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You and the "mortgage crisis". Facing Foreclosure?

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Contributed by: Terry Shattuck on 1/18/2008

By now, we all know about the "Housing Crisis" that has left so many homeowners facing foreclosure or huge increases in their mortgage payments.

Ultimately, you are responsible for your own actions and your own misery, but I do have some sympathy for the young and trusting people who put themselves in the hands of sharks. The trouble is overblown in the press, but it is by no means over. The problem now, is that people are turning to the very sorts of scammers who got them into trouble, for solutions to their problems. Will it ever end!? When will people wake up and really look out for their own interests?

I can very honestly state that NONE of my former clients are in this sort of bind! Why, because I have steadfastly refused to put my own perceived self-interests above those of my clients. Why, because in my 20 years in local Real Estate, I have always been very conservative and have advised extreme restraint on the part of my buyer clients. I lost a lot of business during the boom years because I would not be complicit in arranging for people to buy way above their means, get involved with negative amortization loans, goofy ARM loans with terrible prepayment terms, no down payment schemes, or speculative Real Estate investments. People felt that I was silly, but now I can sleep at night, knowing that I am responsible for nobody's misery. Of course, most of those who did the most damage to people don't really care anyway, which is why they did, and continue to, push people into deals that any fool would know were not in their best interests.

I have posted detailed warnings all over the Internet, but I don't know how much it helps. Posting warnings on many popular Web sites, such as http://www.Craigslist.org is futile because the very people about whom I am trying to warn folks, have the ability to flag (eliminate) those warnings.

Everything you knew about the foreclosure process in Colorado should be thrown right out the window, due to an entire new system just put into place by the state legislature (effective for foreclosures filed since the beginning of 2008). It provides for a longer period to catch up with payments or "cure" your loan, but also eliminates rights to redemption following a public trustee sale. Consult your Real Estate attorney, about these new procedures.

Here, again, is an article that I wrote a few months back, which outlines options for people who are finding themselves unable to make house payments. Please reread it and use it as a resource for finding help for yourself or friends who are in trouble.

Are you in danger of having your home foreclosed?
Do not get in deeper trouble by dealing with wolves in sheep's clothing!!! There are hundreds of people out there, who would love to get their teeth into you, with all sorts of innocent and friendly SOUNDING schemes. Here is what to do right now.

1. Contact your lender and do your best to work with them. Do not hide from them and hope the problem will go away. Document all correspondence and phone calls. Communicate by fax or certified mail so you have proof.
2. Visit your county's Public Trustee for honest information. In El Paso County go to
http://put.elpasoco.com - they are in charge of the foreclosure process from beginning to end.
Being a public office, they have no ulterior motives.
3. Contact the Pikes Peak Foreclosure Prevention Partnership. 719-444-8833 http://www.ppar.com/ppfpp/default.htm - they are affiliated with the local Association of Realtors in the Colorado Springs area.
4. Check out the website of the El Paso County District Attorney http://dao2.elpasoco.com/scam.asp?ifile=foreclosure
5. Contact the National Consumer Law Center http://www.consumerlaw.org/news/ForeclosureReportFinal.pdf
6. Go to Google and type in the keyword "foreclosure" and you will find some other good sites with quality information. You will also find some with terrible information, so be careful!
7. Contact an Attorney for goodness sake. YOU ARE IN TROUBLE! Deal with shysters, and you will go from the frying pan and into the fire.
8. Get your home on the market while you have a remote chance of selling it, thereby saving your equity (if you have any) and your credit. Do not put your head in the sand!

Right now, Colorado has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. This is largely due to the fact that less than honest and non-caring lenders have been conning people into taking out foolish loans, which they cannot now repay. Interest only loans, negative amortization loans, loans with amounts in excess of property valuation, and even adjustable rate loans, have wreaked havoc on unwitting buyers. Some Financial "advisors", such as one dishonest character who is heard on radio several times per week in Colorado Springs, are telling people that Real Estate values are going thorough the roof (a lie) and that people can get rich in a hurry by taking out interest only loans (through him of course) and make huge profits.

Also see :
· http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061122/foreclosure_rescue_scams.html?.v=1
· http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=158782
· http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/articles/2006/11/22/ara/real_estate/409.txt
· http://www.sharewatch.com/story.php?storynumber=258666
· http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/17/AR2007041701299.html
View the CBS T.V. expose from 7-13-2007- you'll have to watch a Tylenol commercial; so be patient.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3057358n

SEE MY WARNING ARTICLES ON http://coloradosprings.yourhub.com/Central
Terry Shattuck
Re/Max Properties Inc. - Colorado Springs
Terry@ColoSpgsHomes.com
719-632-6806
http://www.ColoradoSpringsHomesOnline.net
http://www.ColoSpgsHome.com
20 years local Real Estate Experience

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Submitted By: James Oberhofer

posted on 1/18/2008 @ 6:27:56 PM

Rated Story

I've read some of Mr. Shattuck's contributions before, and I'm always impressed. He's an advocate for his clients, and he knows that putting their best interests above his own is just good business practice. I'd like to see more of what he has to say in the Hub.

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Terry Shattuck

Colorado Springs , CO

Terry Shattuck has posted 67 stories and 14 comments since joining on 9/27/2006. Terry Shattuck 's average story rating is 4.

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