Foreclosure Evictions Postponed for the Holiday Season

Foreclosure activity continues in the Chicago area and throughout Illinois and the country, although foreclosure rates generally continue to decline. Indeed, a recent report from Business Wire indicated that serious delinquency rates were at their lowest in years, but 4.4% of mortgages remain at “some stage of delinquency.” In other words, more than 4% of mortgages are anywhere from 30 days past due to at the point of foreclosure eviction or foreclosure sale. The current foreclosure inventory rate is at about 0.5%. Despite the fact that foreclosure rates continue to decline or remain relatively low, it is important to remember that a number of homeowners are still facing foreclosure.

While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to move through various stages of the foreclosure process during the holiday season, a recent article in HousingWire reported that both will be suspending foreclosure eviction lockouts between December 17, 2018 and January 2, 2019 for the holiday season.

Extending Timeline for Foreclosure Evictions in December

For Fannie Mae properties, any single-family homes, as well as two to four-unit properties, will have an extended timeline for foreclosure evictions. Starting December 17, no families will be evicted from those properties until after January 2 of the new year. Similarly, the foreclosure eviction timeline will also be extended for Freddie Mac properties, but the extension is a broader one. All foreclosed Freddie Mac properties that are currently occupied homes will not face evictions during the same time period.

According to the Fannie Mae vice president of single-family real estate, “We believe it is important to extend the timeline of help for struggling borrowers during the holidays.” Fannie Mae also encourages homeowners who are facing foreclosure to use this extra time to seek other options for foreclosure prevention. The Freddie Mac vice president of single-family servicer performance management echoed these sentiments, emphasizing how the mortgage servicer is “suspending evictions from Freddie Mac-owned homes to help provide families with a greater measure of certainty during the upcoming holiday season.”

Yet, to be clear, not all foreclosure activity is suspended. Only foreclosure evictions have been suspended. This means that other foreclosure activity, including both pre-foreclosure and post-foreclosure activity, will continue throughout December 2018 and into the new year.

Avoiding Foreclosure This Holiday Season
If you are facing foreclosure, there are numerous options that may be available to you this holiday season. An article from HGTV cites the following as common options for homeowners who are facing foreclosure:

• Contact your lender to work out a compromise; 
• Sell the home through a short sale, which often does not result in a profit for the homeowner but allows the homeowner to avoid damaging his or her credit any further and allows the homeowner to avoid foreclosure; 
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure, through which the homeowner essentially signs the home back over the bank (but is not the best option for preserving a homeowner’s credit, and typically is only an option after a short sale and other possibilities no longer are available); and 
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which can allow a homeowner to stay in his or her home while developing a repayment plan to pay off debt (once the homeowner files for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the automatic stay prevents the foreclosure process from going any further). 

Contact an Oak Park Foreclosure Defense Attorney
If you need assistance avoiding foreclosure this holiday season, you should speak with a foreclosure defense lawyer in Oak Park as soon as possible. Contact the Emerson Law Firm to learn more about your options.



See Related Blog Posts:
Wells Fargo Admits to Hundreds of Wrongful Foreclosures
FHFA Report on Foreclosure Prevention

Avoiding Credit Card Debt in Chicago this Holiday Season

Dealing with substantial credit card debt can be frustrating, and it may feel as though you will never be able to get ahead. During the holiday season, many Chicago residents, along with consumers across the country, will spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on gifts, decorations, and holiday travel. For many families, the additional expenses that accrue during the holidays are beyond their monthly budget. What happens when families do not have the necessary cash to pay for holiday costs? By and large, many of them turn to credit cards. For those Americans who are already struggling with credit card debt, the holidays can be a particularly difficult time.

In some cases, consumers who have unmanageable credit card debts may be eligible for personal bankruptcy. However, consumers cannot simply plan to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and, before doing so, rack up additional credit card debt during the holidays. Regardless of your plans for bankruptcy, it is important to consider ways of avoiding additional credit card debt this holiday season.

Costs are High for Holiday Spending, from Gifts to Seasonal Travel

How much do Chicago residents spend, on average, over the holidays? Each year, the American Research Group, Inc. conducts surveys to determine how much the average household plans to spend during the holiday season. According to its fact sheet, last year the average spending per adult totaled $882. That total represents a 2% increase from the previous year, in which the average spending per adult was listed as $861. For some, this might not sound like a lot of money to spend during the entire holiday season. However, this number is the average of spending on Christmas gifts alone. In other words, it does not include purchases for holiday meals, decorations, and other expenses associated with the season.

If the average adult is spending nearly $900 alone on gifts—a number that likely goes well above $1,000 when adding in other costs—how is the average adult paying for these items? According to a recent article in Forbes Magazine, many Americans are swayed by the in-store discounts associated with store credit cards. However, as the article clarifies, these credit cards often serve only to put consumers deeper into debt.

Spending on Credit in Illinois During the Holidays

Last year alone, we mentioned that the average American adult spend $861 on gifts. According to the Forbes article, holiday spending in general “sent the average American $986 deeper into debt.” Many of those debtors decided to use store credit cards in order to receive particular discounts and other perks. In the long run, however, store credit cards may only encourage more spending—of money that consumers do not have—making the small discounts and perks negligible.

Most importantly, consumers need to recognize the different between waived interest and deferred interest. Most store credit cards that offer 0% financing offers during the holidays have deferred interest, which means that all of the interest will come due if you do not pay off the balance within a certain period. Moreover, the APR on a store credit card is typically very high. For instance, a Lowes card “charges a flat APR of 26.99%.” In brief, unless you can afford to pay of the balance in a relatively short period of time, relying on store credit cards to make holiday purchases can set you back further in the long run.

If you have questions about managing consumer debt or filing for personal bankruptcy, an Oak Park bankruptcy lawyer can assist you. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today.

See Related Blog Posts:

Consumers at Risk with Installment Loans

FTC Consumer Protection Gains