Hardly a day passes without more doom and gloom about home foreclosures. Florida, as home owners know all too well, is suffering through a devastating and prolonged housing slump. Foreclosures only add fuel to the housing crisis fire, furthering the devaluation of our homes. Some predictions forecast another 5 years of tumbling home values.

You have to live somewhere! Our home is the most important investment most of us will ever make. Don’t surrender and just walk away from it!

Do you love your home? Do you want to save your home? There is help out there. You just have to be prudent, patient and persistent.
Television and radio is rife with law firms and other companies advertising their ability to prevent you from losing your home. As with anything, some firms are more qualified than others and there are less than scrupulous entities preying on desperate home owners.

What should you do if you think or you know you are in danger of losing your home? First, and foremost, call your lender. Do not wait to receive an acceleration or foreclosure notice. Do not avoid phone calls or notifications. Communicate your situation to them.

The lender does not want to have your home back. They may offer you plans and solutions. Listen carefully and take notes.

There are ways to escape having your home foreclosed on. Some are private and others are government sponsored.

The Federal government has created programs during the past 3 years to help Florida’s homeowners keep their homes out of foreclosure. For your own piece of mind, do some research on the reputation of the firm you are considering hiring to assist you with your foreclosure defense. Most attorneys will give you a free consultation. Their fees vary and are usually not very expensive. It’s worth the investment.

There are criteria to meet for qualification of a home loan modification.

On occasion, the regulations governing the modifications change. Some typical requirements are:
• Must be a Florida resident;
• Must occupy property as primary residence (the property cannot be vacant, abandoned or rented);
• Borrower/co-borrower must be unemployed or underemployed through no fault of his/her own, which makes the first mortgage unaffordable;
• Must have documented total household income at or below 140% of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for household size;
• Must have an active checking/
savings account;
• The current mortgage must be
serviced by a participating lender, who agrees to accept payments on behalf of the homeowner;
• The mortgage must not be more than 180 days past due at the time of application; and
• The loan must have been originated on or before January 1, 2009, and have a principal balance of less than $400,000.

This list is not all inclusive; other information and documents may be required prior to determining eligibility.
One program is the Florida Hardest Hit Fund for HHF financial assistance. www.FLHardestHitHelp.org.

Michael French, is Agenda’s Home from Home columnist. Contact Michael at mf7954fla@gmail.com

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In this week’s issue of Style & Entertainment we conclude our Entrepreneur Series of Profiles for August with Caleb Ben-Avram and Tim Slivinski, owners of The Naked Grape as they prepare to move to their new larger location in Wilton Manors. Paul Rubio discovers “Casa de Campo”, oceanfront and country extravagance fused together on the Dominican Republic’s southeast shoreline in Travel and we look at options for home loan modification in Home.
Warren Day takes on a review of the controversial play, “Angels in America” as well as looking at the top list of plays that have pushed boundaries and made people think in Theatre.

We also look at the hottest new web lifestyle program as Jumpmiami.com presents “Happy Hour” and we get up close and personal with Vixen, Chris and Josh. We sample the new standard for elegant, delicious and creative Asian cuisine at Dapur in Dining, Tom Bonanti helps you grab the balls in Fitness, with the use of the Swiss Medicine Ball and Jean Doherty lets us be the chef with a favorite Penne a la Vodka in Recipe.

We also have your favorites, Out in Florida and our State-wide Bar Guide.
Enjoy! H – AV