Don’t Forget Your Paper Trail While Dealing With Foreclosures
Buying your first home will most likely be one of the most significant purchases you will make in your lifetime. Whether it’s a purchase and mortgage or a foreclosure auction, you want to make sure that you keep everything documented. This article will delve into the idea behind why and how you should a paper trail when dealing with one specific type of foreclosure.
A foreclosure is basically when a borrower defaults on their monthly payments and the lender seizes control of the property. If the borrower does not pay about the balance that is due, then the property moves into the pre-foreclosure stage. Before a foreclosed home lands on the auction block, potential buyers have a certain window of time where they can negotiate a deal with the lender. These pre-foreclosures are a great chance for people to buy a great property without competing with a ton of other buyers. As you might suspect, these transactions are mainly informal and verbal. When talks become serious, many facts and figures might get lost in the avoid any problems with reneging or number mishandling, you want to get a physical log of type of communication you have with the lender.
Believe me, there have been plenty of occasions where communication comes to an impasse due to the fact that one party states that another is messing around with the numbers or claiming that someone promised something. To avoid this hassle, you want to write down facts and figures for future reference. If both parties agree on a verbal deal, and you have dated statements to back up this agreement, then it might hold up in court if the situation goes that far. Though it doesn’t happen that often, you want to make sure that you don’t end up on the short end of the stick. It might seem like an annoyance while you are actually taking these notes, but you will be thankful you did it if something goes haywire in the plan.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t keep a paper trail when dealing with the other two (foreclosure auctions and REO foreclosures) types of foreclosures. This tip does apply for all situations. Though, it’s definitely the most valuable with pre-foreclosures because of the lack of documented proof of negotiations or agreements.
Keeping a physical journal of any important facts, figures, or statements will make life a lot easier. Negotiation breakdowns do happen from time to time-you just need prepared when it happens. Purchase a notebook or keep an online journal of all commutation because it’s better to be safe than sorry when you are dealing with a purchase of this magnitude.