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Navigating the ever-evolving housing market can be tricky and overwhelming. Buy-Save-Your-Home is committed to all aspects of mortgage help – including education. Feel free to navigate our site to educate yourself, search keywords to find your question’s subject, or simply browse through our FAQs.
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FAQs
What is foreclosure?
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender attempts to recover the amount owed on a defaulted loan by taking ownership of and selling the mortgaged property. Typically, default is triggered when a borrower misses a specific number of monthly payments, but it can also happen when the borrower fails to meet other terms in the mortgage document.
Learn more about the foreclosure process…
What is forbearance?
Forbearance is when your mortgage servicer or lender allows you to temporarily pay your mortgage at a lower payment or pause paying your mortgage. You will have to pay the payment reduction or the paused payments back later.
Learn more about loan forbearance…
What is bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding involving a person or business that is unable to repay its outstanding debts. The bankruptcy process begins with a petition filed by the debtor, which is most common, or on behalf of creditors, which is less common. All of the debtor’s assets are measured and evaluated, and the assets may be used to repay a portion of outstanding debt.
What is a loan modification?
A loan modification is a change to the original terms of your mortgage loan. Unlike a refinance, a loan modification doesn’t pay off your current mortgage and replace it with a new one. Instead, it directly changes the conditions of your loan.
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What is a HELOC loan?
A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a revolving credit line. A HELOC allows the borrower to take out money against the credit line up to a preset limit, make payments, and then take money out again.
With a home equity loan, the borrower receives the loan proceeds all at once, while a HELOC allows a borrower to tap into the line as needed. The line of credit remains open until its term ends. Since the amount borrowed can change, the borrower’s minimum payments can also change, depending on the credit line’s usage.
What is a short sale?
A short sale in real estate is when a financially distressed homeowner sells their property for less than the amount due on the mortgage. The buyer of the property is a third party (not the bank), and all proceeds from the sale go to the lender. The lender either forgives the difference or gets a deficiency judgment against the borrower requiring them to pay the lender all or part of the difference between the sale price and the original value of the mortgage. In some states, this difference must legally be forgiven in a short sale.
What is a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure?
A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is a document that transfers the title of a property from the property owner to their lender in exchange for being relieved of the mortgage debt.
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What is cash for keys?
Cash for keys is an alternative to eviction. Instead of beginning what can be a lengthy and heated eviction process, property owners offer to pay tenants a sum of money as an incentive to move out by a certain date. In the long run, many proponents find cash for keys to be less costly and more time-efficient than a formal eviction, which can end up involving an attorney and even law enforcement. Really, it can be a win-win situation, as the tenant receives money the help with relocation assistance and the landlord gets the tenant moved out quickly.
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What is the Fair Housing Act?
The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. Additional protections apply to federally-assisted housing.
Learn about the History of the Fair Housing Act, and read Examples of the many forms of housing discrimination.
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