When we hear about foreclosure in Chicago, Illinois and legal service plans we always think that someone was laid off from work and cannot afford to cover the mortgage payments on their home. However, that is not always the case; in fact often times foreclosure issues hit people who have steady jobs. So what happened that forced people into a financial bind and could cost them their own homes? The problem is that companies that have stayed in business have struggled to increase salaries while the cost of living has still managed to go up every year. Believe it or not despite being in a recession the cost of living for today is much higher than it was a decade ago when the economy was considered to be thriving. Take a look at some of the increases we have had to deal with since a decade ago.
Fuel had an average cost of $1.50 in the year 2000
Water and sanitation was less than $30 a month in many areas in the year 2000
Electric was less than $150 a month for most homes in the year 2000
Today the prices for all of those have more than doubled but salaries have not increased by that much. If you purchased your home before 2000 and you are paying the same mortgage rates you were at that time, you will still be paying more per year for the home based on electric, water, and other services. If you purchased your home after the year 2004 during the housing price boom then you are paying as much as twice of what the home is valued at now and you are paying more to live in it than ever. So as you can see it is very simple for someone with a steady job to actually face foreclosure issues and that’s where having prepaid legal services can help. If your employer offers employee benefits, one of those benefits could be pre-paid legal services at Countrywide. The great thing about this benefit is it allows you to speak face to face with an attorney who can help you through the process of foreclosure either in an attempt to avoid it or let you know what your options are and file all necessary paper work. When it comes to hanging onto your home you want to have an attorney there to make sure all your options have been exhausted and everything that can be done is being done. Hiring your own attorney can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars which you obviously do not have. This is the biggest advantage to pre-paid legal services; the cost is already covered thanks to small payroll deductions so you can focus solely on the issue at hand.