For now, don’t order any other products, just your credit report. (Of course, trying to order JUST your credit report, without other add-on products, is very difficult. Try these addresses if you have problems:

http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/tu/disclosure/disclosure.jsp?loc=1470

http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/tu/disclosure/order.jsp?package=TransUnionPaidDisclosure

You can order your Trans Union credit report by calling 1-800-888-4213.

You can order your Trans Union credit report by mail. Make sure you include with your request your full name, current address, Social Security Number, most recent and former addresses within the last two years, date of birth, current employer, phone number, and signature. If applicable, send a check made payable to “TransUnion LLC” based on your state’s fee. Send your request to:

TransUnion LLC

P.O. Box 1000

Chester, PA 19022

Immediately upon filing for bankruptcy the bankruptcy court will issue an order that stops all collections efforts against you. If the phone is ringing off the hook night and day, this will stop, immediately giving you some peace in your home life. For many the constant ringing of the phone is not only annoying but a constant reminder of the difficult situation they are in. Bankruptcy stop this immediately! If you are being sued or facing a wage garnishment, this too will immediately stop. Whether it be a chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy, it will give you a chance to catch your breath and deal with your debt situation in an orderly manner.

Bankruptcy does offer a fresh start. Sometimes financial situations get so bad that it is best to wipe the slate clean. Bankruptcy, particularly a chapter 7 bankruptcy, will allow you to eliminate most of your unsecured debts (like credit card bills and medical debts) and allow you to rededicate yourself to better financial management. Bankruptcy has its own set of consequences but the opportunity to start over debt free often out weights the negative consequences of bankruptcy.

Today, February 14^th 2011,  I’m offering $250 off my normal fee. As always I’m available for a free consultation. I do work weekends and have evening appointments available. Call me today and mention this ad.  702-966-0688

The new Unemployed Program (UP) starts August 1, 2010, and it requires lenders to reduce or suspend payments for at least three months for eligible borrowers. It is at the lender’s discretion to extend the forbearance, and the program ends once the borrower gets a new job.

According to Supplemental Directive 10-04, mortgage servicers are required to offer an Unemployment Program forbearance plan to a borrower who meets the following criteria:

1. The mortgage loan is secured by a one- to four-unit property, one unit of which is the borrower’s principal residence.

2. The mortgage loan is a first-lien mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009.

3. The current unpaid principal balance of the mortgage loan is equal to or less than $729,750 for a single-family property. Higher loan amounts apply to two- to four-unit dwellings.

4. The mortgage is delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable.

5. The mortgage loan has not been previously modified under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the borrower has not previously received an UP forbearance
period.

6. The borrower must make a request before the first mortgage lien is seriously delinquent (before three monthly payments are due and unpaid).

7. The request for the Unemployment Program may be made by phone, mail, or email. Loan servicers must document the date of the request in the servicing file and confirm receipt of the request with the borrower via email or return mail within 10 business days.

8. The borrower must be unemployed at the date of the request and can document that he or she will receive unemployment benefits in the month of the forbearance period effective date even if unemployment benefits will expire before the end of the forbearance period.

Your loan servicer can require that you receive unemployment benefits for three months before the forbearance period begins. And you won’t qualify if your total monthly mortgage payment is less than or equal to 31 percent of your monthly gross income, including unemployment benefits.

Also, servicers are not required to offer you the Unemployment Program if a household member who is not a borrower becomes unemployed, even if that income contributed to the mortgage payment.

In other words, if you’re the borrower but depend on income from your spouse, partner, parent, or child to make your payments and that person loses his or her job, you won’t qualify for the program.

You also won’t qualify if your mortgage, taxes, insurance, and homeowners’ association fee is equal to or less than 31 percent of your gross monthly household income, including unemployment insurance.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has approved five state-designed plans to help homeowners as part of a $1.5 billion effort to assist areas slammed by the housing bust.

Treasury Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decisions had not yet been made public, said plans for Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada had received approval.

The states estimate that the plans are projected to help up to 93,000 homeowners. That’s a small part of the administration’s main existing $75 billion mortgage assistance program, which is widely viewed as a disappointment.

President Barack Obama unveiled the state assistance effort in February. Since then, state agencies have designed their own approaches, largely focused on borrowers who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth or those who have lost their jobs.

Officials say the state efforts could be used to make changes to the administration’s broader mortgage assistance plan. The state agencies are planning to work with local housing groups to put the plans in place.

The states were picked because they experienced at least a 20 percent decline in home prices. The programs, which vary by state, will help borrowers who have lost jobs make mortgage payments, cancel second mortgages that have blocked loan modifications and assist with the payment of piled-up mortgage bills.

According to the proposals from state housing finance agencies, the largest recipient of the funding is California, which will get nearly $700 million to assist about 46,000 borrowers.

Florida is getting the second-largest pot of money, $418 million. That will help about 12,500 borrowers.

Michigan will receive about $155 million to assist 17,000 borrowers, while Arizona will receive $125 million for 12,000 borrowers. Nevada will receive $103 million for about 5,000 homeowners.

Besides these states, the Obama administration is providing an additional $600 million in financial support to help homeowners in states with high rates of unemployment.

Those states — Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon and Rhode Island — have submitted plans to the Treasury Department. They are being reviewed now, with approvals expected in August.

The Obama administration has rolled out numerous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis, which have met with limited success.

More than a third of the 1.2 million borrowers who have enrolled in the Obama administration’s main mortgage modification program have dropped out, officials said this week. About 340,000 homeowners, or 27 percent of those who started the program, have received permanent loan modifications and are making payments on time.

By August 1, all mortgage servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program will offer extra help for homeowners struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments because of unemployment. The Unemployment Program will offer homeowners a forbearance period to temporarily reduce or suspend their monthly mortgage payments while they seek re-employment. 

The minimum forbearance period is three months, although a mortgage servicer may extend it depending on the investor and regulator guidelines. If a homeowner becomes re-employed in that time, the forbearance period will end and the homeowner will be evaluated for a mortgage modification under the Making Home Affordable Program. Unemployment benefits will no longer qualify as income for the mortgage modification program.

During the forbearance period, a homeowner’s monthly mortgage payment must be reduced to no more than 31 percent (or less) of their gross monthly income. The servicer can decide to temporarily suspend payments in full. The payment amount and due dates will be decided by the servicer depending on investor and regulator guidelines.

To qualify, a homeowner must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The mortgage must be a first lien mortgage, originated on or before January 1, 2009, and the unpaid principal balance must be equal to or less than $729,750 for a one-unit property.
• The property must be the homeowner’s principal residence.
• The mortgage has not been previously modified through a Home Affordable Modification.
• The homeowner was ineligible for a Home Affordable Modification.
• The homeowner is either behind on payments (but not by more than three consecutive months) or it is reasonably forseeable that the homeowner will fall behind.
• The total monthly mortgage payment is greater than 31 percent of the homeowner’s gross monthly income. If the payment is less, it is up to the servicer’s discretion if they will offer the program to the homeowner.
• The homeowner will be unemployed at the start of the forbearance period, and is able to document this because they will be receiving unemployment benefits in the month the forbearance period begins (even if the benefits expire before the forbearance period ends).

A mortgage servicer may require that, based on investor and regulator guidelines, homeowners have received at least three months of unemployment benefits before they begin a forbearance period.

There is no cost to apply to the Unemployment Program, although late charges may accrue while the homeowner is being evaluated for the program or in the program. A mortgage servicer may not collect late charges from the homeowner while they are still in the forbearance period.

Servicers may not initiate foreclosure proceedings or conduct a foreclosure sale while a homeowner is being evaluated for the Unemployment Program or in the forbearance period.

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Short sale seminars help sellers, buyers

By GINA B. GOOD
PVT

Two community short sale seminars were hosted Saturday by real estate professions at the Basin Avenue campus of Great Basin College.

A short sale is selling short of what is owned on the mortgage.

“One of the things we have noticed over the last several months in Pahrump is that our listings have changed dramatically to short sales,” said iRealty sales agent and broker Lisa Bond. “We recognize there is a big change in the type of housing inventory. Buyers will probably be dealing with short sales.”

Bond explained that in today’s market, “You can buy a house for about half of what it costs to build a new house.”

That means homeowners who want to sell their homes must work with their banks and mortgage companies to establish their eligibility to sell their home for less than is owed on their notes. In some cases, holders of second mortgages will also consider a short sale.

Monica T. Centeno, who worked in the mortgage industry before becoming an attorney, told seminar attendees that after a foreclosure, a bank has six months to pursue (i.e., sue) a homeowner for what is owed on the mortgage. However, a second mortgage holder has six years to pursue a former homeowner for any deficiency. “That’s a long time to be waiting for the other shoe to drop,” she said.

“Nobody gets paid in a short sale,” said Centeno.

The most important item to write into the contract of a short sale between a homeowner and a mortgage holder is that the financial institution will not come after the homeowner at a later date for the remainder of the mortgage amount that is not covered in the sale of the home.

Bond agreed with Centeno, saying “If you are selling your house for far less than what you owe, as the seller, you will not leave the sale with any money because you are short the amount of money you owe.”

There are also considerations such as closing costs to consider.

“Some banks will satisfy the debt, but there could be tax liabilities involved,” Centeno said. Home sellers must contact their tax consultant in a short sale to protect themselves.

Centeno answered attendees’ questions about bankruptcy home sales, credit scores, assumable loans (there aren’t any) and answered questions such as: Must a homeowner have late mortgage payments to qualify for a principle reduction.

“Our goal is to provide information to sellers, buyers and agents,” said Bond. “The real estate market is so volatile now … Agents also need to keep up to date. We are the experts in the community, but as Realtors, we can’t go beyond our scope of licensing.”

Bond believes the more informed the buyer and seller are, the less confusion there will be surrounding sales of homes in foreclosure and due to bankruptcy.

“You will not get financing for another home until four years after a bankruptcy,” said Centeno. “After a foreclosure, you can get financing in five years” if your income qualifies and you have kept current on bills. “A short sale can be valuable,” she added. “You can get home financing in just three years after a short sale.”

While the short sale process for sellers can take months to complete, giving buyers numerous reasons to back out or just buy another home, Centeno said, “A lot of banks are getting more on board with the process.”

Bond works with Cow County Title Co. to keep the business and expertise in the community. She said most people are so attached to their homes, they are not realistic when it comes to its value, or lack thereof, in today’s market.

“It doesn’t matter what amenities you added,” she said. “Your cherry wood cabinets, travertine floors and granite counter tops don’t count for much … You could have all new appliances and every conceivable upgrade, but it just doesn’t matter.”

Attendees at the seller’s seminar were shaking their heads in dismay when Bond told the group of about 20 that “it doesn’t make a difference how much money you put into your house.” She said landscaping adds no value in an appraisal “because it can die.” Rock landscaping, on the other hand, can add to an appraisal because it is considered permanent.

According to Bond, overpricing helps the competition sell a home because it sends interested buyers to other properties and extends the time a home is on the market.

“An overpriced home takes more time to sell and usually sells below market value. An overpriced home won’t be appraised at the higher value, which will further delay a sale,” said Bond.

In answer to a question about selling the home to a relative, Bond said a short sale “has to be at arm’s length, it cannot be sold to a relative, not even when that relative has cash.”

Bond has been selling homes in Pahrump since 2003. She teaches the 90-hour real estate pre-licensing class for the state at Great Basin College.

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http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2010/04/07/bank-of-america-promises-faster-loan-modifications-nyse-bac/

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) says that it will respond to mortgage modification requests by customers and credit counselors within 72 hours, under a new program that is expected to launch within the next 90 days, according to a new report from the Charlotte Observer.

“From a customer experience perspective, we have to do better,” Rebecca Mairone, Bank of America’s national default servicing executive, told a group of counselors today.

Mairone said that under the “Kept Informed Routines,” or KIRs, “customers won’t wait more than 72 hours for answers,” during the Charlotte, NC gathering that attracted about 100 consumer advocates, community activists and financial counselors who work with people attempting to get modifications.

Currently, many homeowners are waiting for weeks and months to get responses from Bank of America.

The Charlotte event was the first as part of a tour featuring U.S. Treasury officials, bankers, counselors and advocates, to discuss what is working and what isn’t working about the government’s Home Mortgage Affordable Program (HAMP).

Mairone said that the bank is investing millions in the effort and will add 1,000 new employees by the end of the year in its loan modification and related divisions. She added that senior employees are being transitioned into the modifications unit and that the the bank is expanding its outreach efforts, including attempting to reach borrowers in person.

“My pledge is that Bank of America is going to be out there more,” Mairone said. Speaking with a community activist after the session, she said: “I want you to see and feel the difference.”

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