How To Get Money From Your Home After You've Lost Your Home To Foreclosure

By Author: Nick Adama
Total Articles: 197
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Many people don't realize this, but there are several laws in place that stop your lender from taking advantage of you, in a foreclosure situation. Every day, I hear: My mortgage company just wants to foreclose because my house is worth more than the payoff. In some cases, this may be the case, but legally, your mortgage company must sell the home for its fair market value and pay you any proceeds over and above the amount owed. Lenders may try and take advantage of the fact that most borrowers don't know their rights when it comes to foreclosure, but we'll help you understand your rights and hopefully get some money back if you've lost your home.

The main issue we've seen is when lenders accept an offer on the home as quickly as possible, just to pay off the balance. After the foreclosure and eviction, mortgage companies seem to forget about following the laws. For example, lets assume your home is worth $300,000, but to pay off your mortgage it is only $275,000. Your mortgage company has a legal requirement to sell the home for it's fair market value, which is $300,000. This would be $25,000 for you to keep. What actually ...
... happens is the bank accepts the first offer they receive of, lets say, $250,000, then they sue the home owner for a $25,000 deficiency judgment.

In a case where the lender is obligated to pay $25,000 to the homeowner, instead they end up foreclosing on the home and suing the homeowner for an additional $25,000. There is absolutely no reason the homeowner should have to pay for the the banks neglect to sell the home at a fair price.

If you are facing foreclosure, or if you have already lost your home as a result of foreclosure, then it's imperative that you know the current market value of your home. Your lender may owe you a lot of money, in the event your home is, or was, sold for less than it was worth. There are many cases where previous homeowners have gotten settlements in excess of $50,000! Knowing your rights and the laws when it comes to losing your home is likely one of the best ways of avoiding foreclosure altogether. If you didn't understand your rights and you were taken advantage of, there is a chance you can get your home back, or at least sue the lender for their misconduct.

An easy way to get the value of your home is to is to get a full appraisal from a local, qualified appraiser. However, this can be very expensive, since you are/were facing foreclosure. It's also hard, after a financial difficulty, to justify throwing good money after bad. My recommendation is to get a BPO or Property Valuation from another qualified source. Our website can provide you with a good local referral if you need one. I generally advise against using a webpage service that have free appraisals, because they are rarely accurate and do not take the condition of the home, or improvements into consideration.

When it comes right down to it, if your lender broke the rules when took your home, or sold the home afterwards for less than it's current value, then you need to take action! We can not just sit back and let the lenders get away with such misconduct and taking advantage of helpless homeowners. Take action immediately and we'll help you force your lender to answer for their wrongdoings!
Nick is the writer of the ForeclosurefishStop Foreclosure Blog, The blog helps homeowners who are facing foreclosure and need help stopping foreclosure.