In most states, foreclosure is initiated after three payments have been missed.In most states, the beginning of foreclosure is a document known as the notice of default.It will be mailed to the property address, and often nailed to the door of the property as well.In some states foreclosure is judicial – meaning the process has to go through the courts, in other states foreclosure is non-judicial and can be done through a trustee, such as a title company or a foreclosure specialist company.Then there are some states that allow for either method.
Traditionally, the foreclosure process has taken approximately 90 days to complete, and it is completed by the bank auctioning off the home, usually at the county courthouse or curing the default.If nobody buys the home, the lender will buy the home back and then place it with a real estate agent to be sold.Sometimes homeowners think that if nobody bought the property, then it didn’t get sold and it is still theirs.This is not the case in at least 95% of the auctions.Once the lender buys it, the home is his and the homeowner will have to vacate the property, normally within 30 days.
Today, homeowners have opportunities available to them to stop the bank’s attempts to foreclose on him or her before the home is auctioned off.Tila Solutions is able to help homeowners who contact them before the home is auctioned off.
It is important to know that the homeowner does not have to leave his home at the beginning of the foreclosure process.And the homeowner still has time to stop foreclosure and save his home. But, also understand that the lender will not accept any payments from him except for the full default amount.The default amount is the total amount of missed payments, plus all fees.
Traditionally, paying the full default amount, which always includes fees and penalties and other “additional costs” – often marked up to create more profit for the lender, is known as curing the default.If the homeowner cures the default any time before the auction date on the property then he is not going to lose his home.It is estimated still that at least 50% of the homeowners manage to cure their defaults.This is one reason why lenders would prefer to use the foreclosure process to make money instead of give a homeowner a loan mod.However, statistics are also showing that these homeowners who cured the default normally end up back in foreclosure in very short order.
Tila Solutions receives countless calls and emails from people every day desperately trying to save their homes.There have even been reports of people committing suicide because they could not stop foreclosure.They call Tila because they need help.Real Help – not false hope.
Lender Lies & Deceit
In any given month Tila Solutions receives countless calls from people that they can no longer help.These are the people who were told by their lenders that they did not need to worry about the foreclosure, because they were “under review” for a loan mod, and the homeowners actually believed the bank.Then somehow the auction date or denial letter didn’t arrive at the property address or in the mail, and the homeowner learned that either a) his home was going to be sold in the next couple of days or day, or b) his home was already sold at auction.
Tila Solutions is an audit company.They conduct forensic loan audits and help people locate the federal laws that were violated by the banks when the loan was issued. They use the results of these audits to help people save their homes and get the loan mods the banks refused to give previously.But they can only help IF the home has not been auctioned off!
These days, the lenders have the goal of cleaning up their books, turning a profit, and making more money (actually the same goals the banks have always had – cut the losses and turn a profit). Banks determine where they will see the best return on the money they loaned, and sadly, you are not it.Now that means auction off your home, and make money elsewhere, and that is what has been happening to the masses.
It is always the same story:You, the homeowner, were lied to when you were given the loan: it wasn’t a good loan worked out in your best interest, it was a predatory loan that is now consuming you, but has made money hand-over-fist for the lender.Now you are being told there just seems to be no way possible to qualify for a loan modification and lower their monthly payment, or worse yet, that you are under review and not to worry about the auction date.
Until Tila Solutions conducts the Forensic Loan Review and finds the crimes that the banker is guilty of, you will continue to be lied to, and either cure the default, only to end up in foreclosure at a later date, or just lose your home.
It’s a story we are all quite familiar with now:somehow, that poor family, sitting in foreclosure does not make enough money to pay a smaller monthly payment, so the bank refuses to do the loan modification.Of course they will also continue demanding the higher monthly payment or you lose your home to foreclosure.
Stopping the Bank Scam
Homeowners just don’t realize that the bank will tell them lies.It will tell them that they are getting a loan mod and then it will auction off their home.If any other company operated this way they would be shut down rapidly and prosecuted!But the banks have billions of dollars and they are getting away with it.If homeowners do not have somebody on their side, and keep listening to the bank lies, they will be another statistic of the bank scams.
When Tila Solutions comes on the scene, foreclosure is stopped, banker crimes are found and exposed, and lower monthly payments (and often principal balance reductions too!) are gotten.
Tila Solutions uses the power you have always had to protect you:TILA, HOEPA, RESPA, ECOA.These are the laws that protect borrowers and prevent them from having their lives destroyed through the predatory acts of unscrupulous lenders and bankers who would use them for their own profit.
Borrowers have so much power and strength when they know their rights and use these laws.Tila Solutions helps them do this.
Banks are not above the law, but will try to operate as if they are.You don’t have to take that anymore!A Tila Solutions Consultant is available for people by telephone at 1- 307—459—0232.Or you can visit the Tila Solutions website at http://www.tilasolutions.com.They will help you and your family.They are on your side.
Are you still wondering if you should trust the bank’s promise to give you that loan mod? Are you still trying to decide if it is time you got a forensic loan audit? No matter what, the facts speak for themselves. What are the facts of your loan? How can those facts help save your home?
Despite government intervention, people continue to churn and burn while desperately hoping for a Loan Mod, while thousands report abusive, deceiving, unfair and inept practices in the Loan Mod Departments. Foreclosure statistics are still on the rise -- they are moving along seamlessly, however, those departments are adequately staffed.
Lenders, bankers, news media – and even government officials warn you away from seeking professional services to help you save your financial life and your home. . . Why?
The clue lies here in a video recently released on the web – you probably saw it.In summary, it states that IndyMac makes more money foreclosing, short selling, and collecting from the FDIC than they do modifying loans.
Some allege that the deal has been made with other banks who bought out failing loans, such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo too. As news of the Goldman Sachs Investigation hits the papers (banks put people into failing loans purposely so they could clean up on the stock market when they failed).Bankers scammed homeowners.
Tila Solutions personnel hear from homeowners daily how they are being forced into foreclosure or short sale by their banks.This strongly suggests that the findings in this video may have merit.
The money is in foreclosure and short sales. Loan Mods are not profitable and the professionals that could and do help are often maligned. (Companies like Tila Solutions are cutting into the bank profits when they save homes).It makes sense really because bankers are not in the business of helping people, they in the business of money-making.
Tila Solutions is in the business of providing forensic loan audits, and helping homeowners save their homes. That’s got to wreck those bank profits in the foreclosure and short sale departments!
But, how did we end up as a nation in foreclosure? Who did it? More importantly, who scammed you originally, and who is still scamming you now? Read on.
It started in the late 90’s:a 1999 Orlando Sentinel article states, - In a move that could provide stronger consumer protections for more than 1 million new home buyers a year, the federal government plans to take a novel, get-tough approach with lenders: It's going to hold thousands of banks and mortgage companies directly responsible for the number of home buyers they finance who fall into default or foreclosure within the first 24 months after loan closing. (gotta wonder what the heck happened, don’t you?)
Over the past decade estimates are as high as 80% of the loans issued by banks contain federal violations and are predatory loans. Now there’s a huge contributing factor to escalating foreclosures and bankruptcies over the past five years! (Tila Solutions has still not investigated a loan that did not contain numerous violations!)
And how many banks issued predatory loans that they then collected that federal mortgage insurance on after they foreclosed on the homeowner (and so often the homeowner didn’t know he had been foreclosed upon – he thought he was getting a loan mod). Tila hears from and helps these homeowners every day.
How about WaMu – once touted as the nation’s largest bank (they’re out of business now)
Seattle Times reported in October of 2009, that the fallout from the 'biggest banking collapse in U.S. history shows no sign of ending soon.” What fallout? It’s all those lawsuits and federal investigations alleging securities fraud “whether fraud played a role in WaMu’s collapse,” and bankruptcy.
Of course, WaMu was shut down by the FDIC, and Chase was forced to buy their failing loans. Of course, Tila Solutions gets hundreds of calls from homeowners, desperate to stop Chase from foreclosing on their WaMu loans – you know those loans they produced that now has them being investigated for fraud and securities violations (back to issuing loans designed to fail for the benefit of the stock market, are we?)
Today, Chase is servicing all those loans. Still burning and churning in Chase’s Loan Mod Department – listening to their recording which says, “we will modify your loan for free” while hoping to hear from a customer service rep that you don’t have to fax your tax return for the 20th time, or fearing that you will hear that since you didn’t, you will now be foreclosed upon.
Or are you one of the more recent statistics – a person who thought they were getting a loan mod (for free) even made all your trial mod payments, and then received your auction date in the mail? They may claim to modify your loan for free – but rest assured they charged YOU several thousand dollars to foreclose on you.
Why on earth wouldn’t you get Tila Solutions to investigate and negotiate for you? The bank hired a professional to foreclose on you.
Many homeowners still, to this day, appear to put their faith in the banks – but would they have if our government’s efforts to stop the bank scams had made a much bigger media splash?
Summing things up then:
Can we be so bold as to assume that under the pretense of “working” to modify loans, they are taking homes in record numbers? Tila sees the rising foreclosure statistics as a strong indication that this is the case.
Why is there no steady onslaught of media reports on this? How is bilking homeowners out of thousands of dollars in trial mod payments before their homes are foreclosed upon not a scam?Tila Solutions helps homeowners stop these actions daily.
In an article in the March 4th 2010, Orlando Sentinel, we see that Bank of America carries the lowest scores for loan mods: “The lender, one of the nation's biggest banks, holds more than a million mortgages that are months behind on their payments — twice as many defaulting home loans as any other lender in the country. But it has given permanent mortgage modifications to only about 1 percent of those borrowers — one of the lowest rates among lenders nationally.”
Unless the home owner stops “listening to what the banks say” and starts reading the lawsuits the banks are passing out like lollipops when you make a deposit, the foreclosures are going to just keep on multiplying.It is time to stop thinking the bank is going to help you.It is time to start helping yourself.
Investigations have resulted in fraud and federal violations being found and addressed – albeit not adequately by our government, but even they cannot ignore them. Thus, one can surmise that when federal violations and fraud are found doors have opened – at any level.
Tila Solutions finds these violations, and doors open – no matter how the lenders may wish to deny it.TILA, RESPA, HOEPA, ECOA and Fraud violations when found in a loan open doors and save homes.
Do yourself a favor and contact Tila Solutions. Take matters into your own hands.Just remember this:The bank wants your money and your home. Get a Forensic Loan Audit and let the people at Tila negotiate new terms for you with the bank.
Tila Solutions can be contacted at 1 307 459--0232.You can find out more about Tila and Forensic Loan Reviews at http://www.tilasolutions.com
Are you still wondering if you should trust the bank’s promise to give you that loan mod? Are you still trying to decide if it is time you got a forensic loan audit? No matter what, the facts speak for themselves. What are the facts of your loan? How can those facts help save your home?
Despite government intervention, people continue to churn and burn while desperately hoping for a Loan Mod, while thousands report abusive, deceiving, unfair and inept practices in the Loan Mod Departments. Foreclosure statistics are still on the rise -- they are moving along seamlessly, however, those departments are adequately staffed.
Lenders, bankers, news media – and even government officials warn you away from seeking professional services to help you save your financial life and your home. . . Why?
The clue lies here in a video recently released on the web – you probably saw it.In summary, it states that IndyMac makes more money foreclosing, short selling, and collecting from the FDIC than they do modifying loans.
Some allege that the deal has been made with other banks who bought out failing loans, such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo too. As news of the Goldman Sachs Investigation hits the papers (banks put people into failing loans purposely so they could clean up on the stock market when they failed).Bankers scammed homeowners.
Tila Solutions personnel hear from homeowners daily how they are being forced into foreclosure or short sale by their banks.This strongly suggests that the findings in this video may have merit.
The money is in foreclosure and short sales. Loan Mods are not profitable and the professionals that could and do help are often maligned. (Companies like Tila Solutions are cutting into the bank profits when they save homes).It makes sense really because bankers are not in the business of helping people, they in the business of money-making.
Tila Solutions is in the business of providing forensic loan audits, and helping homeowners save their homes. That’s got to wreck those bank profits in the foreclosure and short sale departments!
But, how did we end up as a nation in foreclosure? Who did it? More importantly, who scammed you originally, and who is still scamming you now? Read on.
It started in the late 90’s:a 1999 Orlando Sentinel article states, - In a move that could provide stronger consumer protections for more than 1 million new home buyers a year, the federal government plans to take a novel, get-tough approach with lenders: It's going to hold thousands of banks and mortgage companies directly responsible for the number of home buyers they finance who fall into default or foreclosure within the first 24 months after loan closing. (gotta wonder what the heck happened, don’t you?)
Over the past decade estimates are as high as 80% of the loans issued by banks contain federal violations and are predatory loans. Now there’s a huge contributing factor to escalating foreclosures and bankruptcies over the past five years! (Tila Solutions has still not investigated a loan that did not contain numerous violations!)
And how many banks issued predatory loans that they then collected that federal mortgage insurance on after they foreclosed on the homeowner (and so often the homeowner didn’t know he had been foreclosed upon – he thought he was getting a loan mod). Tila hears from and helps these homeowners every day.
How about WaMu – once touted as the nation’s largest bank (they’re out of business now)
Seattle Times reported in October of 2009, that the fallout from the 'biggest banking collapse in U.S. history shows no sign of ending soon.” What fallout? It’s all those lawsuits and federal investigations alleging securities fraud “whether fraud played a role in WaMu’s collapse,” and bankruptcy.
Of course, WaMu was shut down by the FDIC, and Chase was forced to buy their failing loans. Of course, Tila Solutions gets hundreds of calls from homeowners, desperate to stop Chase from foreclosing on their WaMu loans – you know those loans they produced that now has them being investigated for fraud and securities violations (back to issuing loans designed to fail for the benefit of the stock market, are we?)
Today, Chase is servicing all those loans. Still burning and churning in Chase’s Loan Mod Department – listening to their recording which says, “we will modify your loan for free” while hoping to hear from a customer service rep that you don’t have to fax your tax return for the 20th time, or fearing that you will hear that since you didn’t, you will now be foreclosed upon.
Or are you one of the more recent statistics – a person who thought they were getting a loan mod (for free) even made all your trial mod payments, and then received your auction date in the mail? They may claim to modify your loan for free – but rest assured they charged YOU several thousand dollars to foreclose on you.
Why on earth wouldn’t you get Tila Solutions to investigate and negotiate for you? The bank hired a professional to foreclose on you.
Many homeowners still, to this day, appear to put their faith in the banks – but would they have if our government’s efforts to stop the bank scams had made a much bigger media splash?
Summing things up then:
Can we be so bold as to assume that under the pretense of “working” to modify loans, they are taking homes in record numbers? Tila sees the rising foreclosure statistics as a strong indication that this is the case.
Why is there no steady onslaught of media reports on this? How is bilking homeowners out of thousands of dollars in trial mod payments before their homes are foreclosed upon not a scam?Tila Solutions helps homeowners stop these actions daily.
In an article in the March 4th 2010, Orlando Sentinel, we see that Bank of America carries the lowest scores for loan mods: “The lender, one of the nation's biggest banks, holds more than a million mortgages that are months behind on their payments — twice as many defaulting home loans as any other lender in the country. But it has given permanent mortgage modifications to only about 1 percent of those borrowers — one of the lowest rates among lenders nationally.”
Unless the home owner stops “listening to what the banks say” and starts reading the lawsuits the banks are passing out like lollipops when you make a deposit, the foreclosures are going to just keep on multiplying.It is time to stop thinking the bank is going to help you.It is time to start helping yourself.
Investigations have resulted in fraud and federal violations being found and addressed – albeit not adequately by our government, but even they cannot ignore them. Thus, one can surmise that when federal violations and fraud are found doors have opened – at any level.
Tila Solutions finds these violations, and doors open – no matter how the lenders may wish to deny it.TILA, RESPA, HOEPA, ECOA and Fraud violations when found in a loan open doors and save homes.
Do yourself a favor and contact Tila Solutions. Take matters into your own hands.Just remember this:The bank wants your money and your home. Get a Forensic Loan Audit and let the people at Tila negotiate new terms for you with the bank.
Tila Solutions can be contacted at 1 307 459--0232.You can find out more about Tila and Forensic Loan Reviews at http://www.tilasolutions.com
The professionals at Truth in Lending Auditors help homeowners stop foreclosure almost daily.The Tila2 staff work directly with your lender and you to show why it is in the best interest of the bank to give you a loan mod.Often people who come to Tila2 have tried for months on end to get the bank to modify their loan.
Why are the staff at Truth in Lending Auditors able to prevent foreclosure so often?Because they specialize in forensic audits.The first step that Truth in Lending Auditors takes when a homeowner needs to get a loan modification is to conduct a complete forensic loan document review of the loan that the lender gave them.
You may wonder why this is the first step:It is because over the past decade lenders have repeatedly violated TILA, RESPA, HOEPA, and ECOA laws.They’ve ignored guidelines set by the OCC, and they have put people into predatory loans that are now wiping them out.Tila2 personnel have found that the best way to get the lenders to the negotiations table and to bring an end to the burning and churning in the lender’s system while desperately hoping for a Loan Mod that normally doesn’t come is to show the lender what he is responsible for.
When you look at the abounding reports of unfair disqualifications, lost paperwork, completed trial modifications followed by trustee auction dates, and “understaffed” loss mitigation departments, it makes no sense to try to get the bank to lower your payments, drop your interest rate, or reduce your principal without first give the banks ample and compelling reasons.Those reasons are found in the forensics.Homeowners who are tired of being scammed come to Tila2.
Lenders, bankers, news media, government officials, and even competitors warn homeowners away from seeking professional services to help you save their financial life and home. . . Why? It is easier to foreclose when the bank doesn’t have any middle man.And it is always easier to get business for your company if you put out false reports about the competition.
Don’t be mislead.The facts speak for themselves.Tila2 uses forensics and the first and most critical step in getting you the successful negotiations you need.If you are at risk of losing your home to foreclosure, then don’t delay.Get Truth in Lending Auditors on your side.
Much information has come to light that begins to suggest that the banks are profiting from foreclosure. The banks see no profitability in loan mods. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston released their findings on this a year ago.
Are you still wondering if you should trust the bank’s promise to give you that loan mod? Are you still trying to decide if it is time you got a forensic loan audit? No matter what, the facts speak for themselves. What are the facts of your loan? Most probably the facts are a large number of violations.How can those facts help save your home?
It is probably time you contacted tila2 and took matters into your own hands.Just remember this:The bank wants your money and your home.Take action and give yourself a fighting chance.Get a Forensic Loan Review and let the people at Tila2 negotiate new terms for you with the bank.
Truth in Lending Auditors can be contacted at ( 877) - 625--2419.You can find out more about Tila and Forensic Loan Reviews at http://www.tila2.com/.
Once you have missed a payment the lender is not your friend.Missed payments equal more money for the lender.The more the lender gets, the happier he is.The best way for the lender to get more money out of you is to increase your monthly payment through accrued interest from late payments or missed payments, late fees and penalties.It is a real money maker for the lender.This has always been a fact and all homeowners know it and accept it.
Where the problem currently lies is that the homeowner has been led to believe by both government campaigns and lender lies that the lender is actually going to help him – the homeowner, who has fallen behind.The lender is not going to help you – unless there’s money to be made in it for him.Enough money to make it worth his while – and that means he will actually pretend to help you.In fact, the lender will just string you along with false promises and pretenses for months and months and months, finally you’ll end up in foreclosure and possibly lose your home to public auction.
You, the homeowner have always been nothing more than a loan number to the lending institutions.Sadly, that’s all you’ll ever be.They’re not particularly moved by the fact that your child has special needs, or your mother needs extra care.They don’t really care that your spouse lost their job, or that the home has been in your family for six generations. In fact they have no interest in any of the aspects of your life.The equation is simple:Your money or your home.
What matters is that your loan number has fallen behind and now you are on the very-profitable-for-the-lender road to foreclosure.Soon they will either get a large, normally uncontested “chunk of change” from you-who-represents-your-loan-number, or they’ll get your house – which secures your loan number.
Sure, they have seemingly courteous people on the phone (well some of them do, others use call centers in India or hire brutes to scare, manipulate and threaten you), all who say “stop making your payment and we’ll get you a loan mod,” or “we can’t help you until you are three payments behind,” or we have you in the system for a loan mod, now it will take only 4 months to get you a mod (of course it actually turns out to be 13 to 18 months because they are always losing your paperwork).
Why does a process as simple as a loan mod take so long?Because every missed payment is more money for the lender.Did you know that almost half the homeowners manage somehow to cure their default amount to prevent foreclosure from starting?Sure, but they wiped out every financial resource the homeowner had, and once again, he can’t make his monthly payment!
The homeowner is back in default and on the road to foreclosure in no time at all.Meanwhile the lender made a nice sum and gets to go for round two.The only route left to save the home is bankruptcy – most homeowners think—so they destroy the rest of their credit and dignity in a last ditch effort to save their home.It bought them a bit of time, but it seems the lender still gets the home in the end.
What started all this?Rather, who started all this?It was the lenders themselves.That’s correct, they gave you loans designed to fail.They’ve made billions of dollars at your expense.That’s why it is predatory lending and predatory servicing.Since the day you got your loan you have been preyed upon.You have been told that this is “all your fault,” and the government has “tried to comfort you” with promises of help through President Obama’s HAMP program. That, of course we all know now, is just a great big joke.Most people only give money to the lender for months on end, while none of it goes to their loan, then they get disapproved and foreclosed upon.
And it seems to so many homeowners that everybody is in on their pain for the lender’s gain.Attorney’s won’t take on the homeowner and fight for him when the lender will pay him well to foreclose.Judges don’t really want their courtrooms clogged up with foreclosure cases, so warehouse them through.Lenders ‘warn” homeowners not to get professional help, ‘cuz, well you know, “the lender will help you for free”, yah, sure we all know that lie by now.And saddest of all:politicians are passing laws that prevent homeowners from hiring professionals to help them get their loans modified!
But there is hope, and there is help.Rockingham Associates is there for the homeowner.They conduct forensic loan reviews which reveal all the violations in the loan the lender gave you.They conduct predatory servicing investigations, which reveal all the predatory acts the servicer has committed against you.They use those investigations as the springboard to getting you successful negotiations.Lenders suddenly would rather modify your loan, than deal with investigations.
Homeowners don’t have to stand alone, they don’t have to be abused and preyed upon.They just need a professional on their side and that would be the good people at Rockingham Associates.Visit their website at http://www.rockinghamassoc.com to learn more about this company and what they can do for you.They are busy rekindling the American Dream.Their goal is to get you complete financial recovery.Consider contacting one of their representatives to begin to unravel your financial dilemmas.
When homeowners get turned down by the bank for a loan modification, a forensic loan audit is the essential tool to use in turning that around.Banks are not and never have been in the business of helping people; they are in the business of making money.The lender sees no good reason to give you a lower payment just because you are experiencing hard times.They are only interested in seeing the loan they gave you “perform” – which equates to monthly payment made on time.
In many cases, when the lender is reviewing your paperwork to see if they will give you a loan mod, calculations will show that they can make more money at less risk if they do not give you a loan modification.That is usually why you find yourself in foreclosure. The Forensic Loan Review is your most essential tool to show that foreclosure is no longer a money-making option for the bank –imagine if there is fraud – now there’s some risk to the bank!
A Forensic Loan Review or Forensic Loan Audit, sometimes also called a Mortgage Audit is a complete investigation of the loan that the bank gave you.The audit is done specifically to find all the Federal Laws that the lender violated.
Tila Solutions is an Audit Company that investigates loans.If you have a predatory loan, you will need a Forensic Loan Audit. If you feel that the lenders, withheld information from you, rushed you, mislead you or perhaps gave you a loan that could contain fraud, then you need to get your loan investigated.It gives you ammunition to stop the bank in their predatory servicing practices.It helps you get that loan mod you’ve been trying so hard to get.
As you may recall, when you signed your loan documents you heard or saw reference to TILA, RESPA, HOEPA and ECOA.Those laws were passed to help prevent you from getting a predatory loan – which is a loan that consumes you financially, and inevitably puts you on the road to foreclosure. These lawsare also supposed to ensure that you understand what you are getting before you sign, and give you a choice to back out.Tila Solutions Examiners review all these Federal Laws that protect you as a borrower.
While Tila Examiners are investigatingthe loan to see if it complies with federal regulating bodi3s and their guidelines as well as TILA, RESPA, HOEPA, and ECOA they are on the lookout for fraud committed by the banks – and their investigations have shown that the banks are guilty of much fraud over the past decade!
Remember this:A performing loan is a loan that has a monthly payment coming in on time every single month.The lender loves thatnice profit with hardly any risk.This is all they want, and you will be their valued customer if you do it.If you are not going to give them their money, then the bank will calculate the risk of modifying your loan against other methods of making money.And you will no longer be a valued customer to them!
And that is why you need to get Tila Solutions to perform a forensic loan audit for you.The bank loses much of its firepower against you and no longer has the ability to travel down other money-making avenues if the loan contains federal violations or fraud.Tila Examiners will methodically go through your loan sometimes producing a report numbering in the 40-page range.
Sadly, some people have been told that a Forensic Loan Review will do them no good!This is absolutely false.Once the Forensic Loan Review is done, something effective must be done with it. Because lenders, who often act like they can operate above the law, will tell homeowners it means nothing and that the homeowner just wasted his money!That is why Tila Solutions offers a free service to help negotiate on your behalf once his investigation is completed.The Lenders push borrowers around and mislead them all the time.Borrowers have to remember that it was these people who lied to him in the beginning, and it is these people who are still lying to him today.Tila Solutions Negotiators work on behalf of the homeowner to make sure that you get your loan modification.
There is a homeowner hotline at Tila Solutions that you can call.Their consultants will interview you and help you identify whether or not you have a need to get your loan investigated because of the possibility that you have predatory loan. They can help you determine if your loan is in need of a Forensic Loan Audit.
If you have been turned down for a loan mod then contact a Tila Consultant. If you are nearing or are in foreclosure, a Tila Consultant can help.They can also help people who are current on their loans or those with investment properties.A Forensic Loan Audit helps with commercial loans as well.
You can call a Tila Solutions Consultant at1 - 3 0 7 -- 4 5 9 --- 0 2 3 2 .
Visithttp://www.tilasolutions.com/to learn more about a Forensic Loan Review and to learn how to take advantage of the free negotiation service offered by Tila Solutions.The Tila Solution website is loaded with information and solutions.
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Congress has been working on new legislation that is designed to overhaul current financial regulations.This legislation points fingers in key critical areas across the nation’s economy.Important for homeowners is Congress’s plans to form a new agency to crack down on deceptive mortgages and other financial products in the future.It also aims to better protect consumers, tighten the reins on financial institutions and stop rewarding executives for taking reckless risks to fatten their quarterly earnings and bonuses.
However, while this legislation is looking to the future to prevent another financial collapse and stop deceptive practices, the homeowner is not protected from the banks right now.Every day, the banks are misleading people who are in foreclosure with false promises of loan mods.This is why more and more, homeowners are taking matters into their own hands.They are coming to companies like Tila Solutions who provide complete forensic loan audits and use the results to get the banks to finally approve the loan modification.
One by one, American homeowners have fallen prey to the banks that originally mislead them with their deceptive lending practices, despite the laws that protected the borrowers. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the banks simply chose not to follow those laws.If they had, we wouldn’t be a nation in foreclosure today.It becomes clear that Congress knows the problems exist otherwise they wouldn’t be forming a new agency to prevent future deceptive mortgage practices. But what does the homeowner who is losing his home do now?Most just lose their homes.But they do not have to.The laws that should have protected them when the lenders issued the loan can still protect them now –if the homeowner will reach out to use those laws. Forensic loan audits will reveal what the bank did wrong and open the doors to stopping foreclosure, and finalizing a loan mod.
So why is Congress turning a blind eye to the banks as they currently lie to and mislead the homeowners? Most often done by offering loan mods to them while foreclosing on those very people they said qualified? And why are the banks continuing to turn people down in record numbers?
Could there be any truth to the concerns that many people have expressed?Tila Solutions has received thousands of calls. The homeowner believed the bank’s “offers of help.”They believed it when the lender said they did not have to address the foreclosure process --that it was just a formality or a way for the lender to stay on top of the file.They believed their lender when he said that they could work directly with the lender and get the loan modified --which would automatically bring the foreclosure to a stop. Sadly, far too many of them found that actually yes, the foreclosure did stop:when the lender auctioned off their home.
What would have happened if a homeowner had known that his lender deceived him with the original loan?Would have been so likely to blindly trust that the lender really wasn’t going to auction off his home (even though the lender’s attorney firm provided him with an auction date) and was going to give him a loan mod?Probably not. Do you think the homeowner would have had the courage and wisdom to get his loan investigated?
Many homeowners are doing just that now. The attitude today is to stop trusting the bank.And it comes as no surprise: Countless forensics audits have been done, and consistently they reveal the same thing:Banks ignored the laws: the violations are found in the loan. Foreclosure doesn’t have to end in a disqualification for loan mod and an auction date.In fact, with the use of Forensic Loan Audits, homeowners are saving their homes?The lender stopped foreclosure because he actually took the homeowner seriously and got him the loan mod.
Forensic Loan Audits has been the only thing consistently saving more homes than any other approach.When homeowners get a forensic loan audit done all the TILA, RESPA, HOEPA and ECOA violations are found and revealed.Fraud is also found in 79% of the loans that forensics are conducted on.When people contact Tila Solutions, they get not only a forensic loan audit, but also a free negotiations service.A Tila negotiator provides the results of that audit to the lender and real negotiations get underway.More homes have been saved from foreclosure with the use of a forensic loan audit than any other way currently known.The laws that prevented deceptive lending practices do exist. They existed at the time the bankers went on a free-for-all, carelessly lending money and misleading homeowners. There is no need to be in foreclosure, The federal laws can help you.
Tila Consultants help countless homeowners each month, determining if there is any way that the federal laws which currently do exist can help bring an end to the current deceptive practices that lenders are involved in.A Tila Solutions Consultant can be found by visiting the website at http://www.tilasolutions.com or by calling 1—307- 459—0252.
Tila Solutions Consultants are contacted every hour of every day by homeowners who are trying to understand what a predatory loan is and to determine if their loan is a predatory loan. They feel the need to make sense out of their downward spiraling financial situations that seems to be far beyond any ordinary financial struggles.
They know things are not right. They know their mortgage seems to be too high, but they don’t know if they are the owners of a predatory loan. Knowing if your loan is predatory is a critical first step to being able to gain a foothold over your lender and get real solutions such as a real loan mod.
The best description of a predatory loan is that it is a loan that puts you on the road to foreclosure the moment you signed the documents. You were destined to fail - and sadly the bank knew it, but gave it to you anyway. It is one of the reasons that homeowners feel so betrayed by the banks today. It is one of the key reasons why they feel so untrusting and uncertain of which way to turn. They feel let down and lied to, and now made to suffer for it.When they failed, the government didn’t bail them out, but instead told the banks to while the homeowner footed the bill. But, the government provided no real oversight to ensure the banks cleaned up the mess they made. The homeowner still finds himself left out in the cold, with nowhere to turn. That is why so many come to Tila Solutions for help.
The best way to try and determine if you may have a predatory loan is to look at your own financial situation. Is the loan wiping you out financially? Are your monthly payments, including taxes and insurance consuming more than 31% to 38% of your net income? If it is then there is a very good chance that you have a predatory loan. Keep in mind this is not the only sign. You have to know all the signs.
What will the loan be doing in the future? Do you have an adjustable rate? Is there a balloon payment? Will the escrows in your area continue to go up, and if so, how long can you survive with your current payment? You can’t just look to the current picture.
How high is your interest rate? Were you given a fair and just interest rate, or were you penalized with a higher rate because you were considered too high of a risk?
What happened at the closing? Did you sign the loan you were promised? Were you told that things changed and they couldn’t give you the loan you were originally offered after all? Were you out of time and had to take what they gave you?
This is not a complete list of the areas that help you identify whether or not you have a predatory loan. One thing to keep in mind: Most subprime loans are predatory loans. If you were put into a subprime loan, then there’s a good chance you have a predatory loan.
Did the broker operate in your best interest or his? You may not know, but a Tila Examiner will find out who financially benefitted from that loan! It is important to understand that there are several layers that have to be peeled back to reveal the true impact of a predatory loan.
Tila Solutions receives countless calls and emails from people who have been led to believe there is no way to save their homes. They call Tila because they need help. Real Help - not false hope. Tila is not a loan mod company, they are an audit company. With their forensic loan audits, they help people save their homes and get the loan mods the banks refused to give previously.
Until Tila Solutions conducts the Forensic Loan Review and finds the crimes that the banker is guilty ofthe homeowner just gets predatory treatment, lies and betrayal from the bank: The homeowner does not make enough money to pay a smaller monthly payment, so the bank refuses to do the loan modification to give them a smaller monthly payment. Of course, the homeowners lose their home to foreclosure trying to keep up on the higher monthly payment.
And that is why people contact Tila Solutions every hour of every day. They need real help and they get it. Tila Solutions comes on the scene and stops, prevents, or stalls foreclosure by revealing the crimes of the bank. Homeowners walk away with loan mods, not penniless and financially destroyed with no place to live.
TILA, RESPA, HOEPA, ECOA. These are the laws that protect borrowers and prevent them from having their lives destroyed through the predatory loans that were passed out by the banks over the past decade.
A Tila Solutions Consultant is available for people by telephone at 1 - 307 -- 459 -- 0232. Or you can visit the Tila Solutions website at http://www.tilasolutions.com/. Borrowers have so much power and strength when they know their rights and use these laws. Tila Solutions helps them do this.
Tags: Forensic-loan-audit, loan mod, loan modification, foreclose, foreclosure, Goldman Sachs, Tila Solutions, Tila, loan, audit, fraud, forensic loan audit, forensic audit, sub prime, mortgage, predatory loan, mortgage fraud, Loan modification, foreclosure information, short sale, 2 stop foreclosure
Thousands of people are losing their homes to foreclosure or filing bankruptcy to prevent the loss of their home through foreclosure every month.In fact, recent reports from industry insiders are claiming that there are more than 7,000 bankruptcies being filed each day, while some have projected that big banks like BofA and Wells Fargo could be releasing as many as 25,000 homes to foreclosure proceedings by December of 2010.In many instances homeowners have been led down a not-so-merry path, often being told that their home is under review for a loan mod, which inevitably is denied, as a foreclosure auction date is sent to the homeowner.
The Obama plan (HAMP program) has taken hit after hit for failing to actually save homes.In a recent news article put out by the Huffington Post, entitled Extend and Pretend: The Obama Administration's Failed Foreclosure Program, the Obama Plan is described as doing nothing more than putting off foreclosures, allowing the banks to appear financially healthy because they can carry the full value of the loan, and not record any loss.
This has been identified as a stabilizing act for banks and the housing market, but not for homeowners.They are left for months, even years wondering if they will lose their homes to foreclosure, when the sheriff will come knocking on their door, or if they will have to destroy the rest of their already distressed credit by filing a bankruptcy.
Rockingham Associates is a company that investigates loans and investigates lenders.Borrowers have federally protected rights.Rockingham Associates has a long history of helping borrowers gain an advantage through investigative techniques.
People with predatory loans normally end up with predatory servicers.The banks are doing what is best for the banks, which has always been the case.But this time in an effort to save their own bottom lines they have betrayed the American public, strung them along, taken money from them under false pretenses and finally taken their homes.
Homeowners who are seeing what the banks are really up to contact Rockingham in record numbers to get their lenders and their loans investigated.They use the results of these investigations to show the bank that there are laws which have been broken by the banks.
The Obama Plan was all about giving the lenders “incentives” to work with homeowners.Incentives don’t seem to work with the lenders.They’ll toss people who don’t even qualify for the HAMP program into the program, and then extract payment from them month after month after month, even though the program only required three payments during the trial phase.Then they tell them they don’t qualify, and complete or start foreclosure.The government paid them to do this.Sadly the Government continues to allow this predatory servicing to continue unchecked as the foreclosure statistics rise month after month.
What does work?Predatory Servicers seem to respond best to the force of the laws that protect homeowners or borrowers.Sadly, they spend their time threatening and abusing homeowners preying upon the homeowners fear of loss, while then doing a 180, and becoming the homeowners “best friend”.It seems when you start showing the lender “the goods”, he then realizes that you did qualify for a loan mod after all.
If you are tired of being a victim of your predatory lender, and tired of being lied to, and you truly think that you should be able to save your home, then you should consider contacting the people at Rockingham Associates.They are the experts who save homes.
Consider contacting one of their representatives to begin to unravel your financial dilemmas.Visit their website at www.rockinghamassoc.com .
For Cape Cod weddings, the traditional style of formal rehearsal dinners is giving way to more contemporary and diverse dining options.
Bill Zammer owns Cape Cod Restaurants, which oversees three properties: Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth and the Coonamessett Farm and the Flying Bridge Restaurant, both in Falmouth. All three properties offer unique rehearsal dinner settings, such as golfing outings, softball games and the choice of chartering a sailboat out of Falmouth Harbor.
In addition to the unique settings, the food is something special, too - with clambakes and barbecues as two of the most popular menus. Included in the clambake menu are items such as New England Clam Chowder, grilled barbecue chicken, steamed native clams, steamed hard shell lobster and fresh corn on the cob. For the barbecue menu, items include cheeseburgers, hot dogs, assorted salads and ribs.
“What’s interesting is that 30-40 people will go to the rehearsal dinner, and then after dinner, we’ll have a cocktail hour where they can have drinks and socialize,” Zammer says.
Olive Chase founded The Casual Gourmet in Centerville in 1986 and for the past 22 years her company’s rehearsal dinners have catered non-traditional sites and non-traditional food, she says.
For example, a clambake that The Casual Gourmet catered in July at Nauticus Marina in Osterville featured a tent set-up that included silver plates, fine china and beautiful glassware - hardly elements considered typical of an ordinary clambake.
Last fall at Lawrence Pond in Sandwich, on a property belonging to the groom’s family, The Casual Gourmet recreated the sense of a summer camp. The groom’s great-grandmother had started a girl’s camp there more than a hundred years ago - and the remnants of the camp were completely decorated with old pictures of people in bathing suits. Chase’s staff added a bonfire on the beach and a cheeseburger bar.
“It was very personal and very unique to this bride and groom to bring in the history of groom’s family,” Chase says. “It was quite fabulous.”
The cheeseburger bar included a variety of toppings, including several types of cheese, condiments, sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions, roasted bell peppers and grilled pineapple. Tequila-lime grilled chicken kabobs, oriental orzo salad, tropical fruit kabobs and red potato, grilled zucchini and sweet onion salad also were offered.
In Falmouth, Chase and her staff catered another non-traditional rehearsal dinner, creating a Middle Eastern buffet, with hummus, baba ganoush, tabouli, lamb and poached salmon. As a final touch, the meal was topped all off with something a little unexpected for a Middle Eastern meal – Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream, made in Falmouth.
The latest trend for rehearsal dinners echoes one gaining popularity in other consumer interests, from home building to clothing: going green.
“One of our trends that people are very interested in is what their carbon footprint is. So, they want to use local produce, local fish, and not use disposables,” Chase says. “People are very interested in where their food was grown and (from) how far away it had to come.”
Most brides want their wedding to be considered beautiful; some might call it a work of art.
But newlyweds Rebecca and Louis Gehrig took it a step further and celebrated their nuptials among the works of painter Aiden Lassell Ripley and Cape Cod artists’ paintings to be auctioned.
The Gehrigs had their reception in the two main art galleries -- the Fleet-Hunter Gallery and the Ocean Edge Gallery -- at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis last August. The ceremony was held at Gehrig’s Yarmouth Port summer house.
The Cape Cod Museum of Art is just one of many unique places on Cape Cod that couples can choose for their wedding or reception. From the art museum to public monuments to private mansions, Cape Cod plays boasts some of the most beautiful and exclusive places for couples to tie the knot.
“We’re the only museum on Cape Cod that allows this -- and (we’re) one of the most unique spots to get married – one, because of the architecture and (two), the art that’s on the wall,” says Steve Calemmo, facilities manager and rentals director of security at the museum “What’s up on the wall makes it unique. Instead of just sitting there during cocktail hour, (guests) can explore the museum.”
The Gehrigs chose to have their cocktail hour in the Sculpture Garden, which is filled with flowers and plants as well as numerous free-standing sculptures of differing shapes, sizes and materials. They even added their own sculpture – one made of ice with two sea horses kissing, and adorned with jumbo shrimp along the bottom edge of the carving.
Laurel Palmer, the bride’s mother, says that she and her daughter were both art lovers. Because the family summered in Yarmouth Port, both thought the museum would be the perfect place to celebrate Laurel’s wedding.
“What better place than our own Cape Cod museum? My husband and I are members of the museum, and it’s a lovely setting,” Palmer says.
The museum hosts about 15-25 weddings a year and can accommodate as many as 300 guests outdoors in a tent and 125 indoors in a gallery. The cost ranges from $500-$2,500, and the most sought-after months are June and September. Calemmo says that couples usually make reservations a year in advance to ensure they obtain the space they most want.
For more information, contact Cape Cod Museum of Art, P.O. Box 2034, Route 6A, Dennis 02638. 508-385-4477. http://www.ccmoa.org/
Another unique spot where couples can marry on the Cape is the 49-acre farm of meadowland and woods which overlook Crocker Pond in West Falmouth.
More than 200 years old, the Bourne Farm in Falmouth was built in 1775. Although couples can hold a wedding cermeony in the barn (the farmhouse is not available for use), most opt for the spacious natural beauty and atmosphere of the surrounding land.
Katie Taylor has been the executive director of the Salt Pond Areas Bird Sanctuaries Inc. for 11 years, and says that her nonprofit, private conservation group schedules more than a dozen weddings a year at the Bourne Farm.
“It’s on a pond with lovely meadows with wildflowers that you can see - an outdoor venue, really. The grounds are just beautiful in a natural way,” Taylor says. “It’s not a manicured country club, golf setting. People are trying to do something different. (It’s just a) very natural, beautiful, rustic place.”
Couples should book reservations at least a year in advance and can choose to be married outside under a tent, inside the 18th century barn or at the edge of the pond. It costs $3,300 to rent the site for an in-season wedding (between Memorial Day weekend and Columbus Day weekend) and $2,800 for an off-season wedding.
“I think the setting attracts people. I think people like the idea that it is a conservation group - a good cause. So it helps us as a non-profit group to have weddings there,” Taylor says. “It’s a nice way to have people see the property and what types of properties can be saved from development.”
For more information, contact Bourne Farm, 6 North Falmouth Highway, North Falmouth, 508-548-8484, www.saltpond.info.
The Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown stands tall as a beautiful and picturesque place for couples to tie the knot on Cape Cod.
Although weddings are not held at the top of the monument, the grounds below can be rented from June to October.
“It’s the most beautiful sight around,” says Ellen Burbank, administrator at the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum. “It’s stunning. It overlooks the whole bay, and the sunset is phenomenal. And I think that’s why people like it.”
The Pilgrim Monument and Museum hosts about 10 weddings a summer and recommends that couples make reservations six to 12 months in advance.
“June and September are our busiest months, (because) I think people like to get married when it’s not the very height of the season,” Burbank says. “I think most people like to get married when the grounds are not as crowded, when they have more privacy.”
Burbank, who has worked at the Pilgrim Monument and Museum for five years, says only the outdoor space can be rented. It can accommodate between 25 and 175 people.
A daytime wedding (9 a.m.- 5 p.m.) lasting three hours ranges from $500 to $2,000, depending on the number of guests. An evening wedding (4 p.m. to 11 p.m.) starts at $2,500 for three hours.
“People are always welcome to take a look and give me a call,” Burbank says. “Most people are very happy they end up here, especially (because of) the view.”
You want a picture-perfect memory and entertainment that will strike the right note at your reception.
But to capture the images of your wedding that will remain timeless and perfect harmony for the reception, you need to think carefully about what you want a wedding photographer and a band, deejay or other entertainment to add to your celebration.
Several Cape wedding planners have tips on finding a photographer and making the arrangements that will best serve you:
Wedding planner Alison Wildes Liset, owner of Elegant Engagements, Sandwich:
• Start with websites and search “Cape Cod photographers.” A lot of photographers will use the Professional Photographers of Cape Cod (PPOCC) – something like chamber of commerce website, on which they have thumbnail photos and brief descriptions of what they provide. With these, you can refine your search quickly. Once you narrow your options, consult your wedding planner for further advice. (http://www.ppocc.org/)
• You can also use “the knot” Website and within minutes you can find someone who’s used the particular photographer you’re interested in using (also useful for choosing a band or other vendor), and you can chat online with other clients and get firsthand referrals. (http://wedding.theknot.com)
• For bands, consider consulting professional entertainment coordinators like Pat Ryan of Spectrum Music in Woods Hole, Falmouth. (fullspectrummusic.com) or Pam Pryor of Cape Cod Entertainment Agency (www.capecodentertainmentagency.com).
Jaime Burge, owner of SeaMist Event Planning, Orleans
• Most couples prefer to use a deejay for entertainment, though there is a trend toward having background piano or harp music. Deejay Chris Baker has been highly recommended. (http://www.djchrisbaker.com/)
Connie Nye-Clark, owner of The Perfect Plan, Forestdale
• Wedding planners are your best resource for photographers and bands. Photographers vary in price and style and there’s a lot of good ones and a lot to pick from. A lot of research is done online by couples, trying to find the style that they like and then go from there, possibly interviewing two to four of them. I find that a lot of bands are found by word of mouth -- people remember a good band. I find that to be very, very true even for deejays too.
• Couples are definitely using the Internet more and more to find their vendors, including photographers. Bands are more found through word of mouth. People say, “I’m gonna make a mental note of that band and I’m gonna use them at my wedding. I heard them play, and I want them to play at my wedding.”
If you’ve dreamed of returning to your summer vacation spot to say “I do” or just want to have a beautiful seaside ceremony, planning a destination wedding to Cape Cod can begin simply by doing some research on the Internet.
“Usually on the Cape (couples) book a year, year-and-a-half out, so somebody who’s out of state who’s thinking about a wedding on the Cape should begin their research far in advance,” says Tasha Bracken, owner of The Simple Details, a wedding planning business in West Newton. “And the first thing is the venue (and) securing your vendors ... Get that out of the way; that should be your first priority.”
Couples who research online can help wedding planners better organize what kind of Cape Cod wedding they want, according to Connie Nye-Clark, owner of The Perfect Plan, a Forestdale wedding planning firm.
“Typically, a lot of girls will call me, and say, ‘I found this online, I found that online,’ ” Nye-Clark says. “Then I’ll tell them that some places you can’t get married on the beach, etc., and then I’ll take them to the next step. About 99 percent of my brides are using the Internet.”
Since a lot of venues on Cape Cod do not allow people to walk around the property, Nye-Clark suggests setting up a structured schedule for potential brides and grooms when they come.
“I say to couples, ‘Let’s make appointments and look at the venues and rule out the ones that won’t fit your budget,’ ” Nye-Clark says.
Adhering to a couple’s budget is one of the most important elements of planning a destination wedding for Bill Zammer, owner of Cape Cod Restaurants, based in Falmouth.
“We ask them what their budget is. You need to set a budget, and we will try to work within (one) that works for them, Zammer says. “It’s extremely important.”
Zammer, who has been in business for more than 20 years, says that his company puts together about 300 weddings a year. Ninety percent are couples who don’t live on the Cape.
Of course, for couples organizing a Cape wedding from far away, there are certain pitfalls that can hinder planning. Couples should inform their guests to book rooms ahead of time, he says.
“Book rooms in advance. Get all the planning done as soon as you can. When you come down to finally choose a restaurant, caterer, etc., at that point your wedding plans should be moving along very quickly,” Zammer says. “It saves the problem of later on rushing around trying to do something. The sooner you get something booked, the easier the flow of your own time is.”
Although seashells and sand dollars are still widely used as design elements and accessories in Cape Cod weddings, couples have begun to expand upon the ocean theme to create their own decorative flourishes.
Many brides are using Cape Cod’s simplest, most natural elements to decorate their special day, says Connie Nye-Clark, owner of the Perfect Plan, a wedding planning business in East Sandwich.
“One bride is doing beach grass in her centerpieces, beach grass with starfish at the top of her napkin, beach grass with candles,” Nye-Clark says. “(So it’s a) little bit of the beach feel” – without shells.
“I’ll have brides go out and buy assorted flip-flops and arrange them in a nice presentation next to dance floor for guests to change into,” Nye-Clark says. “If (the wedding) is on or near the beach and guests don’t want to wear good shoes, they can put on the flip-flops.”
Nye-Clark’s clients also think outside the sandbox when it comes to wedding favors and place cards.
One couple used tiny, ceramic Adirondack chairs that were actually a place card holder but doubled as the wedding favor. The couple even went so far as to place two of them on top of the wedding cake and surrounded them with brown-sugar sand.
Other couples like to incorporate local businesses into their wedding favors.
Nye-Clark had a couple who gave out Beach Plum Jelly from the Satucket Farm Stand in Brewster as place cards. They decided to create custom-made labels with the wedding date and the guest’s name on each jar, making the jelly the wedding favor, too.
Allison Wildes Liset, owner of Elegant Engagements, a Sandwich wedding planning company, says that one of her clients is incorporating the nature of the seashore into her wedding.
“A bride in a current wedding that I’m working on decided to hang mini-starfish on a ficus tree as her favors/place cards,” Wildes Liset says. “And she’s hanging votives on there, too. (A lot of customers) bring in natural elements – seashells, grass, branches and organic (things).”
For some couples, the Cape touch they’re looking for is best expressed on the menu for the reception dinner.
“There’s always some sort of clam chowder,” Wildes Liset says. “Lobsters are so messy, we usually do them at rehearsal dinners, but the day of the wedding, (couples) will have filet mignon, crab cakes for appetizers, scallops wrapped in bacon. We’ve done raw bars and displayed them in a boat full of crushed ice to kind of bring the outside in.”
Jaime Marie Burge, owner of SeaMist Event Planning, an Orleans wedding planning business, also says couples like to use natural elements such as dune grass and seafood to add a Cape flair to the dining experience.
“Everyone wants to do their own twist with seafood. Presentation-wise, (I’ve seen some) cute ideas like shrimp on a skewer over a shot glass of cocktail sauce,” Burge says. “I’ve also seen fruit growing out of wheat grass, so it looks like garden with a seafood presentation placed around it. For raw bars, there are lobster pots as decorations.”
Some of her couples have made their own chocolate or white chocolate lollipops, molded from a lobster or crab, and tied guests’ names around the cellophane as a favor and place card.
These are just some elements of a wedding that, although they may seem important, can be real budget busters. And in this stressed economy, couples are likely to want to keep wedding expenses under control. Many elaborate details of the wedding day can be toned down, wedding experts says, without taking away from any of the beauty or charm of the celebrations.
Here’s some advice from some Cape wedding planners about how to save a little money on the big day.
Bill Zammer, Cape Cod Restaurants, Falmouth:
- Rather than provide an open bar for the entire evening, limit the amount and kind of alcohol served to special price-sensible selections, for example, using wine instead of champagne.
- Limit the number of photos you order. Sometimes couples don’t actually want the full range of thousands of pictures that many photographers can offer. Plan ahead on this service; the advance discussion can save you some expense.
- Weigh the hiring of a band versus deejays. Deejays are usually less expensive than bands.
- Outdoor weddings with caterers cost more than indoor locations. Whether you are dealing with the wedding or the reception, scheduling it indoors will save extra charges for a tent, chairs, heaters and other items.
- Exotic or elaborate floral centerpieces tend to be expensive. Instead, you can use perfectly attractive little potted plants with foil or other innovative centerpieces that you can buy at discount stores.
- When deciding whether to hire a limousine or a trolley, consider that it can be more economical to use a trolley that handles 20 people. If transporting guests between the locations of the wedding and the reception, this expense can be a significant consideration.
- Off-season weddings can save not only money, but time and energy as well. Discounts are available in the late fall and winter months, and off-season it will be easier and more convenient for your guests to travel on the Cape and find reasonably priced places to stay.
- Saturday night weddings may be the tradition for a wedding ceremony, but it can be less expensive to get married on Saturday afternoon or Friday night. You can save a lot of money on the band, deejay and photographer – and you might find a greater selection of services – because Saturday nights are likely to be booked first.
- Consider hiring a piano player for a limited period of time at the reception. During the cocktail hour, people often are seeing each other again for the first time during the weekend and they aren’t necessarily paying attention to the entertainment. They are more likely to be networking and greeting each other.
- Keep the wedding cake simple. Fancy wedding cakes are much more expensive than one you might consider nice enough. It’s the decorating that raises the cost and makes the cake expensive.
- Ice sculptures are a thing of the past. In these times, they can be a way to watch your money melt away. Spend your dollars on things that will create lasting memories.
- Expand your horizons when it comes to outfitting the wedding party. A lot of weddings now feature groomsmen wearing sharp blazers with khaki pants, versus renting tuxedoes. Nicely tailored blazers can be used again, and they look good.
- Make the best use of your five-to-six-hour time frame for the reception. Brides can arrange for the wedding pictures beforehand, even prior to the wedding – and enjoy the added benefit of extra time to enjoy the day.
- Ninety-nine percent of the time, wedding coordinators are a luxury rather than a necessity. Most hotels and restaurants that cater to wedding parties can help couples with all the planning that they need to do. Staff can help you choose the ceremony sites, church, transportation, florists, photographers and other vendors.
Tasha Bracken, The Simple Details, Newton, a wedding planner:
- Take time to really think about what is important to you as a couple. Getting creative – or going for something simple – when it comes to transportation can be a way to save a lot of money. But if your heart is set on a limousine, it might be worth the expense. It depends on what is important to the individual bride and groom.
- Welcome bags can be an added, unnecessary expense. People put a lot of money into a bottle of wine, a nice bottle opener, some nice chocolates and things related to the Cape, but they can opt for something simpler that guests will really enjoy.
Steve Calemmo, Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis:
- In Massachusetts, couples do not need a justice of the peace or minister to marry. By applying to the state and going through a simple process, an individual can obtain a one-day license to legally perform a wedding ceremony.
- For catering, use stock linens in basic white. Choose flowers that are in season on the Cape. Most vendors ideally should come from the Cape.
- Get liquor on consignment. Basically, you pay for what is used.
- Instead of a limo service, consider renting a brand new Cadillac and arrange for someone to drive it. You can even rent a school bus for less money than it costs to get fancier transportation, such as a horse-drawn carriage.
- To keep the cost down for rehearsal dinners, just invite whoever is in the wedding party and immediate family. Cut back on number of people who attend the rehearsal dinner, because additional guests can run up the bill significantly.
Cape artisans offer custom-made gifts for wedding party
Brides and grooms aren’t the only ones who receive gifts at a wedding.
The members of the bridal party traditionally are given presents, too, as tokens of thanks from the bride and groom. And they could be lucky enough to receive one-of-a-kind gifts from Cape Cod.
Connie Nye-Clark, owner of The Perfect Plan, an East Sandwich wedding planning company, says that Cape Cod jewelry is a popular gift. Brides sometimes even work with a local jeweler to customize something special for each bridesmaid.
Cape Cod Jewelers & Artisans in Hyannis started customizing jewelry for weddings within the last two years, says designer Brianna Balboni, whose parents own the store. Last year she worked with brides on special jewelry for four weddings.
“I think it’s the combination of pearls and gemstones that they (brides) like. They can get colors to match and tie in with their color scheme,” Balboni says.
The most popular jewelry that she designs individually for weddings is a necklace with a cluster of pearls or gemstones, she says. “They’re fairly simple, but something that can usually be worn aside from just the wedding day,” Balboni says.
“I think it kind of fits in with the Cape Cod beachy, casual style,” Balboni, who estimates that special orders usually require two months advance notice to be completed. “It’s unique and ties in with the casual style of weddings on Cape Cod.”
Nye-Clark says that some brides she’s worked with like to give their bridesmaids tote bags stuffed with towels, flip-flops and other beach-friendly elements that also match the wedding’s color scheme.
Allison Wildes Liset, owner of Elegant Engagements, a Sandwich wedding planner, says that brides sometimes offer their bridesmaids a gift weekend to themselves, so they can enjoy the Cape during a time that’s not as hectic as the days right before the wedding during which events for the ceremony are scheduled.
“I had one girl give everybody a weekend at a hotel so that they could come back and have sort of a mini-vacation (on the Cape),” Wildes Liset says. “She gave them a gift card for $250 to enjoy a weekend here when it’s not a wedding.”
The Beach Plum Spa, at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis, offers several packages for brides to give their bridesmaids. Spa director and owner Deb Catania says that a popular idea is for the bride to pay for her bridesmaids to be pampered before the wedding.
“Actually, the day before they come in all together as a group and then we put out some wine and maybe some platters of sandwiches, and then they have massages and facials,” Catania says.
Catania also says that big groups should reserve as early as possible to make sure space will be available, and brides can treat their bridesmaids to manicures, pedicures, facials and massages – complete with hors d'oeuvres – and access to the relaxation room.
Unlike bridesmaids who can be relatively easy to please with gifts of appreciation, groomsmen can be more difficult.
Many grooms give such gifts as a round of golf, which all the men in the wedding party can play the weekend before the wedding, says Wildes Liset.
“As far as customized gifts, I don’t get asked a lot to help with gift stuff. But Nantucket colors – for ties – are really popular,” Nye-Clark says. “A lot of times, a bride will do all different Nantucket-colored ties, so the groomsmen wear them in the wedding but it’s also their gift.”
Vineyard Vines ties and belts are also popular, Wildes Liset says. One groom even gave each of his groomsmen a watch with a map of Cape Cod on it.
Jim Penn, co-owner of Puritan of Cape Cod, which owns the Vineyard Vines store at Mashpee Commons, says the brand of ties and belts appeals to men of all ages, and the designs fit many different lifestyles.
The tie collection consists of bright colors with hundreds of different patterns, including sailboats, various fish patterns, starfish, martinis, beach chairs, compasses and anything nautical or related to the beach or sports.
Penn, who is a third generation owner of Puritan of Cape Cod along with cousin Richard Penn, says the store works with about 100 weddings a year, and can pair ties with the cummerbund or provide the bridesmaids with tote bags.
“They fit many lifestyles of Cape Cod – all the patterns ... Certainly people love Cape Cod (because of the) beaches, outdoors and the many activities,” Penn says. “The colors are bright and that’s why people like them – and they’re fun.”
THE NEW PARTY LINE Couples embrace unique ideas for pre-wedding celebrations --------------------------------------or------------------- NEW TRENDS IN CAPE BACHELOR PARTIES ----------------------- Bachelor and bachelorette parties have changed from the one crazy night of partying at strip clubs to weekend getaways on Cape Cod.
Guys tend to opt for more physical, competitive bachelor parties – such as deep-sea fishing, golfing outings and paintballing.
At Balls to the Wall in Hyannis, bachelor parties can pay in a range from $50 to $100 and enjoy five full hours of blasting their friends with paintballs.
James Dager, manager at Balls to the Wall, says that he’s seen his fair share of grooms-to-be and their best men shooting each other.
“A lot of times guys do find they want to do something more exciting, such as fishing (or) go-carting, and I think that’s right where we fit in, because we’re a more extreme sport to play,” Dager says. “It’s a fun time to come on out and get your adrenaline pumping.”
Balls to the Wall hosts one to two bachelor parties a week during the summer and about two a month in the winter. Most of the time grooms will call, make reservations and put down a deposit. The price of a party is based on how many people are attending.
Balls to the Wall has four indoor playing fields to choose from, and the bachelor party can choose to make it a private event or play along with whoever might be there that day. Although it may seem like an exclusively “guy thing,” Dager says he’s seen some girls participate in these bachelor parties as well.
“We actually never had bridesmaids, but that doesn’t mean girls don’t play. Sometimes the girls in the wedding play with the guys,” Dager says. “Sometimes one of the grooms who is getting married has a couple sisters who tag along and play.”
Brides-to-be and their bridesmaids tend to take a more relaxing route when it comes to organizing bachelorette parties on Cape Cod.
Making the Cape a weekend destinations for a party can make the whole wedding experience more memorable.
“I think it’s another way to spend more time with your bridal party beyond the actual wedding day,” Bracken says. “People put so much into planning the wedding; this can make it feel like you’re prolonging the time and excitement of what’s to come.”
Ashleigh Lake-Birdsey, founder and owner of Pampered Mermaid, brings the idea of a relaxing bachelorette weekend right into the comfort of the bride’s own home.
The Pampered Mermaid, a full-service mobile spa that Lake-Birdsey founded seven years ago on the Cape, offers a number of spa treatments, ranging from manicures and pedicures to deep tissue massages and a Soleil Shores Body Polish.
“A lot of girls just want to hang out, and really sitting down and having that time with your friends is so important,” Lake-Birdsey says. “If you’re getting married, everyone stops everything for the bride. People can reconnect and have alone time for each other.”
Lake-Birdsey says that her company does about 30 to 40 bachelorette parties and weddings a year and generally requires at least a month’s notice for reservations. Prices range from $30 for a manicure to a body polish for $135, with numerous other services and prices in-between. “
It depends on what you want,” Lake-Birdsey says. “What I usually do is send out an order form with all of our information, and then they fill it out. The cost depends on what services they want and how much they can afford.”
The idea of eloping may conjure images of couples spontaneously jetting off to Vegas to say their vows in front of an Elvis impersonator. But for Christopher and Megan Niehoff, eloping to Cape Cod took about six months to plan.
The Niehoffs, who got engaged Christmas Eve in 2006, began planning their elopement in February of this year.
When they arrived at Brewster by the Sea Inn & Spa from their hometown of Columbus, Wis., all the flowers, food and other arrangements were ready and waiting, since they had been chosen back in the winter.
“All these decisions were made in February through e-mails, and everything was done so I didn’t have to make any decisions” there, Megan Niehoff says. “It was so easy to do, and everything was done over the Internet, so you’re prepared before you leave.”
Donna Cain, co-owner of Brewster by the Sea, began offering elopement packages about two years ago to add to the off-season business, but now she has expanded to creating different packages for all seasons.
“We wanted to fit a niche that wasn’t really (filled) out there. A lot of people want a high-end experience with just themselves, and we created that little niche, and it’s worked out really well,” Cain says. “We want to give something very memorable for our guests, and we take care of all the details.”
Co-owner Byron Cain takes wedding photos and sends the couple away with a CD of his photos, as well as the option for a photo album. The Cains put their eloping guests in touch with their two justices of the peace - Judith Todd-McNicole and Susan Marcus - who walk them through the process.
In addition to planning months in advance to book a room for eloping couples, there are other time factors and details to consider. Massachusetts doesn’t require couples to get blood tests, which saves time, but marriage licenses take three days to process, according to Barnstable Town Clerk Linda E. Hutchenrider.
“All (you) have to do is go to any town clerk’s office, fill out a number of papers (it doesn’t matter where you’re from), apply, and three days later you can pick up a license,” Hutchenrider says. “If couples want to get married quicker, they can go to a judge at one of the courts in Barnstable and ask for a waiver of the three-day waiting period.”
But there’s no guarantee a judge will be available or that the waiver will be granted. Couples should call the probate court in advance and ask what the requirements are for obtaining a waiver of the three-day waiting period.
Massachusetts marriage licenses are valid for 60 days, so if a couple doesn’t get married within two months, the license becomes invalid and the application process must be started from scratch.
A license costs $31 and includes a certified copy of the marriage certificate.
The Niehoffs opted to complete the whole process in three days. They arrived on the Cape Aug. 6 and were married on Paines Creek Beach in Brewster Aug. 8.
“Susan Marcus was very helpful getting us through the marriage license process, and we had to go to Barnstable County Courthouse and get the waiver, and then we drove right to Brewster Town Hall and finished the license process,” Niehoff says.
Hutchenrider says that the Cape, along with many other areas near water, is an ideal marriage destination, and people who can’t afford a big wedding can still celebrate with a small wedding near the ocean in a nice atmosphere.
That was what prompted the Lumias to begin offering elopement packages at The Captain Farris House in Bass River Village two years ago.
“We have beautiful grounds, and people would come by to see if we do weddings, but we’re not set up to do big weddings, so we offer elopement packages that are on a much smaller scale,” says Nancy Lumia, co-owner – with her husband, Michael – of The Captain Farris House.
The Lumias encourage couples to book reservations ahead of time, especially if they want special flowers or other arrangements.
The Captain Farris House can accommodate elopement parties of up to 12 people. The Lumias offer a ceremony performed by Justice of the Peace Shiela Thompson, a room complete with a bottle of champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, rose petals on the bed and a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant for a celebratory dinner.
“All (couples) have to do is come with their license. We get the flowers for the bride, the boutonniere, and set up the ceremony – either in the gazebo filled with beautiful seasonal flowers or in the … parlor in front of fireplace,” Nancy says.
“If the couple does have guests we can make it a private event and block off the dining room. Sometimes we set up outside and we’ll have champagne and strawberries for everyone after the ceremony. And we can offer either live music or a deejay,” Michael says. “The base price is $599 on top of (the price of) their room, which is typically the Phoebe White Honeymoon Suite.”
At the Captain’s House Inn in Chatham, co-owner Jill Meyer says she tells people who are planning to elope to book rooms four months in advance in high season and to allow two to three months advance booking even in the fall.
“We really can’t turn it around that quickly, because we have to order flowers, and the chef has to do the cake. The quickest we could do it would be maybe a week. But then, it’s not likely we would have any rooms available,” Meyer says.
Meyer and husband James have owned this property for two years and instituted the elopement package right from the start, because they had had success with it when they owned the Carriage House Inn, also in Chatham.
“We always wanted to do weddings, but it’s too small of a venue to accommodate a lot of people or staff, so we thought we could offer a low-key alternative. It’s a nice way to get to do weddings, but we make it simple,” Meyer says.
The Captain’s House Inn can accommodate parties of as many as six for elopement packages, which include a bouquet for the bride and a boutonniere for the groom, a small wedding cake, a bottle of champagne or sparkling cider, a $75 dinner gift certificate to a restaurant of your choice, digital photography and a CD of your wedding day photos and a full breakfast each morning.
Meyer says her hotel has list of justices of the peace who are available to perform the wedding ceremony.
Marriage law requires both members of a couple need to be at least 18 years old to marry. Massachusetts now also allows same sex marriages for out-of-state couples as well those living in the commonwealth.
