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Facing an underwater mortgage? Having trouble making your payments?

You’re not alone. 1 out of 10 people missed a mortgage payment last month. This isn’t just some little economic storm—this is a tsunami we’re facing.

And what would you do if you knew an actual tsunami was coming? Would you head out to the beach to watch, or would you grab your family and head to higher ground—and quick?

We already know the answer to that one. So why would you consider continuing to make payments on your underwater mortgage?

Let us tell you a secret—do you know why we have the saying “rules are made to be broken?” We have it because we know who gets to make the rules! Let me tell you—it’s not us. And believe us, the banks that colluded with the government to make the rules are heading to higher ground on the broken finances of people with underwater mortgages like yours and mine.

Yes, we’ve all been taught to do the “right thing.” And we’ve been taught that when you take on a debt, you pay that debt no matter what. Just like the banks, right?

Exactly. There’s something wrong here when we’re expected to play by rules that the other guy, the guy with the power, the big guy, the banks aren’t following.

So here are your options if you’re dealing with an underwater mortgage:

You can keep making the payments even if you’re drowning in them.

You can try to work with your bank on a loan modification. But be warned: The vast majority of the bank’s “solutions” will leave you paying even more.

You can accept the fact that you and your family are more important than any bank and start the process of walking away from that underwater mortgage.

The moment you decide to walk away from your mortgage, you’ve got options:

• Save your money
• Look for ways to keep your house while paying less
• Start planning for a better future.

And you have all of those options while staying in your home for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years or more!

Which option sounds best to you? Paying an underwater mortgage at the expense of your family’s financial future or getting ahead of that tsunami any way you legally can?

I Don’t Break the Rules – I Just Damage Them Severally,

Anonymous Quote (Saw It On A T-Shirt Somewhere)

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Pre-foreclosure is the grace period between the time when your bank first notifies you that you’re late with your mortgage payment—generally after you’ve missed your second payment—and the time when they can actually legally take your house away.

Pre-foreclosure is also your window of opportunity. This is the time that you can take to put the money you’ve been paying on your mortgage into your bank account. This is the time you start saving up so you can come out of foreclosure in the strongest possible financial position.

And how much time will you spend in pre-foreclosure? Obviously, we can’t tell you exactly how long or short a time it will be in your case, but usually the process takes a minimum of 6 months.

With today’s huge backlog of foreclosure filings, a lot of families are staying in their homes for up to 2 years before they have to leave! Multiply your current mortgage payment by 24, because that’s the amount of money you get to save while you’re in pre-foreclosure.

Not only that, but pre-foreclosure gives you maneuvering room. While in pre-foreclosure you can apply for a loan modification—some people wait more than a year before they even receive the “offer” for their modification! In addition, or even instead of applying for loan modification, you can list your home as a short sale. That adds even more time to the process.

What are you doing with all of this time you’re spending in pre-foreclosure? The first thing is saving that money we mentioned. If you need to buy a new car, though, or obtain any new credit at all, do those things before your late mortgage payments have any affect on your credit.

Going through the foreclosure process can be pretty stressful. Kristin and I have been there so we know this for a fact. But if you use your pre-foreclosure time wisely, you can do what we did and come out ahead.

If You Or Anyone You Know Is Underwater in Their Home Enter Your name and Email Address on This Page and Let Us Help!

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So where’s the first place you should turn to for help with your underwater mortgage? Well, we can tell you where you don’t want to turn. You definitely don’t want to go to any real estate attorneys to help with a loan modification, and you almost certainly don’t want to go to your bank.

In fact, you don’t want to trust anyone who has a financial stake in how you decide to handle your mortgage now that it’s higher than your house is actually worth. They won’t have your best interests in mind—all they’ll be seeing is their bottom line.

Let’s look at the kind of “help” your bank is likely to offer you: extending the term of your mortgage, changing the monthly payments, or changing your interest rate. Extending the mortgage, whether by extending the term or changing the payments, just means you’ll end up paying more interest down the line.

Changing the interest rate may well actually help(from a cash flow standpoint)—unless you have an adjustable rate mortgage, which means your payment is likely to reset at a much higher rate a year or two down the line.

How’s that for “help”? Or are you just feeling like you’re underwater even more?

The good news is that there is legitimate help out there. Kristin and I have been where you are now—many times over, in fact, because we had several underwater properties when the real estate market collapsed.

And here’s our advice for anyone facing an underwater mortgage: You need to rely on yourself. The banks won’t help, the government won’t help much at all, and real estate attorneys will only “help” as long as your payments to them continue.

While Kristin and I can’t go through the process for you, we know from experience that there are ways out of your mortgage—and at least one of them offers the chance to stay in your house and cut your monthly payments!

Our website and our e-book are available to help also. You have to deal with this yourself, but you’re not alone in having an underwater mortgage, and you don’t have to go through it alone.

We Are On A Mission To Help Thousands of People With Our Book – The Underwater Mortgage – How to Survive Your Sinking Ship While Keeping Your Sense of Humor!! You Can Buy It Here!

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Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the home buyer tax credit but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing Home Sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 27.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million units in July from a downwardly revised 5.26 million in June, and are 25.5 percent below the 5.14 million-unit level in July 2009.

Sales are at the lowest level since the total existing-home sales series launched in 1999, and single family sales – accounting for the bulk of transactions – are at the lowest level since May of 1995.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a soft sales pace likely will continue for a few additional months. “Consumers rationally jumped into the market before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit expired. Since May, after the deadline, contract signings have been notably lower and a pause period for home sales is likely to last through September,” he said. “However, given the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs.

“Even with sales pausing for a few months, annual sales are expected to reach 5 million in 2010 because of healthy activity in the first half of the year. To place in perspective, annual sales averaged 4.9 million in the past 20 years, and 4.4 million over the past 30 years,” Yun said.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.56 percent in July from 4.74 percent in June; the rate was 5.22 percent in July 2009. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed was down to 4.42 percent.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $182,600 in July, up 0.7 percent from a year ago. Distressed home sales are unchanged from June, accounting for 32 percent of transactions in July; they were 31 percent in July 2009.

“Thanks to the home buyer tax credit, home values have been stable for the past 18 months despite heavy job losses,” Yun said. “Over the short term, high supply in relation to demand clearly favors buyers. However, given that home values are back in line relative to income, and from very low new-home construction, there is not likely to be any measurable change in home prices going forward.”

Total housing inventory at the end of July increased 2.5 percent to 3.98 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 12.5-month supply⁴ at the current sales pace, up from an 8.9-month supply in June. Raw unsold inventory is still 12.9 percent below the record of 4.58 million in July 2008.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said there are great opportunities now for buyers who weren’t able to take advantage of the tax credit. “Mortgage interest rates are at record lows, home prices have firmed and there is good selection of property in most areas, so buyers with good jobs and favorable credit ratings find themselves in a fortunate position,” she said.

A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 38 percent of homes in July, down from 43 percent in June. Investors accounted for 19 percent of sales in July, up from 13 percent in June; the balance were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales rose to 30 percent in July from 24 percent in June.

Single-family home sales dropped 27.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.37 million in July from a pace of 4.62 million in June, and are 25.6 percent below the 4.53 million level in July 2009; they were the lowest since May 1995 when the sales rate was 3.34 million. The median existing single-family home price was $183,400 in July, which is 0.9 percent above a year ago.

Single-family median existing-home prices were higher in 11 out of 19 metropolitan statistical areas reported in July in comparison with July 2009 (the price in one of 20 tracked markets was not available). However, existing single-family home sales fell in all 20 areas from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales fell 28.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,000 in July from 640,000 in June, and are 24.0 percent below the 605,000-unit level in July 2009. The median existing condo price⁵ was $176,800 in July, down 1.7 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast dropped 29.5 percent to an annual pace of 620,000 in July and are 30.3 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $263,800, up 4.8 percent from July 2009.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest fell 35.0 percent in July to a level of 800,000 and are 33.3 percent below July 2009. The median price in the Midwest was $151,600, down 2.8 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales dropped 22.6 percent to an annual pace of 1.54 million in July and are 19.8 percent below a year ago. The median price in the South was $156,300, down 3.3 percent from July 2009.

Existing-home sales in the West fell 25.0 percent to an annual level of 870,000 in July and are 23.0 percent below a year ago. The median price in the West was $224,800, up 3.3 percent from July 2009.

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