Initial Consultation

I had a question the other day regarding what we go over in our consultation with our clients. 

Typically, our clients are facing financial hardship of one form or another and are usually not making payments on their house, or in some cases are contemplating not making further payments on their house.  They typically, are leery of foreclosure which is why they contacted us in the first place but do not know all of the options out there and don't typically know what path they want to take.  In this situation our role is to help the homeowner find the solution that best suits their needs.

It is our job in this meeting to not tell the homeowner what they should do but to listen to what they want to do.  We spend the first part of the meeting listening to the homeowners situation.  Next we ask the homeowner what their desired outcome is.  From this conversation we can usually get a pretty good idea what the best solution for this homeowner is.  For example, if they are dead set in staying in their home then I'm certainly not going to recommend a short sale!  Or, if the homeowner simply has no way of affording the payment - even if the loan were to be modified, then we'd of course, recommend against wasting time on a loan modification or attempting to talk to the bank about a forebearance.  However, it's important that we NEVER want to force the homeowner to do anything they don't feel good about because at the end of the day the homeowner has to be committed to the plan of action and I don't want to force anyone to do something that they might regret.  Not only does that usually lead to an unhappy customer but it also is likely to lead to an unsuccessful conclusion since so much of the work has to be done by the homeowner - I can and do help but I can't do everything!

After the homeowner has opened up about their situation there is usually a frank discussion about what the different options are.  For most folks the options are died in lieu of foreclosure, loan forebearance, loan modification, short sale or, as unappealing as it sound, wait until kicked out by the bank through the foreclosure process.  Each does have its upsides, but of course, they also have their downsides.  I view my job as being able to clearly explain each of those options and to give an informed opinion on the risks involved with choosing a particular option - including the chance that we might be unsuccessful, as well as what a successfull pursuit of that particular option would look like - and what will be needed from all parties to make it happen.

It certainly is an important decision and I feel very privileged to be called upon to help these folks in their time of need.  If you or anyone you know is going through this situation please contact me at patrick.bowes@mcahomes.com or go to mcahomes.com and I'd be happy to go through your options in detail and help you work out a win-win situation; free of charge.