Foreclosure Resources: Equip Yourself with the Right Tools!

00:00:08:09 - 00:00:32:22 Unknown Hey, foreclosure fix family. And welcome to another episode of the Foreclosure Fix podcast, where our goal is to help 1 million homeowners successfully navigate foreclosure. Hey, if this missing resonates with you, please do us a favor. Like, subscribe and share our content with someone who, you know can use the information. You can check us out. The foreclosure fix WSJ.com or on any streaming platform.

00:00:32:29 - 00:01:05:06 Unknown Today's episode is going to be a real treat. I have a good friend of mine by the name of Dickey Baldwin with us. Dickey, thanks so much for being on the podcast today. How you doing? At absolute build. Wonderful. Awesome. Awesome. Dickey, I mean, I wear out tie ups are, hey, it's no problem. It's no problem. You know, any time you want to come back, let me know and I'll have one sent to you so we can be we can be together in our mission of of time went on with with our listeners.

00:01:05:06 - 00:01:40:00 Unknown Right. So that's the Dickey. Baldwin has been in the mortgage industry for over 35 years. He has been a mortgage originator, a loan officer as traded national loan and mortgage companies across the country and just has a wealth of experience and knowledge in both the performing and non-performing note space. Today, Dickey leads an organization called the Baldwin Advisor Group that provides a myriad of services to different note investors and real estate investors across the country.

00:01:40:04 - 00:02:09:25 Unknown And we're going to dive into some of the offerings he has that are beneficial to homeowners facing foreclosure. So Dickey, let our listeners know how the Baldwin Advisory Group interacts with people who may be facing foreclosure. Absolutely. Joy, thank you very much. And hello, everybody. I know that the word foreclosure is a very, very stressful word for everyone.

00:02:10:01 - 00:02:39:22 Unknown And a piece of advice is the lenders, the buying the investors that are in the industry of real estate. The last thing they want is that nasty word, foreclosure. And part of what I do for in the investor world, you can also take advantage of. Let me give you a little background. As I said, I've been in the industry.

00:02:39:25 - 00:03:21:09 Unknown Well, it's push it 40 years now, but I've done everything from the origination side, selling side, the warehouse side, the title business have hell, wall to wall to mortgage notes myself. And in 2018, I had turned 70 years old after about three days, got really, really bored and realized that, hey, there's way too many people in this industry that I know and there's way too many people that are coming into the industry that just don't know where to go.

00:03:21:11 - 00:03:58:02 Unknown And so I actually created Baldwin Advisory Group in 2018 to be basically that one stop shop for you, the homeowner, as well as the investors. What I mean by a one stop shop there, there's a lot of things that go into the real estate investing world. There's property valuations, There's a title. You got to have realtors involved. You got to have a bridge, you got to have servicing companies, you've got to have title companies.

00:03:58:05 - 00:04:42:04 Unknown All of these entities are part of the air bag network. And to start off with, if an investor that's in the mortgage know industry and you happened to be one of their mortgages, they are actually the bank you may have been with Chase or you may have been with Sterling or are GS of numerous, numerous, numerous servicers. Many times the end of your person, just like you and I can buy these mortgage notes, be it performing or not performing.

00:04:42:07 - 00:05:16:12 Unknown The whole concept is as a real estate investor is yes, it's to make money. But I work with literally thousands of investors, that whole mortgage note, and I hear it every single day. I want to help the person not go into a foreclosure. I own the mortgage. Let me work with you, the homeowner. Come to some kind of terms that we can both live with in life.

00:05:16:15 - 00:05:45:20 Unknown Life goes on instead of having to leave your home. So, Dickey, you made a really good point there. You work with thousands of different investors, investment companies, and you're saying that pretty much 99.9% of these people are saying the same thing. They want to help you avoid foreclosure and come to a resolution that is a win win for everybody.

00:05:45:22 - 00:06:34:15 Unknown AB Absolutely. Absolutely. And as or fortunately, there may be different attitudes from the big, big, big boys that all you are is a number to them. Whereas if you're fortunate enough to have your mortgage being held by an investor, then there's definitely more of that personalized relationship between you and the investor. Slash your your mortgage company. So with all the different services that I have and my website, please go go to it's the Baldwin Advisory group dot com.

00:06:34:17 - 00:07:21:20 Unknown And in it you just see a barrage of different services that will go on due diligence services for individuals to find out things about their property. For instance, there's a a service called a title search now. A title search is any items that are recorded through the county about your property that you're in foreclosure. And you wouldn't be on this podcast if you were interested in what can I do to save for going through that process?

00:07:21:22 - 00:07:57:12 Unknown I will bet you a dollar to a donut that most of y'all at West Texas slang that most of y'all do not know about your living situation. And what I mean by that is different entities that you may owe money to have the right to file a legal against you and or your your property. And all of these leaves can cloud cloud of tide.

00:07:57:14 - 00:08:24:04 Unknown Well, if you do your due diligence and go through and do a title search, you'll find out. Has anything been filed against me that I don't know about that I may be able to take care of? Are there any judgments against me that I was not aware of? Obviously, if you've been in a bankruptcy, you would know that.

00:08:24:10 - 00:08:51:07 Unknown But these are the type of items that will show up on a title, sir. So so, Nikki, I want to stop for a second and I want to pause because you give us some great information and some of our listeners are at different levels as it pertains to their knowledge of real estate. So when Dickie talked about a cloud on title, a cloud on title is anything that encumber or, for lack of a better word, clouds your title.

00:08:51:12 - 00:09:11:27 Unknown So if you own a property free and clear, you don't have any mortgages on it, your taxes are paid and everything. You have no clouds on title. You can sell that property at any given point in time. However, if you have a mortgage on your property, a mortgage is considered a cloud on title because there's a lender who has an interest in that property.

00:09:11:27 - 00:09:34:06 Unknown So you can't sell it without that lender's interest being satisfied. So that's some of the terminology that Dickie is talking about. And when you think about a property and you think about your mortgage situation, what happens a lot of times is that you have homeowners who may want to sell their property. They're saying, I'm in foreclosure, I know my property has significant equity and I want to sell it.

00:09:34:06 - 00:09:53:14 Unknown I'm going to move in with my family. I'm going to move to a different place. I'm going to get an apartment or all these different things. But your leans on your property can sometimes eat away at that equity. And so what Dickie is talking about with a title search, it allows you to understand what leads and encumbrances on your property.

00:09:53:16 - 00:10:24:03 Unknown And so, Dickie, to your point, not only what's the benefit of it to the homeowner, but also what is the price point for something like this? You know, surprisingly, it is very, very inexpensive coming through by to do this versus trying to go to a title company that generally doesn't want to work with anybody. A, what we will call a third owners or well, typically right around $85.

00:10:24:05 - 00:10:52:09 Unknown Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Dickie, how long? You said $85 for somebody to understand exactly. All the lanes and encumbrances and everything going on with their property. Absolute. That's a small amount. I know some attorneys who charge, you know, $1,000 for that same service. Absolute. Let me explain how real quick, how a title search is initiated. There's an individual called an abstract.

00:10:52:12 - 00:11:33:05 Unknown And these are professionals that do this day in and day out who if the information is not all online, which there are a lot of counties where the data is not online, the abstract Earth will physically go to the courthouse and pull the actual records on your property. And these records once again will show any taxes, laid judgments in anything that is a negative slash cloud on on your title.

00:11:33:08 - 00:12:08:28 Unknown And as a whole lawyer, you would be surprised how many folks do not realize that there may be something outstanding against them. Whereas if you are aware of it, then you're able to talk with the the lender and show them that, hey, I am truly wanting to save my home and I discovered this. So how can you help me work through this to say my home and have a good loan for you?

00:12:09:00 - 00:12:33:05 Unknown The lender makes sense, Makes a lot of sense. And the place that this definitely comes in handy in everyday society is when you are a realtor and you're maybe working with the client and that client is of the mindset that they only have maybe one mortgage on their property, but they don't know. They don't remember. And you say, How do you forget a mortgage?

00:12:33:10 - 00:13:03:19 Unknown It happens all the time, particularly with second mortgages. And so if you a realtor and you're working with the client and they don't know if they have multiple mortgages or other lanes, it may be worth the $85 for you to pay as a realtor just to know what is going on before you spend months and months and months marketing a property, spending a lot more investment of your time just to not be able to sell the property or be in a situation where you get no commission because the house is underwater.

00:13:03:21 - 00:13:31:03 Unknown The other thing I've seen a lot from homeowners is where they forget about second mortgages. It happens so much in the space where they had a second mortgage from, you know, circa 2006 to 2010 that they haven't paid on for a significant amount of time. And now it's 20, 23 and they want to sell their house, but they have to pay off their second mortgage and the amount has doubled or even tripled in certain scenarios.

00:13:31:06 - 00:14:19:25 Unknown And that's another place where that title report comes in really, really handy to understand what's going on. The other thing that you need to think about is it will also show what position that mortgage is in, in betraying late. In other words, when would you have a mortgage? Typically, it is always in first lead position, meaning that they know your mortgage company does not own your home, you own your home, but they do have as D.J. was saying, the position of their mortgage, which would be their the first way.

00:14:19:27 - 00:14:59:22 Unknown But I have run across situation, especially in newer homes, where a contractor during the bill may not have been fully satisfied in payment by the the builder. And that contractor will file a swinging against that property, meaning that that property ever sold or he went to court. He would be able to get reimbursed. Well, if this contractor laying is done before the mortgage did that mortgages on second position.

00:14:59:24 - 00:15:30:20 Unknown So the the tidal surge basically is going to give you the the individual to know exactly the status of the lean positions on your property which are here. I agree with you on a percent, Nikki. One of the other services and one of the other things that I have heard numerous homeowners say when they're in foreclosure and this is closer to win a foreclosure sale may be happening.

00:15:30:24 - 00:15:53:03 Unknown So maybe it's, you know, three months out from a foreclosure sale or a month out from a foreclosure sale. They'll say, there's people driving by my house taking pictures. And I know as a real estate investor, as a realtor, someone who has been in the business, people drive by house, is going to foreclosure all the time as investors looking to see how they can capitalize.

00:15:53:07 - 00:16:17:11 Unknown But in addition to those investors who may be trying to drive by to see if they can buy the house, they're also realtor or sent by the bank or different appraisers sent by the bank who also need to understand the value. Help our listeners understand kind of that BPO process and what happens when a bank sends someone out to assess the value of a property.

00:16:17:15 - 00:17:09:15 Unknown What what will happen is the the realtor will go out to the property and they are generally requested not to go knocking on your door, look in your windows. Their job is to take a picture of your property without approaching it and then be able to come here it to what we call call a generally a valuation will be three recently sold comparables within the neighborhood and three current listings within the neighborhood, which gives the buying or investor an idea of market value of the property.

00:17:09:17 - 00:17:36:08 Unknown Now, as a homeowner, if you're in a position where you think a foreclosure is around the corner, you may be wanting to sell your house before that happens. And this valuation is going to help you put the numbers together. How much do I owe the mortgage? How much do I owe one? I'll leave that pop up, etc., etc..

00:17:36:10 - 00:18:08:25 Unknown This will give you an idea of before a realtor ever gets involved. What is my property truly were? Now as a whole owner, it's always going to be worth in your eyes more than they are what the market is. But that that's just human nature. So don't worry about it. But if the bank is wanting to know what the value, if you see somebody out in in, you're on the curb taking pictures, that's what it is.

00:18:08:28 - 00:18:42:01 Unknown Now, there are times where the bank will sell a mortgage or to another by or an investor, but the process is still the same. Those buying those investors, they're going to run a title search to find out what kind of lanes or what circumstances or clouds are there on this title. They'll also want to know what is the value of that property.

00:18:42:03 - 00:19:12:21 Unknown So don't get concerned when you see somebody outright taking pictures. Believe it or not, it's really for your your own protection as well as for the bank or investors protection. So that's a good segway to the next phase of that. Sometimes you have homeowners who may be going in foreclosure, but the property is not their primary residence and it was a rental property and the tenant leaves.

00:19:12:21 - 00:19:37:27 Unknown All of a sudden, so the property is now vacant and and they may send somebody out to change the lot or it was somebody's primary residence. They were going on vacation for a while. They receive some foreclosure papers. And now that they come home and their locks are changed. Nope. Our listeners understand what that process is and why the bank is trying to secure the property.

00:19:38:00 - 00:20:13:03 Unknown This process will vary from state to state. It's their own way of agreeing A by being able to take possession of the house and in most instances a notice will be sent that granted eviction notice are in some instances where you have a certain date to get out of the residence. Well, after all of the legal proceedings are done.

00:20:13:06 - 00:21:07:03 Unknown Once again, it depends on the state. I'm not an attorney, so and I don't have a list of what every state's requirements are. So working with somebody like D.J. and his group that handles the foreclosures nationwide is going to be a big benefit. But what's all of the legal proceedings are done there and the by slash investor will have the legal right to go to the params, the property and well, we call secure the property, which if there's not a a key available, then typically they will drill the door out and put in new deadbolts and lock and put a little lock box on it.

00:21:07:06 - 00:21:35:15 Unknown Once again, not getting into the legal side of it, but if there's any possessions left in the house it goes can also be removed by the investor or by and basically put out on the curb. But it's not like somebody is going to come in and drew your door out. There's every state once again has their procedures on how that is to be done.

00:21:35:17 - 00:22:05:05 Unknown But that is what is meant by securing a property, because what happens is the investors buying are having to look out for their financial interest also because that property is vacant, then if it's up north, there's in the house. Has it been winterized then this is something that the Investor Bank is going to have to do is winterize the pipes.

00:22:05:07 - 00:22:56:11 Unknown So so they don't freeze. Or if it's in the summertime, where the grass roads six feet tall, the city in Garbin put code violations against that property, which ultimately the buy slash investor here will have to take care of. And that is also a lean against the property. Yes, Nicky, you hit some some very important points there. One is that the reason why the bank would come and winterize the property, change the locks on the property, mow the lawn on the property is because when someone stops paying their mortgage, the bank is looking at how they want to secure recruit, recoup and protect their investment.

00:22:56:13 - 00:23:20:15 Unknown And that's the big thing that I think some people don't fully understand with the foreclosure process. The bank is interested in protecting the financial investment they made, and that is why they are taking all these different steps. And so, Dickie, I think the services your company offers are valuable to homeowners and investors alike. And I definitely think that those who may have a need for those services should look you up.

00:23:20:19 - 00:23:40:02 Unknown And I'll definitely give you an opportunity at the end of the podcast to provide that information again. But this leads me to my favorite part of the podcast, which is our bow tie around Dickie is where our listeners get the tie. Went on with our guest, Dickie Baldwin. And so the be in bow tie round stands for your Best Advice for somebody facing foreclosure.

00:23:40:05 - 00:24:06:24 Unknown The old stands for one thing you are grateful for and W stands for your wildest or most interesting foreclosure related story. So, Dickie, what is your best advice for somebody facing foreclosure? I mentioned the word earlier due diligence and take it upon yourself to do your own due diligence. And the due diligence are some of the items that that I mentioned.

00:24:06:27 - 00:24:38:26 Unknown You know, find out what the title situation is, find out what the the value of your property is. Yes, there's a couple hundred dollars involved between those two entities, but as investors that buy these type of instruments, the mortgages and I say this every day, a couple of hundred dollars could literally save you thousands and thousands of dollars.

00:24:38:29 - 00:25:19:10 Unknown Well, on the investor side, they don't want to be making bad investments. As a homeowner, though, you're wanting to know what our situation is. What are my obstacles and how do I find these obstacles? It's due diligence that's really sage and solid advice. I appreciate that. Dickie, One thing you are grateful for right now, I'm thankful that I woke up in 2018 when when I turned 70 and here we are, 2023 and 75, I'm like bull.

00:25:19:17 - 00:25:57:02 Unknown And I mean this really what in my heart broke the literally thousands of people that I'm involved with on a regular basis to have them make money and as well as allow folks such as yourself to have a place to live of your own, because the the key to the real estate, everybody has to live somewhere. And I'm just thankful that I've got the knowledge, the experience, that age and the tools to help both entities.

00:25:57:04 - 00:26:35:12 Unknown Because really, as I said this and you did to the 99.9% of supposedly the bad guys, the buy, they really, really care because it's a pain to go through a foreclosure not inexpensive, not only for the whole owner, but for the biker investor that holds that instrument. I couldn't agree more with with that sentiment that it is a pain to go through foreclosure, whether you're a homeowner or you are the actual investor or bank.

00:26:35:19 - 00:27:11:04 Unknown Final question. Your wildest or most interesting foreclosure related story. I guess once again, it comes into the due diligence where and it was a a small by buy was foreclosing on on a property and they were the point 1% that really didn't care not the 99.9 that do they didn't do the due diligence they went through and did the foreclosure.

00:27:11:06 - 00:27:43:07 Unknown Well. When it was all said and done, the bank finally reached out to me to get a picture of the property. They didn't really care about the value. They just wanted to see the the property. And there wasn't a property there. It was gone a while. But they they had foreclosed on what they thought was a house. But what had happened, that portion of the house had burnt down and was destroyed.

00:27:43:09 - 00:28:12:09 Unknown And the people just lay out and the bank thought that they were just not paying that. So this all sort of ties into what we've been talking about for the last 30 minutes is the due diligence. If the bank would have known it, done their due diligence in the first place, a foreclosure may have been say, and the people may have been able to do something to rebuild their lot.

00:28:12:11 - 00:28:33:17 Unknown So it's a double edged sword. I mean, you know, we got we got to work together. That is so true. Dickie, we appreciate you coming by the podcast today. We appreciate the advice that you have given homeowners. Please let us know once again how we may be able to get in contact with you if we want to explore your services, if they want to have a conversation or if they just want to follow your journey.

00:28:33:19 - 00:29:22:01 Unknown Absolutely. My website is WW dot Baldwin Advisory Group dot com by email is the Baldwin at Baldwin Advisory group dot com. And my direct line is 936 or 474170. We didn't mention that Baldwin advisory group goes bye bye vague and our slogan is one side for all your real estate services which is there for investors as well as you, the individual or Dickey You know you gave out your personal your personal number, you personally, your direct line.

00:29:22:08 - 00:29:42:08 Unknown So if people start calling you, asking for a discount on your services and now BPOs, it's not my fault. Okay? Absolutely. Just just call in. Now, our listeners, our listeners are our fiscally conscious, so they want to make sure they get the best bang for their buck. So, Apalachee, Hey, I'm so grateful for having you on the podcast today.

00:29:42:13 - 00:30:02:03 Unknown Foreclosure Fix Scam Family. I'm grateful for you tuning in. If this mission to help a million homeowners resonates with you, please do us a favor. Like subscribe. Share it with someone who can help. Send us your questions. Check us out at the foreclosure fix scam. And please, please, please know that if you're facing foreclosure, there is help out there for you.

00:30:02:05 - 00:30:19:14 Unknown My name is Nigel Ojo. I appreciate you tuning in. I love you and God bless you. See you soon. The views and opinions on this podcast are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have a specific legal question, we highly recommend you contact a qualified legal professional.