24% of all homeowners in the U.S. (about 11 million) have houses that are “under water.” In other words, the homeowner owes more on the house than what the house is actually worth in today’s slow housing market.
Many of these underwater houses are in Sunbelt States like California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida.
If you’re an under-water homeowner, you have three options:
1.  [...]

There’s intermittent talk in the news about Strategic Defaults, but what is a Strategic Default?
This is when a homeowner with one or more mortgages on a property can afford to make the monthly mortgage payment(s) but chooses not to, because today’s value of the house is less than the total amount owed on the mortgage(s).
Some homeowners view whether or not to strategically default as a [...]

Loan modifications are often used to generically describe several things that happen with mortgages. In fact, repayment plans are often called Loan Modifications.
The best example of this are the Hope Now Loan Modifications. These are really repayment plans designed to help borrowers catch up on their arrearages.
Approximately 70% of these repayment plans (erroneously called Loan modifications) re-default. This [...]

Property taxes are locked-in at the time you purchase your house and are based on the purchase price, and many troubled homeowners purchased their houses during the rise or at the height of the real estate market. 

Approximately 60% of homeowners in the U.S. are paying property taxes that are no longer commensurate with current property values. In light [...]

The answer to this question could be in the difference between your Loan Servicer and your Note Holder.    

Recall the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.

In “George Bailey” days, the Bank or S&L that originated your loan was also likely to remain your Note Holder for the entire term of your loan or [...]