Customer Reviews

Foreclosure Self-Defense For Dummies

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a federal investigator and the senior compliance officer for a Fortune 500 real estate related company with over twenty years in the industry. I found the book to be both enlightening and clear in its presentation of the 'foreclosure' environment. The book answers all foreclosure related questions while dispelling foreclosure myths. My staff now use the book as their primary source of information and reference when responding to our industry and consumer clients regarding Foreclosure related issues.

I didn't want to learn anything about foreclosure because I never wanted it to happen to me. However, I started to run out of options, and I met with the Ralph Roberts team for help. They gave me this book to read, and I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed reading it: I read it in two days! It made an overwhelming topic digestible and helped me feel like I have some choices and say in the matter, rather than that this is just "happening to me." The compassionate, no non-nonsense approach of this book provides a true basis for making an empowered decision for your own life, and giving you the emotional courage to handle whatever comes your way.

It's a good book (2008), it'll do; but I bought another one at the same time and it seemed even better. For us. The Foreclosure Survival Guide (Oct 2009, Elias, NOLO) was better suited to our personal situation; and NOLO and author Elias keep a website up, with corrections, addenda, etc.

Your situation is different, they all are! Your other debts matter, for instance, and your family, and your taxes. Things keep changing too. Your state may have different laws, like deficiency judgments, for one. So see a local lawyer (who specializes in this work and has seen hundreds of foreclosures), at least for a free initial consultation, before you decide one way or the other about workarounds, walking away, HOA fees, short sales, possible bankruptcy, deed-in-lieu, delaying strategies, all of that.

We chose to walk away from our property (keep it simple), and the book will help you feel better about having made your decision. If you are underwater now, then really you don't own anything at that address except your personal stuff. Pretend you lost the money in the market, because that's exactly what happened. The lenders gambled at the same time you made your investment, and you've both lost. Treat it like a business decision, I'd say. Breathe deeply.

Not incidentally, the bank/lenders may well get paid anyway, on the back end, so don't feel sorry for them, nor obligated. Quite likely they (or you) paid the premium on "private mortgage insurance,' and that will help them, not you.

It is a very good book, they both are. But foreclosure should not be a do-it-yourself project; get some expert local advice at least.

As a lawyer who works in this area (defending wrongful foreclosures) I see this book as one that gives the reader enough rope with which to hang him- or herself. Each state's laws are different. And in states in which non-judicial foreclosure is the norm, this book is worse than useless. Consult with a COMPETENT lawyer who works in this area and has more than a few years of practice under his or her belt in the areas of real estate related litigation, bankruptcy, and real estate if you risk losing your home or investment property. No one book or source can substitute for a lawyer who sees the big picture and will be aware of the unexpected and the intangible issues that are always presented. I gave the book two stars because I think the book was written with good intentions. But we all know what the road to Hades is paved with.