A lot of people may think that loan negotiation, is a simple process. Actually it is not, but there are some things you need to know that could make it easier for you.

1. A great loan negotiations technique is to look at the figures and say point blank that you cannot afford it. The lender will not want to let business go and will usually make you a better offer. This puts you at an advantage, since it was the lender who started negotiating, not you.
2. A second option is to say that you have received a better offer than the one you are negotiating. Mention a lower interest rate, but do not make it too low. The lender will talk about the other benefits they are offering. Stick to the issue of the interest and when they agree to a better offer, then say that you want to see if the “first lender” can match it and you want a day or two before going forward. The lender may improve this offer even more, in an effort to secure your business. If they do so, you have them where you want them and you should try to get some more concessions and close the deal quickly.
3. Once you have the interest rate in place, you can go on to other aspects of the loan that affect you, like installment payment dates, prepayment penalties, default provisions and so on. Having accepted the interest rate, the lender will know you are serious and will try to offer you the best so that they can close the deal.

Keep in mind what is as important as the terms and conditions is what they put down in writing. Long Island foreclosure lawyers say that one of the biggest causes for homeowner dissatisfaction and financial problems is that homeowners did not get expert help while negotiating their loans. Even residents of the affluent Nassau and Suffolk Counties are finding the mistakes they made while their loan negotiations were being done are now coming back to haunt them.

While a home owner needs to know as much as possible about his home loan and how it affects him, many of the issues involved are beyond the comprehension of the lay-person and having expert advice available can save you from making avoidable and costly mistakes. A Long Island foreclosure lawyer will know the entire loan negotiation process and will be in a position to give you advice that could make life much easier for you.

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Over the last generation, private employer-sponsored retirement plans have replaced traditional pension benefits programs. This was fine while the going was good and the economy prospering.  The biggest advantage of the plans was that they were so easy – the contribution was deducted from the salary, so not only did people not miss the deduction, they had to do nothing themselves. The problem is that with things so automatic, people did not ever think about what was going on with the money they placed in these plans. Everyone presumed that it would magically appear upon retirement to take care of their post-career days.

Unfortunately, this is the real world and there is no room for magic. The banking and stock market collapse of the last few months has caused huge erosion in the values of 401(K) plans and other retirement funds. People, even in up market areas like New York’s Nassau and Suffolk counties are suddenly finding themselves bereft of any form of financial security for their post employment life. While younger workers are actively looking at other savings and investment options, those closer to retirement have little time to find a viable alternative that will allow for adequate resources to accumulate by the time they retire.

As a result bankruptcy and foreclosure have become major concerns. These are frightening terms for most people. Rather than bury our heads in the sand, it is better to face up to the facts and find solutions and remedies to the ills that the loss of savings has caused. And the best way to do this is to contact a local bankruptcy lawyer. It is never too early to start protecting yourself from the consequences of the losses you have suffered through no fault of your own. Bankruptcy is not the end. It is merely a stage in our financial life and a good bankruptcy lawyer will be able to help you get over the hurdle with the minimum of difficulty and assist you in finding ways to repair the financial damage inflicted on you.

If loss of your savings or other impacts of the ongoing recession have caused you problems with your mortgage payments, contacting an experience foreclosure lawyer in your area is something you should not delay. Foreclosure is a complex issue and with the government implementing innovative programs to help people who are having mortgage problems. Seeking help from an expert may be able to help you to stop home foreclosure.

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What caused our present financial crisis? Bad mortgages that turned sour, which were followed by a huge wave of foreclosures.

If you are one of those who have been badly affected by what has happened to our economy, it’s time to take inventory of your financial position. How safe are you and how strong are your long term resources? No one can say with any certainty when things will begin to improve and even when they do, how long it will take for us to get back to the levels of prosperity of years past. Maybe we should not reach those levels – at least not in the same form. Perhaps what we had was built on quicksand. It would be a mistake to repeat the same process all over again. And this does not apply only to banks and Wall Street. It applies to individuals too. It’s time to look at long-term security, no matter what the short term problems may be.

Suffolk County and other prosperous regions in and around New York are seeing a rise in the number of people who are contacting them. These people may not be in any immediate danger of either foreclosure or bankruptcy, but they are engaging in long term planning and are factoring in these possibilities, so that they are prepared for any eventualities.

Being realistic about the problem of foreclosures makes sense. Despite the government’s well-intentioned promises to find ways of protecting the homeowner, the realities are that nothing much is happening or can be expected to in the immediate future. For example –the Bush Administration’s Hope for Homeowners program promised last year to shield 400,000 families from foreclosure. The actual results as of last February were a mere 25.

Understanding bankruptcy and foreclosure process is critical to long term planning. Bankruptcy is not the end of the road – there’s quite a bit of protection for retirement and some other forms of savings. Getting the right advice well in advance and modifying financial plans to take into account various scenarios is the key to long-term financial security.

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Allen Stanford and Bernie Madoff – just two of the villains that the stock market collapse has shed the spotlight on. They are the high profile scammers, but there are a lot of smaller crooks running around desperately trying to hide from the spotlights. And the number of spotlights is growing every day. After Madoff and Stanford, people are taking a far greater interest in the savings and investments they took for granted for so long. The fact that so many have lost their savings and are facing bankruptcy and foreclosure is heart breaking. There needs to be an increase in awareness for everyone to monitor their investments more closely.

For far too long people have made investments and adopted the mentality “Okay, I’ve put in the money, now let someone else worry about growing it.” It doesn’t always work that way. It’s your money and while you can follow the advice of others and allow them to use and expand the wealth you have trusted to them, autopilot does not exist in the investment world. People who misuse your money and lose it are guilty of criminal theft. But those who sat back and never took an interest in what was being done with their money may be guilty of being negligent.

Many areas are reporting the amount of people at risk of losing their homes along with their savings have grown exponentially. Bankruptcy is no longer something that happens to other people; it’s a reality that is staring many in the face.

The good news is that those who are being pro active and seeking professional legal advice, are taking steps to protect themselves and their families from the unpleasant future that may be waiting. Foreclosure and bankruptcy are complex subjects that do not necessarily mean financial ruin. There is a great deal of protection available for those who are suffering financial problems.

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The major story coming out of Washington right now is the failed bid to bail out the “Big Three” automakers. There are numerous points of view on the issue, but it seems that much of the debate is being driven by emotion at the expense of reason. This is not surprising- the idea of giving more of their hard earned tax dollars away to failing corporations is extremely repugnant to people barely avoiding foreclosure in Nassau County. What we must do in order to make the best decision for the country at large is to step back and really examine the consequences of letting these companies fail.

Allowing the three largest domestic automakers to close their doors would have an enormous and immediate impact on the national economy. The amount of jobs that would be eliminated overnight could range into the millions. Not only the workers at the plants in Detroit would suddenly find themselves without a source of income, but also all of the workers at the plants that supply parts to the larger factories. These smaller factories are spread throughout the country, and in many cases are the major employers in their immediate area.

As the parts these plants make suddenly become unnecessary, so too does the need to deliver them. Any trucking or shipping company that does business with domestic automakers in any capacity would likely find themselves unable to keep their current workforce. Maintenance of delivery vehicles would also become a less sought- after commodity. Once you begin to extrapolate the immediate impact in this way, it is easy to see how widespread the problem would become if these automakers were to shut down.

The possibility of these newly unemployed people finding other employment would also be extremely slim. The local economies around these auto plants basically depend on the majority of the workforce in that area having enough disposable income to sustain them. If one auto plants lays off 50,000 workers, that is 50,000 less people who will be going out to eat, shopping, going to the movies, employing domestic help, etc.  Any industry that depends on well-paid workers patronizing their businesses will suddenly be cutting jobs as well. With 50,000 new workers trying to find work in a town that is shedding jobs, the prospect of success is close to zero.

A drastic and immediate increase in unemployment during a period in which the economy is already shedding jobs is a disaster in the making. If these automakers are forced to close, the people that they employ are likely to soon become the newest beneficiaries of unemployment insurance and other government assistance. State governments where newly defunct plants are located will face major budget shortfalls as their income base dries up. The Federal government will then be increasing assistance to states and individual workers while also facing a vastly decreased influx of tax dollars. Since many of the domestic automakers also supply parts for military vehicles, the Federal government would also likely have to create a new infrastructure to address this shortfall. Increased expenditures for unemployment, welfare, state assistance, and replacement of necessary military supply chains, all while facing a shortfall in tax revenue, could end up costing the government far more than the proposed auto bailout. We need to fully examine all of the facts, and not simply act on anger or disgust when addressing this important issue.

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Month after month of non-stop battering, each time some optimistic spark deep within produces a faint glow of hope that it can’t get any worse, something new goes wrong.  This month consumer confidence was like a sky diver with a defective parachute. The reason? More bad news of increased job cuts, and decreased retirement accounts.

In fact, there was no good news of any kind for the short term. The best news, if you can call it that, was from the Fed which said that the economy is undergoing a “severe contraction” that would last for the first half of this year.

All the major retailers reported bad fourth quarter results, and home prices recorded the sharpest drop ever. Search where you will, there was no good economic news anywhere. The best news available was actually the absence of bad news – gas prices did not show any indication of going up in the near future.

In New York, the Conference Board advised that its Consumer Confidence Index which showed only a small drop in the December – January period (perhaps because of the holiday mood) experienced a sharp drop of 12 points this month to currently rest at 25, far below the projected level of 35 that experts had predicted. Nassau County foreclosure lawyers say they may be able to help stop or prevent foreclosures, or relieve financial burdens if they are called in to help early enough. It’s very important not to delay asking for help from a bankruptcy or foreclosure lawyer.

Foreclosing on a mortgage is a major step for any family and the fact that foreclosure attorneys are being consulted in this volume only substantiates the fact that many families have reached the brink with literally nowhere to turn.

Most analysts say that looking ahead, at least in the short to medium term, increasing worries about business conditions, corporate earnings and employment security are creating a vicious cycle of steadily reducing consumer spending which is exactly the opposite of what is required to kick start the economy.

Consumers are also scared by the free fall in home prices which have plunged by over 18%, the largest fall in 21 years. Today’s property prices are what they were in 2003.

While consumer confidence will naturally be affected by what has happened since last September, what is worrying is that even optimism for the future was absent until Obama took office. It surged then, but has already started to drop because illogical miracle solutions that people hoped would keep them away from bankruptcy law firms in Suffolk County and other parts of New York, did not materialize.

There may be hope for those who are able to hold on for a few more months may not see a return to prosperity, but at least a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Facing foreclosure can be a terrifyingly confusing time. You are filled with doubts, not the least of which is where you and your family will live, and how you can possibly make it after the process is complete. This is a normal reaction, but not a particularly helpful one. If you are facing foreclosure, the most important thing to do is to step back, take a deep breath, and not panic. Even after the foreclosure process starts you still have multiple options open to you- you can probably still save your house. This, however, will be impossible if you do not know exactly where you stand and what courses of action are still open to you. Making a poor decision based on fear or ignorance can be fatal to your cause, so here are a few basic things to remember if you are in this unfortunate (but not intractable) situation.

The most important thing that you can due to improve your chances is to know exactly what your options are, and what the laws in your state regarding foreclosure allow. There cannot be enough emphasis placed on the importance of hiring an attorney with foreclosure experience in your area to both educate you, as well as advocate for you. Since the laws regarding foreclosure differ from state to state (you have different options in Suffolk County Long Island than you do in Broward County in Florida) it is imperative that your counsel is local. Once you speak with your foreclosure lawyer you will have a real, accurate picture of your situation and hopefully some much needed peace of mind.

Another way to improve your situation is to under no circumstances stop making mortgage payments. You are being foreclosed on because you are behind on your payments and the bank has felt the need to take extraordinary action. It is not the end of the process. Chances are that if you keep yourself in a position to have negotiating power with your creditor, the overall outcome of the process will be much more palatable.

You should also never fail to communicate with your creditor. Unless they are a loan shark, they will not yell at you or threaten you unduly. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to avoid communication to avoid further pain, or to avoid making the situation worse. The quickest way to deteriorate your standing in the foreclosure process is to try to disappear.

Almost equally important as hiring a qualified foreclosure attorney is to not lose hope. There is almost always another option or opportunity to mitigate your losses and begin improving your life. It is also important to remember that the bank does not want your house- they want to recoup the money that they lent to you. Having to deal with taking your house is something that they will take pains to avoid- it makes the process of recovering the money they are owed much more complicated and uncomfortable. Keeping this fact in mind will help you retain hope and continue to look for solutions.

The foreclosure process can be fraught with peril if you approach it the wrong way. Not only is it scary and confounding, but there are also unscrupulous people and scam artists that will try to take advantage of your uncertainty. If, however, you retain competent and knowledgeable counsel, understand your options, and keep your chin up, you can still help yourself attain a positive outcome.

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