Will Santa Bring an end to the Housing Crisis for Christmas?

By: Lori T. Williams, Esq., Wayne/Oakland Legal News Examiner for Examiner.com and owner/managing attorney of Your Legal Resource, PLLC

Will Santa Bring an end to the Housing Crisis for Christmas? Don’t hold your breath!  I interviewed attorney Ken Gross, Managing and Co-Founding Shareholder of the law firm of  THAV GROSS, recently for a real estate update.  Gross has seen his law practice shift over the past 2 years from 80% Corporate and transactional business law and estate planning to 40% of that work, with the remaining 60% of his work today focused on “financial crisis management”.  The clients in the latter category are being helped by Gross and his firm through loan modifications, short sales, or the Bankruptcy process.  Gross feels that the Bank’s loan modification process is worse now than ever.  “Banks are losing paperwork submitted by homeowners, and if you do get a live person on the phone,  it’s hard to find anyone who knows the facts of the loan modification transaction,” remarked Gross.  “Furthermore, denials are made with no explanation and often mistakes are made by the banks, making the denial improper.”

Despite the difficulties inherent in the process, Gross enjoys strategizing about which method will best help the debtor solve their financial crises, and for the least amount of money.   Gross feels, “if an individual can do for themselves what the Government did for GM, it’s a smart move.”  “Often my clients are hard working people who were doing well and paying their bills on time, before the housing market and economy took a hit”. Gross’s goal is to preserve assets and future income for his clients and their family.  “If they have 2 mortgages, and their house is underwater such that its value is less than the amount of the first mortgage, they might be a candidate for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.  That’s the only way to eliminate the 2nd mortgage on the property.  At the same time, it’s possible to work on a loan modification of the first mortgage.”  Gross remarked, “the process is difficult.  In some cases, it is necessary to push the matter to the brink of foreclosure in order to get the banks to agree to a short sale.  You just don’t know how the process will go, until you try.  Bankruptcy or another Debt Resolution program is available as a relief measure for those clients who can’t modify the loan or get approval from the bank on a short sale.”  Gross helps his clients who previously had a good credit score, to understand that their credit score isn’t as important as discharging debt that cannot be repaid because of the current housing market and economy.  “The credit score can come back, but if you risk your assets and income to protect your credit score, you are throwing good money after bad”, says Gross.

Gross hosts a weekly radio show on WDFN’s channel 1130AM, every Saturday from 8:30-10am.  “The show is called Financial Crisis Talk Center and the goal is to educate listeners about real estate options and debt relief options available under the law today”, says Gross.  “The show has resulted in referrals from real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, attorneys, and CPA’s who heard us on the radio, and who referred a client with an upside down mortgage or other debt problems.”   “Our listeners tend to be males who are 30-60 years old, since WDFN is a sports station. We’ve been on the air for 2 years now and are growing a regular following.”  “As I see it”, says Gross, “we have a limited window of great opportunity to help homeowners shed debt.  As the National Economy improves, the window of opportunity to shed debt associated with the housing market will close.”  “We all want the economy to improve, but the message is for homeowners and debtors to get educated about their individual rights, so they aren’t holding on to a sinking ship”.  For more information about the radio show, credit card relief, tax relief, loan modifications and short sales, Bankruptcy, or other financial problems, visit the website.