The stories can drive even the hardest hearted of us to tears. Families that once lived the American dream have been turned into virtual paupers. The pain, dereliction of abandoned homes, many of them vandalized… it’s all there to be seen. We’re talking about the mortgage meltdown

The American dream is now, for many Americans, the American shame: With no resolution in site. And don’t forget Katrina victims are still clinging on to hope that help might come some day. Read this article about this sad shame.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The house on East 24th Street was the worst of the six that David Law and Trey McCallister worked on the other day here. The front door had been kicked in so many times that the dead bolt was exposed and bent. Trash littered the front and back yards. A copper pipe was gone.

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Many a homeowner has been unable to make a mortgage payment lately. It’s a national plague and you must work quickly to fix it before it spirals out of control. If you are facing the losing end of a foreclosure, stop and begin your path to a solution.

Try a broker. If you cannot pay your mortgage and face losing your home and abusing your credit, a quick sell might be the answer. A real estate broker will be able to give you a clear picture of your options.

If you have abundant property, sell an easement. You give up a little land but increase your financial outlook. Which is better? A Foreclose on your home or selling off a ¼ of an acre?

Place your property up for sale on a ‘rent to own’ basis. Prospective buyers would need a down payment big enough to cover your mortgage debt. This saves your credit score and you will still reap the benefits.

As soon as you see trouble looming, refinance BEFORE you get knee deep into trouble.

If this is revenue generating property, search for investors to sell a share of the property.

If this isn’t revenue generating property, still search for investors and sell shares of the property. All properties can be rented NO MATTER WHAT. The government provides Section 8 housing funds to those unable to afford housing. This is a sure bet if you need to rent in a hurry.

This should be the second thing you do! Negotiate with your lender as soon as you realize you are in trouble. Many mortgage lenders will allow you to alter the contract and negotiate new payment arrangements.

This should be the first thing you do! Don’t get behind in your payments. This is obvious but many homeowners say it’s unavoidable with today’s economy.

Not all homeowners facing foreclosure are financially irresponsible. The recession has caused budget shortages, inflation of prices and a huge job loss. Now is the time everyone should come together and find the best solution to this nation’s epidemic.

Many consumers have reduced the result of a credit transaction to “Approved” or “Not Approved”. Credit is not just a condition or an event, good credit is a life-style. A life-style that can provide for any material object you desire. 

Everyday is a new day for someone with bad credit. You can choose to make it right and start anew or remain in a sub-prime existence. Whatever the situation, it doesn’t have to be permanent.  But many consumers live for the moment and bad credit thrives on impulsiveness.

The world we exist in today has one word that transcends all languages. The word is credit. Talk about credit to anyone and the response is “YES”. Yes, I know and understand credit. When in reality, most only understand how to pay bills by their due date and can’t read or understand their credit bureau report.

Credit evolves everyday to become more and more of a scale for society’s worth. Many believe that companies are giving a half hearted attempt to help consumers with credit issues by allowing consumers to obtain credit. The truth is companies are burdening them with debt.

The current credit mess in the US, particularly the mortgage crisis, is the creation of lenders, but through subprime loans per se as you may have been led to believe.

You see, many companies keep the consumer upside down on their loan so as to charge high interest rates. This means huge profits for the lenders. Eventually, those charges can and do become unmanageable. Society has been set up to fail.

Add to this the fact that sub-prime financial options are presented to consumers as a good deal when in fact, there is no way the consumer can prosper with that type of loan. If they don’t continue with good credit habits, as we are seeing now, everyone falters.

For the consumer with credit issues, the objective is to become an educated consumer, establish a credit worthy life, and overcome bad habits.

Good credit is time consuming and requires discipline.  It demands budgeting, organization and good responsibility. But those that follow this regimen reap huge rewards with the ability to obtain anything without cash.

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Become an educated consumer and beat banks, credit bureaus and credit card companies at their own game. Check The Credit Secrets Bible today.

Owning a home gives you plenty of financial options. You can refinance your home mortgage to lower your interest rate or use it to consolidate your debt.

If you own a home, this means you have a very powerful financing solution at your fingertips. A home means you have some equity and hence, through a second mortgage or a house mortgage refinancing solution, you can borrow from yourself to cover your financial needs. Thus, this will allow you to alleviate your current financial situation.  Not sure of the possibilities?  Here are some things you can use a second mortgage or a home mortgage refinancing solution for:

1) You can utilize home mortgage refinancing to lower your mortgage rate. This is a great way to reduce your mortgage and overall payments. You may need to still scale back some but you can save overall. Especially during the current recession, you can get good financing rates

2) Use a second mortgage or a home mortgage refinancing as means of a debt consolidation loan. This is a great method to combine all your other debts and alleviate stress on you. If you have burdened with maxed-out credit cards, a ton of unpaid bills, trouble covering your auto loan payments, then this may be wise decision for you to get a second mortgage on your house and use it as a debt consolidation loan. With this solution, you can pay off all your debts at one time and you will also be able to pay back your loan back in the long term. And, the amount of interest will be considerably less.

3) Thinking of starting a home based business? You can use a Home Mortgage Refinancing loan to create that needed capital for your new home based business. Or, perhaps you need an influx of cash for your existing business.

4) Need money for college tuition?  Use this technique to get money for your children’s college fund or pay off your child’s college tuition fees.

As you see, a home mortgage refinancing solution may be advantageous for a variety of purposes. Take the time to review various financing options.  There are plenty of rates and places to refinance, just do your research.

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Hot tips on refinancing and credit improvement and repair strategies revealed in the Credit Secrets Bible.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act allows taxpayers to eliminate up to $2 million of mortgage debt on their principal residence in 2007, 2008 or 2009.

Understanding Mortgage Forgiveness

Mortgage forgiveness is a familiar term in the real estate market. When a lender will accept less than the full amount of the debt, in full payment of a mortgage, the difference between the amount payable and the amount accepted is “forgiven”.

The Old Rules Enabled IRS to get Their Share of the Pie

When a mortgage lender pardons your loan or a portion of it, they send you a 1099C reflecting the debt forgiven. You must include that amount on the 1099C as taxable income and combine with your earned income and wages. For example, if $25,000 of your mortgage loan was forgiven, when you filed taxes for that year, that $25,000 must have be added to your earned income. Add to that the insult of having to pay taxes on income you never saw. In place of relief, you’d end up owing the IRS a large amount at the next tax term.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Turns the Tables

Well, not exactly. If you’re forced into a small sale, you will still get a 1099C from your mortgage lender, and you are still required to file that along with your taxes. However, now you can eliminate the forgiven amount up to $2 million from your taxable income. In laymen’s terms, while it’s still counted as income, you won’t have to pay taxes on it.
In order to claim this mortgage debt relief, you must show the IRS how much debt was forgiven.  Do not rely on your 1099C to reflect that amount.  Take good notes and contact the lender before tax time to get the documentation you need.

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Want some hot tips on how to save money on your mortgage without re-financing, avoid foreclosure and save/repair your credit? Check out The Credit Secrets Bible now