When Home Owners are Going into Short Sale

I keep a close eye on what the market trends are in my area of specialization here in Aurora Colorado. I am finding that many home owners are literally waiting till the last minute to face the realization that their home is heading into foreclosure. After many a frustrating encounter, I finally decided to seek out what options are available for the people in my neighborhoods in these type situations.

When I talk to them one on one, there is a lot of confusion in regards to the so called "bail out" money for homeowners and then there is the issue of them not being able to refinance off their ARMS, but let's not forget the wonderful processors at the banks themselves that don't even want to hear that a homeowner is about to default on their loan.

Recently, I was asked to help a family whose home was going into foreclosure. By the time they called me, they were only 3 months behind on their first, but their second was paid on time and in full. So, I started the process of attempting to reach a "decision maker" at their bank to open communication between the two parties to find a resolution. Talk about a nightmare!

Once that attempt failed miserably, I started to seek more productive options...and I found that there are "loss mitigation" companies that specialize in working with the banks to re-structure loans. I was on cloud nine...finally, someone that could help my clients. Of course, statistically only about 50% of the people that are fortunate enough to hear of such companies will actually be good candidates for a loan modification. I could hear my heart sinking, my clients weren't the "best" homeowners, but they did have the will to stay in their home.

Surprise Surprise even after 5 months of non-payment, my clients qualified...they had already moved into an apartment when we got the news, but as advised, moved back into the home. Anyone would expect this to be the Happy Ending...recently, I received an email from the loss mitigation representative letting me know that due to the fact that my client would not return their phone calls...they had to move on to more willing participants.

Am I in the Twilight Zone? After all that time and hard work...did they just slam the door on us for help? Has anyone else out there been in this situation? I am happy that I have found a possible solution for the homeowners in my area, but I am discouraged to offer my advise to them on how to keep their home.

What are your thoughts on this...