File a Motion to Dismiss the Foreclosure Lawsuit to Get More Time to Save Your Home

Once homeowners fall behind on their payments by a few months, the bank will inevitably begin the process of filing foreclosure paperwork. In states where the lender must (or usually does) go to court to be able to have the home auctioned, a lawsuit is filed against the owners. This is when the clock starts really ticking against borrowers, who must file an answer to the bank's lawsuit, but there is a step that may be taken even to delay the process at this initial juncture in the legal process.

When homeowners are served with a foreclosure lawsuit, they are typically given 20-30 days to file their answer with the court. In the answer, they are able to respond to the allegations the bank made in its complaint, state any affirmative defenses, and claim any defenses to the lawsuit. This is when borrowers can really start making the bank defend each of its positions or attack the lender's ability to bring the lawsuit in the first place.

But homeowners can take a step even before filing their answer that may buy them some extra time and force the bank to begin defending its legal action against the borrowers. Filing a Motion to Dismiss before the answer will put the entire foreclosure process in the courts on hold for a time until the Motion to Dismiss can be ruled upon by the judge in the case. With the slow speed at which many courts operate in the country, this simply maneuver can buy homeowners an extra month or more even before the bank can get a foreclosure judgment on the property.

This is also a way to eliminate a lawsuit very quickly without spending more time defending the bank's arguments point by point in a formal answer. The federal rules of civil procedure state that it is not necessary to file an answer to a complaint until a Motion to Dismiss has been ruled upon by the court. It is also important to note that this legal tactic may be called by other names in other states; for example, it may be referred to as a Demurrer o a Preliminary Objection, depending on the state laws and rules.

One way to begin arguing against the bank's lawsuit without filing an answer addressing the entire complaint is to file a Motion to Dismiss based on the bank's inability to bring the lawsuit in the first place. Homeowners can state that the bank has not shown it even owns the mortgage for it to have a claim to any of the borrower's property. If the bank does not have a right to collect the mortgage payments and foreclose, it is not the party in interest and may not bring a foreclosure lawsuit against the owners.

Especially if the mortgage or note with assignment proof is not attached to the complaint, the bank may have trouble showing it is legally allowed to foreclose on the house. Simply filing a copy of the original mortgage or deed of trust is also not quite good enough, as these documents are a matter of public record. The bank must produce evidence that it is the current owner and assignee of the original note.

Insufficiency of process is another defense homeowners can use to file a Motion to Dismiss before addressing the actual substance of the bank's complaint. When banks do not correctly follow the laws and rules in serving the borrowers with the paperwork, the lawsuit is not valid and may be thrown out of court until the lender can get it right. This is mostly a matter of being familiar with the state and local rules of procedure and pointing out which ones the bank and its attorneys have violated.

Jurisdiction and standing are also issues homeowners may raise in a Motion to Dismiss because they force the bank to prove that it is able to bring the lawsuit and that this particular court has jurisdiction over both the homeowners and the issue. If really pressed on the issue, it is doubtful that the bank's attorneys could prove jurisdiction with facts and evidence, rather than mere legal opinions backed by nothing but fancy legal language designed to trick non-lawyer borrowers.

No matter what defenses they make in their Motion to Dismiss, though, homeowners need to be aware that this tactic only puts the foreclosure on hold until the motion can be ruled upon. It does not stop foreclosure entirely, and the clock will begin running out again if the motion is denied.

For this reason, homeowners need to prepare for more than just this one hearing, and should be working on other solutions to foreclosure, as well. Filing the motion, just like requesting a delay of the sheriff sale, is one more good way to get more time, but homeowners who do not have a long-term plan to save their home will end up homeless anyway. It is much better to use these ideas in context, rather than as an end in themselves.

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Historical CD Rates

When looking at historical CD rates, it is apparent that some trends have remained constant. Generally, institutions that offer certificate of deposits grant higher rates of interests on their CDs that customers deposit money for the agree-on term than those on the CDs in which customers can withdraw the money on demand. For instance, during 2004 most of the popular banks in the world had offered 0.4% annual rate of interest on saving account deposits which are payable on demand, 0.8% on a 3-month CD and 2% on a 2-year CD.

When studying historical CD rates, the trend indicates that over the last 30 years the rates of interest were ranging in between 2-16% annually. During 1979, the average rate of interest on CDs was 11.44% worldwide. This was the rate before considering tax rate and inflation rate. During the same period, those rates were 66% and 13% respectively, which in turn left the net rate of interest of CD as 9.41%.

In 1981, the CD rate was almost 16% and in which year the tax rate and inflation rate were 66% and 9%. All of these factors have kept the net rate of return on CD as 3.5%. During the year 1986, the gross rate of interest was only 6.6%. However the tax rate and inflation rate were comparatively low which were only 52% and 1.1% respectively. Therefore there would not be more deductions from rate of return on CDs resulting in the net rate as 2.02%.

Whatever the previous rates may be, one can say that billions of dollars have been invested in CDs during the 20th and 21 centuries. When deciding on whether to invest in a CD or to go for other sources of investment, Investors need to take their goals and the rate of return into account.

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Cheap Vacant House Insurance - Where to Get It

Do you have a vacant house that you need insured? Want to get cheap vacant house insurance with a top-rated company? Read on ...

Vacant House Insurance Tips

If you own a home that's vacant you want to protect it from vandals, burglars, fire, and acts of nature. Here are some tips on how to protect your vacant house:

* Make sure you secure all doors and windows with deadbolts and window locks.

* Install a burglar alarm. The best alarms use motion sensors and glass-breakage detectors and are linked to a local security service.

* Give you house a lived-in look. Install intermittent light timers, have a neighbor pick up your mail, and have someone shovel your driveway after a snowfall.

* Ask a neighbor or hire someone to periodically check the outside and inside of your home for damage, especially after a storm.

Getting Cheap Vacant House Insurance

Vacant house insurance is generally more expensive than regular homeowners insurance because there's no one living in the house to watch and protect it. However, if your house is vacant for only a short period of time, or if you hire a caretaker to look after it, your insurance rate will be less.

Other ways to save money are:

* Purchase your vacant house insurance and your car insurance from the same company. This can save you up to 30% on your insurance premium.

* Raise your deductible to an amount you can afford. Raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000 can save you 15% to 25%.

* Install safety and security features like dead-bolt locks, window locks, smoke detectors, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems. This can save you 5% to 20%.

* Compare insurance rates with at least three different companies. This is the biggest money-saver of all, as insurance rates can vary by as much as $1,000 or more from one company to another.

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Minimizing the Income Tax on the Receipt of Lump-Sum Social Security Benefits

Sometimes a taxpayer will receive Social Security benefits in one lump sum. A taxpayer might have to pay income taxes on up to 85 percent of these benefits. However, a taxpayer may make an election under Section 86(e) of the Internal Revenue Code to minimize the income tax on the receipt of the lump-sum Social Security benefits.

Why would a taxpayer receive lump-sum Social Security benefits? A taxpayer could have been receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is tax free. Then, the Social Security Administration determines that the taxpayer should have been receiving Social Security disability benefits for the last several years instead of SSI. Another reason that a taxpayer could receive Social Security benefits in one lump sum is that the Social Security Administration may have initially denied the individual's application for Social Security disability benefits, but the individual wins those benefits on appeal.

Social Security benefits are not taxable for taxpayers with relatively low amounts of adjusted gross income. At moderate levels of adjusted gross income, 50 percent of the Social Security benefits are taxable. At high levels of adjusted gross income, 85 percent of Social Security benefits are taxable.

This graduated system for including Social Security benefits in gross income and the progressive nature of income tax rates can have a very bad effect on individuals who receive lump-sum Social Security benefits. Such individuals might have to pay a much larger amount of income taxes than they would have if they had received the Social Security benefits when they should have received them. If the taxpayer does not take action to make an election allowed by Section 86(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, that is what will happen.

Sometimes the taxpayer does not receive any cash for the lump-sum payment. For example, if the taxpayer had been receiving SSI and the Social Security Administration determines that the taxpayer should have been receiving Social Security disability benefits, the Social Security Administration will reduce the disability benefits by the amount of the SSI paid to the taxpayer. The taxpayer will receive a Form 1099-SSA showing the amount of the lump-sum Social Security disability benefits and yet the taxpayer received little, if any, cash.

Section 86(e) of the Internal Revenue Code allows a taxpayer who receives lump-sum Social Security benefits to elect to include in gross income only the sum of the Social Security benefits that the taxpayer would have included in gross income in prior years if the taxpayer had received the benefits in the years to which the lump-sum payment is attributable. A taxpayer may also make the election if the taxpayer received Railroad Retirement benefits in one lump sum.

Section 86(e)(2)(B) states that the taxpayer should make the election in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury in regulations. However, the Secretary of the Treasury has not issued any regulations under Section 86. Once a taxpayer makes the election, the taxpayer may not revoke it with the consent of the IRS.

Because no regulations exist that prescribe the manner of the election, a taxpayer should make the election according to the guidance the IRS provides in IRS Publication 915, "Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits." IRS Publication 915 has helpful worksheets and other information about making this election. Taxpayers who received Social Security benefits or Railroad Retirement benefits in one lump sum should consult IRS Publication 915 and determine whether the election will reduce their taxes.

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Top Ten Mortgage Companies

It is not very easy to top the list of the best mortgage companies in the country. You have to have the best service, a large network, and the infrastructure to maintain that kind of a reputation. The best top 10 mortgage companies according to the Forbes list are all giants in terms of mortgage. They have operations in many countries in the world. Let us take a look at some of them.

Citigroup

These guys top the Forbes list for the best top 10 mortgage companies. The company started in America and now has operations in 54 countries outside the U.S. Most of these are countries that have never used mortgage as a financing option. The annual revenue is estimated to be $108 billion.

The Bank of America

America's leading bank, it started to offer mortgage services and small loans and has now become a leader in credit cards as well. The Bank of America ranks second in the "best top 10 mortgage companies" in the Forbes List.

Wells Fargo

One of America's leading mortgage providers, they have an amazing network with more than 1000 branches across the country. Their revenue was estimated to be $33 million.

Wachovia´s

They are ranked fourth in the best top 10 mortgage companies. Since they have taken over the Western Financial Bank, they have increased their chances considerably to go higher up in the rating.

There are many other organizations as well--like BB&T, Golden West Financial, Popular, and M&T--who also are not quite far behind in the Forbes list of best top 10 mortgage companies.

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Effective Seminar Marketing - Tips to Get Prospects to Show Up For Your Seminar

Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing. - John D. Rockefeller

With over 15 years of experience as a financial adviser, I know how difficult it can be to market and expand your business. This article provides tips on marketing your Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) practice through effective seminar marketing. The primary focus is on getting prospects into the room. Later articles in this series will help you to develop the content and other logistics for an effective seminar.

Seminar Marketing sets the stage for professional success and can serve as your first exposure to the clientele you are trying to attract. To be most effective in expanding your business, I recommend conducting your own seminar. If you are not comfortable doing all the speaking yourself consider partnering with a professional in a related industry or a wholesaler who is comfortable in front of an audience who can do it with you. The goal of a seminar is to schedule an appointment with as many qualified prospects as possible while telling the public you practice SRI.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO FILL THE ROOM?

Traditional ways of marketing a seminar can work well to get your name out, whether you are new to a community or a long-time member.

Radio advertisement: Local AM radio stations that focus on the financial market are the best approach for this type of media. Consider sponsoring an episode of a professional's show in a related industry, or have your own commercial running between shows that are related to your field. I had my own radio show for over two years and this created significant credibility with my listeners. If your compliance department allows it, ask to be a guest speaker for a show or have your own.

Inserts in local newspaper: This can be done as a classified ad, or a brightly colored insert, similar to a flyer. Be specific about the audience you want to attract with your language. Relate to your target market so that when people see your ad they think, "That's me!" Start the ad with a question so your prospect answers your question in their mind. Examples could include: "Are you retired or planning to retire soon?" "Are you ready to invest in alignment with your values?" "Do you want to make money AND make a difference?"

Be active in your community: Perhaps the best was to fill a seminar is to draw on your networking activities in the community. Be strategic about the clubs and organizations you join, with an eye toward meeting people that can be prospects, clients and referrals. Social events, recreational activities, and spiritual events can all be places where you will meet potential clients. Be ready with your business card or a flyer for your next seminar. Be sure to get as much contact information as possible and follow up shortly after meeting your new contact! This is a crucial step often skipped leading to a missed network opportunity.

Personal invitations: Don't be afraid to invite people you know, especially the first time you do a seminar. Having familiar faces in the room can help you gain confidence in your ability to give a professional seminar. While your personal contacts may not be interested in your products, they now understand more of what you do and can refer you to friends and colleagues more easily.

Referrals: Some advisors are afraid to ask for referrals. Many others are great at asking but don't have a system for converting them into an actual client. Clients tend to know people who share their values, so this is the best way to get qualified and hopefully enjoyable prospects to attend your seminar. Make this a social as well as educational event for your clients by inviting them to your seminar and recommending they bring some of their friends and colleagues.

* Be sure to ask the client for the referral's name, address and phone number ahead of time so that you can send an invitation and also make a personal phone call. (Stay tuned for the upcoming system developed by Resources for Advisers that will teach in detail how to receive referrals and convert them easily to clients.)

Taking advantage of local web resources: Many communities have local websites for getting information out to members of the web community. This can be a quick way to get your name out and invite people to a seminar. I am on several social networks that are really helpful in disseminating my marketing materials.

TRY TEACHING!

Once you've had some experience presenting your seminar, try these methods to continue growing your prospects both locally and nationally:

Tele-classes: Contact related business to do tele-classes. These can be done with CPA firms, mortgage brokerage firms, and other related businesses. Doing a joint seminar with Mortgage Brokers, Estate Planning Attorneys and Accountants is a great win-win for both of you when you each invite your client list. Use a free service such as freeconferencing.com and send the phone number via email to invitees and leads. Make sure the tele-class is interactive and engage the audience. Leave plenty of time for questions. Many people like this concept because they can participate without having to leave their home or office and it leaves no carbon footprint!

Teaching classes: Teaching a course on SRI at a local community college, university, learning annex, or investment club can help you attract clients to your business. Contact your local educational resources to see about opportunities to teach in their adult education night/weekend courses. This can be a single class or can be a series depending on the extent of your content and the structure of the educational programs for your area.

Speaking for other peoples' audiences: My favorite way to get my name out to the public is to be invited to speak for audiences that already have a scheduled event. You can ask to be an "expert" guest speaker at another professional's seminar in a related industry. As an invited speaker at Rotary clubs, investment clubs, and other active-adult communities, you will gain immediate credibility with the audience.

"On call" Financial Planner: Be the "on call" financial planner for local businesses and offer your consulting services free of charge. Contact the Human Resources department of a local company and offer to conduct free seminars for their employees at their business location. Topics can include utilizing SRI within their 401K plans, 529 plans, IRAs and other investment accounts. Set up 15-20 minute appointment slots after the seminar to meet with each person to reallocate their retirement plan and set an appointment for a future date reviewing their whole portfolio, with their spouse present if possible.

Specialized markets--Mailers: The best way to target individuals based on your niche market is through mailers. Here are some examples of ways to attract the right people for your niche. If you specialize in IRA distributions focus on prospects over 59 and a half and mention IRA Distribution strategies in your mailer. Or, if you enjoy educating women on issues specific to women consider a list of women only and perhaps widows to narrow the niche even more. One way to include higher net worth recipients is to ask for the category of homeowners along with your other specifications. Narrowing by homeowner can eliminate some prospects that could be in your niche so consider what is important to you.

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF MAILERS!

Choosing the right type of mailers and smoothly and easily distributing them to the right prospects takes some advanced planning.

Distributing Mailers: Regardless of the mailer you chose, you will need a mail house to get them sent out. Build a relationship with a local mail house since repeat business usually leads to discounts. Local businesses can offer a full range of services including: providing mailing lists, creating a customized mailer, addressing, offering bulk postage and delivery to the post office. For smaller, more intimate seminars consider using real stamps instead of bulk postage and address the envelopes in ink. With any form of mailer always ask for discounts especially when placing large or repeat orders.

Compiling Mailing Lists: You may have a targeted mailing list from the contacts you have in your community. Some title companies will give them to you for free as an incentive to develop a networking relationship with the title officer. Otherwise, you may need to purchase a mailing list. The size and type of mailing list you choose directly affects your response rate and the qualified attendees you receive. Be sure to find a service that provides customizable mailing lists, including zip code selection, age targets, net worth targets, home ownership, etc. You can customize your mailing list based on a variety of demographic factors and target affluent zip codes in the surrounding area of your office location. A typical response rate is.5% - 2% if sent to completely cold prospects so be sure to send out enough mailers. Repetition lets the audience know that you are here to stay and increases these numbers. Of course, client referrals are substantially better prospects.

Invitations: Wedding-style invitations with an RSVP card are a professional, albeit more expensive, way to market. This is a very common approach among financial, real estate, mortgage and other professionals offering a seminar. You may want to take this concept and update it with your own touch to set yourself apart from the others. These do tend to get a higher response rate but they cost more too. I sprinkle these type of mailers occasionally for variety.

Postcards: Low-cost postcards can be designed and ordered online and shipped directly to your mailing list or sent to a local mail house. The postcards can be very stylish and professional but limit how much content you can include. These are great for reminders to your clients and hot prospects, such as referrals. Remember, your postcard does not have to be the smaller size. I often do half page postcards on nice cardstock. This is probably my favorite type of mailer because it is "naked mail". Your prospect doesn't have to open an envelope to see it.

Flyers: These can be folded and mailed without needing an envelope. This is a cost-effective approach, and allows a full page to market your seminar. Be sure to use a bright, pleasing color so it stands out in the mail and have extras for placement at other businesses. Choose professionals in a related industry (i.e. Estate Attorneys) and ask them to place these flyers in their lobbies or on their desk. It is especially important that tax preparers have plenty of flyers on their desk during tax time since clients often ask questions the tax preparer cannot legally answer.

Val-Paks, Penny Savers and other coupon mailers: This is usually cost-effective and can be done routinely if you plan to host seminars on a regular basis, but is less efficient at targeting a specialized market. We have a company that distributes high-end packets that are much classier than a Val-Pak and I recommend researching this option in your local area before choosing this option.

Bonus placement of any mailer: Whether you are marketing a seminar or simply getting your name out there for public recognition, placing flyers, postcards, business cards, etc... in the offices of related business can give you immediate credibility. Be sure to develop relationships with estate planning attorneys, CPA firms, real estate brokerages, and other professional service businesses in your area.

Article submitted by Jobie Summer and Resources for Advisors.

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Mortgage Cycling: Advantages and Disadvantages

Mortgage cycling has recently been marketed as a unique way to pay off your mortgage early and build up equity at the same time. The basic premise behind mortgage recycling however, has actually been used before. The main idea is that you make additional payments to reduce the mortgage principal and therefore pay off the loan early. The mortgage principal is the amount you owe, interest payments are calculated according to the amount of this outstanding loan.

Advantages

1. By reducing the amount of your mortgage principal you will significantly reduce the amount of future interest. This is especially significant since if a mortgage was to last 40 years most of the payments in the early years are mainly interest, you do little to reduce the principal.

2. To make it easier to meet the 6 monthly down payments mortgage cycling uses the technique of also taking out a home loan. This is just a standard load guaranteed against the value of your house. The interest rate should be low because it is secured against the value of your house. A careful use of this extra loan enables you to make large lump sums towards paying off your mortgage

Disadvantages

1. It is risky. To take an extra home loan means that if you unexpectedly lose your job and can't meet your repayments your house may be at risk.

2. The advantages of paying off a mortgage early are overestimated. True you may have less to pay when you are 50 but for most people there greatest period of financial difficulty is the first years of a mortgage.

3. Suppose your current monthly mortgage is $1000 this is a lot, and nobody wants to be paying that for 30 years. However in 30 years inflation will reduce the real value of your mortgage payment. Assuming real wages rise (as they have done in the past) it will be only a small % of your income in the future. Also many people find that in the early period of buying a mortgage they may have more bills like education for their kids, old student loans e.t.c.

4. Personally I would like a mortgage that lasts as long as possible, so I can have more money now. But everyone is different, if you are in the lucky position of having much spare cash at the end of every month then Mortgage cycling may well be worth doing.

5. There are less risky flexible mortgages which don't require the taking out of extra home loans..

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