Jim Richman is a Former H.U.D. Commissioner (FHA home loans are a H.U.D. product)

President and founder of Richman & Associates Inc., a real estate and business debt restructuring firm specializing in foreclosure solutions and financial consulting.

Former senior loan officer with Coast Savings and Loan and Pacific Thrift and Loan.

Former Burbank City Councilman and Mayor.

Former President of NOVA, a sheltered workshop for the handicapped.

Former board member of the American Red Cross.

Published author of Foreclosure articles for Broker Banker Magazine, Mortgage Originator and Scotsman Guide; read monthly by 100,000 mortgage brokers nationally.

Forty-four of the 50 States allow the lender to receive a Deficiency Judgment against the borrower for any loss they suffer from the results of funding a loan on their home.

The 6 States that do not allow deficiency judgments are: California, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia.

Under some conditions lenders will accept the property back from the borrower as full payment in order to save the time and expense of going through the foreclosure process.

Our job is to convince the lender it's in their best interest to accept the property as payment in full.

This is not a simple plan as we must provide the lender with a complex detailed analysis of current value of the property -and future value. Then we must prove that the borrower cannot afford to make payment or sell the home any time soon or at all.

Note a deed in lieu will also prevent the lender from filing a 1099 on their loss which is regular income to the borrower.

With the increase of interest rates on home loans many homeowners with adjustable rate loans are faced with mortgage payments they can no longer afford.

Our job is to convince the current lender that it is better to lower the homeowner’s payment by lowering the interest rate or payment rate by creating a payment plan the borrower can afford, than to take the home with a foreclosure sale and lose money on the re-sale. Keep in mind lenders lose money on bank owned properties as it will sell for less than market value, and they must pay a commission to a Realtor; and closing cost plus the cost of holding the property while they wait for a sale in a market that is depreciating.

We need to prove to the lender what the maximum payment is that borrower can afford by constructing a financial plan for the homeowner that the lender will approve.

Also as the homeowner is often late with their payments and in foreclosure or soon to be in foreclosure, we need to ask the lender to take the delinquent payments and put them on the back of the loan.

Our success rate is running about 90% when a rate reduction is required. However, a rate reduction in most cases is the only possibility for a homeowner to retain their home -our $1,500 fee is a risk that each homeowner must weight. Note: the success rate on a workout program without a rate reduction is 99%.

Note: Sometimes when we can prove you owe more that the value of the property and there is a second loan, we can convince that second lender to take a major reduction -of 50% to 80% — off the balance of the loan.

Our goal is to stop your foreclosure and give you a fresh start. Our success rate is 99%.

We are specialists in working with your lender, or lenders, to restructure your current loan(s) by providing you with a unique, professional plan that you and your lender can accept.

We fully understand that you have a serious problem and only a short time to overcome the real possibility of losing your property.

The lender wants to see a provable relationship between the homeowner’s income and expenses that will ensure them and the federal regulators that the homeowner will be able to make his payments in the future.

KNOW THE LAW - Every State has different foreclosure laws that govern how long it takes a lender to foreclose on your home. Time can vary from 60 days to 9 months. Contact us and let us know what State you’re in and we will send you your rights, in your State

Typical results of our restructuring plans:

LOAN MODIFICATION - 99% of all "A" type lenders and 70% of sub-prime lenders (with high interest rates) will negotiate a loan modification where your delinquent payments and foreclosure fees are added onto the back of the loan. Your loan payments will remain approximately the same. In some cases the interest rate will be reduced temporarily

FORBEARANCE PROGRAMS - Typically 30% of sub-prime lenders (with high interest rates) will only offer a workout program that requires you to immediately pay at least 20% of your total delinquencies including foreclosure fees, plus the balance of the delinquency will be added to your regular monthly payments over a period of 6 to 24 months. A few will offer 48 months

FORBEARANCE PROGRAMS OFTEN FAIL IF THE LENDER IS NOT FORCED TO CONSIDER THE ABILITY OF THE BORROWER TO PAY. WE REQUIRE THEM TO CONSIDER YOUR ABILITY TO PAY

Please note: we believe that bankruptcy is the absolute last resort

GREAT NEWS!!

FHA and VA loans CAN BE MODIFIED. FHA can give you a no interest and no payment loan to bring your loan current.