Currently faced with the threat of home foreclosure? Well, if this is the case then you would be very glad to know that there are a few ways of preventing this from continuing. At the moment, you have two very viable solutions. The first of which is to negotiate with your lender and figure out if there is a way of delaying the procedure or completely stopping it. Most of the time, being very honest about your current financial situation helps. However, if this doesn’t work then you can always take out a stop foreclosure loan from your local bank. Doing so would provide you with the money that you need in order to pay off your mortgage and stop the foreclosure sale on your home. Do keep in mind, however, that there are certain requirements that must be met before you qualify for this type of loan. But what happens if none of the above mentioned works for you? What options do you have then? In such cases, you might want to turn to your government help to stop foreclosure.

To help you understand better, here are four things that you ought to know about.

1. Mortgage Modification Program – This plan was introduced by President Obama’s office and was also recent revamped in order to accommodate a more efficient processing and approval system. This would basically homeowners to make changes when it comes to the terms and conditions as well as interest rates of their current mortgage loans together with their lenders as a way of making them more affordable and flexible. Before the modification, this was rather difficult to apply for but with all the changes made, you’ll find it much easier nowadays.

2. Financial Assistance – Were you aware that the government has actually initiated programs through its various agencies that would provide people with financial assistance if they are currently facing home foreclosure? A good example of such programs would be the FHA Secure Refinance Program. Even though it is fairly new, it would actually allow homeowners to change their Adjustable Rate Mortgage to a Fixed Rate Loan. More information can be found online by visiting the Department of Housing and Urban Development Website.

3. Project Lifeline – This is a program which was created by the federal government as a means of assisting homeowners who are currently overcome by complications from their mortgage troubles including home foreclosure. Basically, project lifeline would actually buy you time to sort out your finances and think about your next move. How are they going to do that? Well, they would negotiate the postponement of any foreclosure proceedings against you. This way, you can have a good think and formulate a good plan.

4. Counseling – The government also offers counseling for individuals and families who might be suffering from the mental effects that going through a foreclosure can cause. After all, when it comes to these things, you want to remain as stable as you can in order to get through the ordeal.

So there you have it, just a few ways through which the government help to stop foreclosure.

A marketing plan is your road map to get from where you are to where you want to be. If you haven’t taken the time to put one together for your real estate business, consider taking a few minutes today to draw one up. A marketing plan will help you focus on your most critical tasks to grow your business while saving you time and money. Here are six easy steps for creating your marketing strategy.

1) Review your business. What were your key metrics for last year (sales commissions, listings taken, listings sold, number of clients, etc)? What were your successes? What do you want to improve?

2) Decide where you want to be. What do you want to accomplish over the next year? Based on last year’s performance, what key metrics do you want to hit? Be specific. How much will you make? How often will you work? What types of clients do you want to attract?

3) Review your performance. Which marketing activities are bringing in business? Which are a waste of money and can be cut out? What marketing activities should you invest in, such as publishing a monthly newsletter, developing your online marketing strategy, or doing more business networking?

4) Select your marketing tactics. It can take seven to ten contacts with someone before they hire you. Plan for it. What is the step-by-step process you will implement to convert a complete stranger into a paying client? What marketing tactics will you use to:

* Market to strangers: How will you attract the attention of those people who have never heard of you?

* Market to suspects: How will you follow up with people who have opted in to receive more information but you haven’t yet talked with one-on-one?

* Market to prospects: How will you sell your services to those who contact you?

5) Schedule your activities. Now that you know what needs to be done, schedule your activities in your calendar. What activities will you do each week? For instance:

* Strangers – Run weekly classified ads.

* Suspects – Publish a weekly email newsletter.

* Prospects – Follow up with phone calls, mailed letters and emails.

* Clients/Past Clients – Take a past client out for coffee each week.

* Referral Network – Subscribe to blogs, newsletters, and social media channels where colleagues interact. Each day, post a new comment on someone’s blog or engage with them on Twitter/Facebook.

6) Schedule a monthly review. Block off a few hours each month to review your marketing calendar and your goals. Are you hitting your targets? What is or isn’t working? What do you need to modify to achieve your goals?

NEW YORK — The amount of Americans who possess homes fell in the second quarter of the year to the lowest stage since 1999, said a government review released Tuesday.

The poll department said the home ownership rate fell to 66.9% in the second quarter of 2010, downward half a percentage point from the preceding year. The home ownership rate was 67.1% in the first quarter of the year.In the second quarter rates were maximum in the Midwest, where 70.8% of people are homeowners, and buck in the West, where 61.4% of people own.

Rates in the South and West were lower than a year ago, while the Northeast and Midwest stayed the same.

Vacancies: Almost 86% of U.S. homes were occupied in the second quarter, with owner-occupied housing comprising 57.3% of all housing units. Renter-occupied homes were 28.3% of all units.

A separate report released Tuesday, the Case-Shiller catalog, showed home prices rose 1.3% in May compared with the previous month.

NEW YORK — Memorize how everybody complained that banks weren’t doing sufficient to help concerned borrowers?

Banks have realized that foreclosing on home after home after residence may not be in anyone’s best interest — least of all their own. So they’ve ramped up the number of loan modifications they’re handing out to their criminal clients.

Banks are doing nearly two times as many modifications under their own foreclosure prevention initiatives than under the Obama administration’s signature Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP.
But before homeowners celebrate, they should take a close look at the terms of their bank modification offers, consumer advocates say. Many may not be as good as HAMP, which lowers monthly payments to 31% of pre-tax income.

We don’t know if they are sustainable based on the monthly payment,” said John Snyder, manager of foreclosure prevention programs at national Works America, adding banks don’t discharge a lot of information about their modifications. “We’re not sure what to think.”

sinking interest and principal
Banks have long come under fire not doing sufficient to help troubled homeowners, particularly when the mortgage emergency started spinning out of control in 2007. Many loan servicers initially addressed the problem by tacking on the missed payments, which only increased strapped homeowners‘ monthly load.

Obama administration is providing $3 billion to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation’s toughest job markets.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday it will send $2 billion to 17 states that have redundancy rates higher than the national average for a year. They will use the money for programs to aid unemployed homeowners. Some of those states have already designed such programs.
Another $1 billion will go to a new program being run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It will offer homeowners with emergency zero-interest rate loans of up to $50,000 for up to two years.
The administration was required to launch the HUD disaster loan program by the financial dictatorial bill signed by President Barack Obama last month.
The Treasury is using money from the $700 billion Wall Street post security to pay its share of the program. Officials said they won’t know until next month how many people are likely to be helped.
California will get the largest share of money for the Treasury program, at $476 million. Florida is in line for nearly $239 million. Illinois will receive $166 million and Ohio will receive $149 million.

Pending home sales have risen for three consecutive months, reflecting the broad impact of the home buyer tax credit and favorable housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 6.0 percent to 110.9 based on contracts signed in April, from an upwardly revised 104.6 in March, and is 22.4 percent higher than April 2009 when it was 90.6. That follows gains of 7.1 percent in March and 8.3 percent in February.

Pending home sales are at the highest level since last October when the index reached 112.4 and first-time buyers were rushing to beat the initial deadline for the tax credit. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said this second round of surging sales from the tax credit extension looks as strong as the original tax credit. “There were concerns that only a small pool of buyers were left to take advantage of the tax credit extension. But evidently the tax stimulus, combined with improved consumer confidence and low mortgage interest rates, are contributing to surging sales,” he said. “The housing market has to get back on its own feet and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs.” NAR expects a net of 1 million additional jobs in the second half of this year and about 2 million in 2011.

“The home buyer tax credit brought close to 1 million additional buyers into the market, which is now helping the trade-up market and has significantly improved the inventory situation. This stabilized home prices more quickly and has preserved about $900 billion in home equity; in turn, that is keeping additional households from going underwater and risking foreclosure,” Yun said.

The PHSI in the Northeast jumped 29.5 percent to 97.9 in April and is 24.5 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 4.1 percent to 104.2 and is 17.9 percent above April 2009. Pending home sales in the South slipped 0.6 percent to an index of 123.9, but is 31.3 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the index rose 7.5 percent to 107.9 and is 12.0 percent higher than April 2009.

“A big concern surfacing recently is insufficient time to close the deal at the settlement table. Under normal circumstances, two months would be enough time from contract signing to settlement date,” Yun said. “However, the recent housing cycle has brought long delays related to the short sales approval process by banks, and from ongoing appraisal issues. There could be a sizable number of homebuyers who responded to tax credit incentives, but may encounter problems meeting the settlement deadline by June 30.” Because of these market challenges, NAR has asked Congress to provide flexibility on the deadline for closing.

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Facing Foreclosure? or looking to buy a foreclosed home?

* Home Foreclosure Defense Secrets
This program is a necessity for any homeowner facing foreclosure or even just behind on their mortgage. Foreclosure Defense Secrets was written by a foreclosure attorney and reveals all of the legal tricks that the banks dont want the public to know. How to avoid foreclosure
* Pre-Foreclosure Acquisitions
Foreclosures are at an all time high, now is the time to get involved. We’ll show you what it means to take over a loan rather than needing to qualify. Now it is just as easy to get into your own home, as it is to get into a rental. Homes for sale by owner facing foreclosure are often available at distress sale prices – More Details on buying a home in foreclosure