HomeLiberty, Inc. is not associated with the government and our service is not approved by the government or your lender.
Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
If you stop paying your Mortgage, you could lose your home and damage your credit rating.
A growing number of families with severe negative equity have decided it is not in their best interest to continue throwing good money after bad unless the principal of their current mortgage is reduced enough to allow their family to build equity once again.
These families have had to make this decision even with the painful realization that they must lose their home and damage their hard won credit history because it is in the best interest of their family’s financial future. If this describes your situation, the HomeLiberty strategic refinancing program was designed to give you a real chance to keep your home.
Please be very wary of individuals offering foreclosure rescue schemes.
Scam artists will typically promise to stop or delay the foreclosure process though various methods - none are effective.
Their goal is to acquire your home at a very discounted price or to charge you money for services they know have little or no chance of success.
NOTE: There is no hardship requirement.
No. HomeLiberty is concerned with providing fair, honest, and dignified solutions to severe negative equity. It would not be fair to harm your neighbors if it can be avoided. HomeLiberty has created a program that strongly stabilizes neighborhood values.
Every single short sale, foreclosure, or REO sale drives down local home prices. That is unavoidable. Where HomeLiberty makes a difference is that we have paid for an appraisal before the distressed sale. Because we immediately sell you back your home, we register an offsetting sale at the previously appraised price. This is a legitimate sale, and it completely erases the damage of the distressed sale.
When your neighbors go to calculate their home value, they will be using the price of the latest sale, not the price of the foreclosure or short sale. And, you will have kept your property from being another one of the millions in “shadow inventory.” You can hold your head high knowing you have done your part to stop the terrible slide in U.S. home values.
ABSOLUTELY. HomeLiberty does not provide legal advice.
If you have severe negative equity, on average you owe $130,000 more than your home is worth. This is a substantial amount of money. You should carefully review your current mortgage and every alternative that is available to you with an experienced attorney and tax professional.
You should seek the advice of a dedicated housing counselor. The U.S. Department of housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides a webpage to search for approved housing counselors at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.
The Hope LoanPort says it is a web-based tool that streamlines home retention applications on behalf of homeowners at-risk of foreclosure.
Many of the HAMP and non-HAMP counselors are restricted to helping families with mortgage payments they cannot afford. For instance, HAMP requires that mortgage payments are greater than 31% of your household income. If you cannot afford your current mortgage payments, these counselors will be able to assist you at no cost.
If you can afford your current mortgage payment, but your equity is severely negative, you should also contact your local representative for advice. If you do not know where to contact your local representatives, Project Vote Smart provides an excellent search that allows you to find your current representatives with your address. We encourage you to ask your representatives about counseling and advocacy for severe negative equity homeowners.
We also welcome you to ask them about HomeLiberty.
The borrower’s primary residence can qualify. HomeLiberty’s FastTrack to Freedom strategic refinance program is not designed for investment properties or speculators. The FastTrack to Freedom program is specifically designed for homeowners with severe negative equity who honestly want a chance to keep their home.
No. HomeLiberty does not promise to delay or prevent your foreclosure. We simply give you a chance to keep your home if a forclosure occurs.
We do not promise your lender will modify your mortgage, and we do not promise they will forgive or forbear any protion of your current debt. HomeLiberty does not offer any services at all, and HomeLiberty will not negotiate with your lender to modify your existing loan.
HomeLiberty sells a product: your home. We sell you your home at a price we both agree to in writing assuming HomeLiberty is able to purchase your property.
The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is a collection of programs designed to help borrowers make their monthly mortgage payments more affordable by reducing interest, extending the repayment period, or forbearing principal.
HAMP does not reduce principal.
HAMP requires declaration of financial hardship (under penalty of perjury).
| HAMP | HomeLiberty |
|---|---|
| Reduces Monthly Payments | Reduces Monthly Payments |
| Increases Total Debt | Reduces Total Debt |
| Locks in Negative Equity | Eliminates Negative Equity |
| Bank Takes Future Property Value Increases | Homeowner Enjoys Future Property Value Increases |
If you cannot afford the current mortgage payments for your primary residence, HAMP may be appropriate. If you CAN afford your current mortgage, HomeLiberty is appropriate (and you are ineligible for HAMP).
HomeLiberty will provide the FastTrack to Freedom program nationwide.
We are initially focusing in the northern California area, especially in Alameda and Contra Costa counties which have been particularly hard hit by the housing crisis.
The FastTrack to Freedom program is currently available to qualified homeowners suffering with severe negative equity in California and Arizona.
HomeLiberty works with any bank, lender, or servicer without limitation.
Because you must have received your Notice of Default, we know your credit has been impacted. Yes, HomeLiberty is interested in your prior credit history, but we are far more interested in your actual ability to pay your new mortgage.
HomeLiberty will not put any homeowner into a mortgage we believe they cannot afford. This would not be in your best interest, and it would definitely not be in our interest.
If the value of your property goes up, you keep every cent!
This is one of the main differences between the HomeLiberty program and every other program we are aware of.
Because we put you into a standard mortgage with fixed payments, you benefit from any increase in property value -- including any property improvements you might make.
It’s your home. You should benefit from the increased value.
ABSOLUTELY. HomeLiberty complies with all existing state and federal laws.
HomeLiberty is dedicated to creating fair, honest, and dignified solutions to the nation’s severe negative equity problem. HomeLiberty strives to comply with the letter of the law as well as its spirit.
HomeLiberty will initiate title transfer as soon as the law allows. Although there are situations where it can take longer, most transfers will be completed within 72 hours of our successful purchase of your home.
You will have a signed contract, along with preapproved financing if you qualify. There is no way HomeLiberty or any of its affiliates can keep your home.
We have put considerable time into creating a fair contract that does not require you to give up your right to your property. Our agreement complies with all state and federal laws, but we encourage you to review everything with your attorney as well.
You do not pay a cent until and unless we save your home. HomeLiberty will pay for all upfront expenses.
If HomeLiberty does not save your home, you will not be charged.
The costs of the FastTrack to Freedom™ strategic refinance program are simply the direct costs involved in acquiring your home, plus markup. Examples of some costs are third party appraisal, full inspection, notary, and title. All costs will be fully itemized and documented, and directly related to the purchase of your individual property.
HomeLiberty cannot make any guarantee we will save your home. No one can.
What we guarantee - in writing - is that you will get your home along with a pre-approved mortgage that allows your family to stay as long as you wish assuming HomeLiberty is able to purchase your property.
Because the chance of losing your home is real, HomeLiberty only accepts applications from individuals who have made the firm decision to enter into strategic foreclosure independent of HomeLiberty. Please see Strategic Default below.
The HomeLiberty agreement is a standard mortgage. You will enjoy rights similar to what you would expect under any traditional and non-predatory mortgage.
Your payments will be fixed for the life of the 30 year mortgage. And, you will have the right to prepay at any time and without penalty.
You will have the right to improve your property any way you wish, and to benefit 100% from any increase in value. You will have the right to sell your home anytime you wish.
HomeLiberty’s FastTrack to Freedom strategic refinance program does not limit your ability to pursue a short sale. We firmly believe you should aggressively pursue every available method to correct your negative equity situation.
HomeLiberty is able to purchase properties at short sale and Trustee Sale (foreclosure auction) equally. If the bank prefers, we have the ability to purchase the non-performing mortgage as a note, and we can purchase your home as an REO as long as you are still occupying the premises.
With that said, mortgage lenders typically reserve short sales for borrowers who are in some type of financial distress (e.g. job loss or divorce). You may find it difficult convincing your lender to permit a short sale if you have the financial ability to make your current mortgage payments.
If you are talking about principal write-down of people who can pay their mortgages, yeah, that’s off the table.
–Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase Bank, March 30, 2011
For the homeowner with documented hardship, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) reported in March of this year (2011) that fewer than three of five short sales close
(less than 60%), and that the typical response time for lenders is at least 60 days, and in many instances, their response time exceeds 6 months.
HomeLiberty in no way provides legal, financial, or any other form of advice with regards to strategic default or foreclosure.
HomeLiberty has no interest in inducing or advising individuals to walk away from their home or to default on their mortgage.
Strategic default is a complex decision that will affect you and your family legally, financially, and emotionally. You should not make this decision without careful consideration of all available options. It would be very unwise to make such a decision without consulting an attorney experienced with strategic default, and with a tax professional.
YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE OPTION OF CURING ANY DEFAULT. This is the only way to assure you will keep your home. If you stop paying your mortgage, you could lose your home and you will damage your credit rating.
You can elect to force the banks to reduce your principal by terminating your current mortgage agreement, OR you can guarantee you keep your home by curing any defaults (if possible).
You cannot have it both ways. Anyone that makes promises they can reduce your principal AND guarantee you will keep your home is not telling the truth.
Once again, HomeLiberty cannot advise you whether to default strategically.
What we can say with certainty is that strategic default is provided for in your mortgage. It is an explicit termination clause, and it has been carefully thought out by your lender. In fact, it was written by them or one of their agents. The termination language was carefully reviewed by their legal counsel, and it is a central provision of your mortgage.
In the default and termination language, you will see that the penalties are severe and explicit. You will lose all your rights to the property, and you will lose every penny of equity you ever purchased, including 100% of your down payment.
The contract is your word. It is what both parties agreed to. If you exercise a termination right that is written into the contract, then you are honoring that contract, and you are keeping your word.
HomeLiberty believes the severely negative equity homeowner has a moral obligation to negotiate in good faith with their lender to try and find a mutually acceptable solution.
If the lender refuses to negotiate at all, then the lender has rejected good faith negotiation out of hand.
If this is the case, the homeowner is left with no alternative but to find her best recourse as written in the existing contract. If termination of the contract through strategic default is provided for, the homeowner has a perfect legal right to pursue that option.
If the lender has rejected the opportunity to work with the borrower to find a better solution, the homeowner has a perfect moral right to pursue that option.
We want to improve this list of questions, so please send any comments, corrections, or additions you have to faq@home-liberty.com
And of course, don’t hesitate to contact us directly at 617-448-6581 or by email at info@home-liberty.com.