Home Owner Associations, Condominium Associations, and Co-operatives are filing for bankruptcy at staggering rates. As property owners are not able to afford their mortgages, they often elect not to pay their association dues and what they consider less important monetary obligations.

As a result, Home Owner Associations and Condominium Associations are not able to pay for the expenses they had planned for. Some associations pay for common area elements, roofs, plumbing and other structural aspects of properties. Several associations, primarily condominium associations and co-operatives also pay for water, gas and electric. Some even pay for cable tv and garbage removal.

When an association is not able to pay for roof, plumbing and other repairs, further damage is caused and the entire community suffers. This can cause a further devaluation of property and poor living conditions.

If you are a part of a Homeowner’s Association where you live, you have the right (as a property owner) to the most recent financial statements of the HOA. Keep up with how your HOA is doing. If they are behind in paying their bills, you need to know about it.

Don’t wait until your HOA files for bankruptcy protection to learn that your dues are not going to be getting the services you thought in return.

Have any comments? Has your HOA left you high and dry? We’d love to hear about it. Click the comment link below and tell us about it.

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Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.

We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.

We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at www.bestbuyerbroker.com or www.bestbuyersbroker.com

Can filing for bankruptcy help homeowners facing foreclosure? Apparently, not much.

For most people, trying to negotiate changes in their loan with help from a housing counselor or lawyer is a much better option. While bankruptcy judges can reduce or eliminate certain kinds of debt, they aren’t allowed to alter the total amount owed or interest rate of primary mortgages. A 1993 Supreme Court decision bars judges from altering first mortgages on primary homes, though such changes are allowed on loans for vacation homes, motorcycles, boats and other kinds of property.

Consumer advocates say this is unfair, while mortgage lenders say it benefits the vast majority of borrowers who don’t fall into bankruptcy.

Filing for bankruptcy might help if your financial problems stem from a mix of sources, like overwhelming credit card debt, medical bills and skyrocketing mortgage payments. If reducing or eliminating most of your other debts puts you in a position where you can pay your mortgage, then bankruptcy might be be of help.

However, keep in mind, you could spend years trying to get your credit back in shape because a bankruptcy filing is a serious blemish on your credit record. And that can translate into big problems next time you need to borrow money.

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Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.

We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.

We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at www.bestbuyerbroker.com or www.bestbuyersbroker.com

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Some homeowners facing foreclosure are considering filing bankruptcy. Even though this might be an option for some people, there are a lot of other things you should try before filing bankruptcy to stop foreclosure.

The first thing you need to do is contact your mortgage lender. The sooner you do this the better. It’s best to contact your lender as soon as you realize you might miss a payment. not after you’ve already missed one or two. Then your mortgage lender will be more likely to negotiate other options with you so you will not have to consider filing for bankruptcy.

Some of the possibilities you can try to negotiate with your lender would be reinstatement, forbearance, or a repayment plan, all of which are options if your money problems are temporary. If your money problems are not temporary, before you can try to negotiate with your lender to get a mortgage modification or a partial claim.

If none of these solutions will work for you and you won’t be able to keep your home, before filing bankruptcy to stop foreclosure you should try to sell your home, or see if the mortgage company will allow assumption, a pre-foreclosure sale or short sale, or the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

All of these options require you to work with your current mortgage lender. If your mortgage lender is not willing to negotiate with you, you can try calling a HUD approved foreclosure counseling agency to get some assistance going over your options. These are usually free.

If at all possible you should avoid filing for bankruptcy as this will impact your credit rating and make things difficult for you in the future. Filing bankruptcy to prevent foreclosure is also not an option for everyone, and not all types of bankruptcies actually stop foreclosure.

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can stop foreclosure, so if you are thinking of filing bankruptcy, you should check to see if you quality for this type of bankruptcy, as not everyone does.

Be advised that filing bankruptcy to stop foreclosure won’t mean you no longer have to make any payments on your house. A part of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is a payment plan to pay off at least part of the money you owe to creditors such as your mortgage lender.

Remember, don’t wait until you’ve already missed a payment or two before talking to your mortgage lender. Do it early!

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Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.

We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.

We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at www.bestbuyersbroker.com or www.bestbuyerbroker.com

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