ANCHOR LEAD
DO YOU HAVE SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR'S WORTH OF SALARY IN THE BANK? THAT'S WHAT SOME EXPERTS SAY YOU NEED TO KEEP FINACIALLY AFLOAT. IF YOU'RE SUDDENLY UNABLE TO WORK, HOW WOULD YOU MAKE THE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS...WOULD YOUR LENDER FORECLOSE? NOT NECESSARILY. SCOTT HANSON GIVES YOU A HEADS UP! ON HOW TO AVOID MORTGAGE TROUBLE.

SOT
KEY @: :00 Daron Fitch, Home Owner
"I have a mortgage, I have student loans, I have credit cards."

TRACK ONE Length: :05
ATTORNEY DARON FITCH HAS BEEN OUT OF LAW SCHOOL FOR TEN YEARS- BUT HE STILL FINDS IT HARD TO SAVE...

SOT
KEY @: :13 Daron Fitch, Home Owner
"...and it really doesn't make sense for me to put away that money without paying off some of the other debt."

SOT
KEY @: :18 Diana Plucienkowski, Financial Planner
"...we have bigger debt now and people are not saving."

TRACK TWO Length: :12
A LACK OF SAVINGS- COMBINED WITH A SLUGGISH ECONOMY- COULD SPELL TROUBLE FOR HOMEOWNERS- SAYS FINANCIAL PLANNER DIANA PLUCIENKOWSKI (ploo-chun-COW-ski).
IF YOU'RE FINDING IT HARD TO MAKE THE HOUSE PAYMENTS, EXPERTS SAY CALLYOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY IMMEDIATELY.

SOT
KEY @: :36 Diana Plucienkowski, Financial Planner
"The lenders are willing to work with you because they don't want the house back. If they go into foreclosure then they'll have to sell it and they have to do all of the footwork."

TRACK THREE Length: :08
AND THAT'S SOMETHING MORTGAGE COMPANIES WOULD RATHER NOT DO. SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP...ASKING TO RENEGOTIATE OR MODIFY YOUR LOAN IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION.

SOT
KEY @: :54 Diana Plucienkowski, Financial Planner
"There may be a couple of repayment options...some lenders will let you not make the payment for a couple of months."

TRACK FOUR Length: :03
OF COURSE YOU'LL HAVE TO MAKE THEM UP- BUT THIS OPTION BUYS YOU MORE TIME...

SOT
KEY @: 1:05 Diana Plucienkowski, Financial Planner
"Or they will reduce the amount you need to pay on a monthly basis to keep it afloat."

TRACK FIVE Length: :11
MAKING PARTIAL PAYMENTS IS ONLY TEMPORARY, BUT IT TELLS THE LENDER YOU WANT TO WORK THEM.
IF YOU'RE TEMPTED TO REFINANCE- EXPERTS SAY- KEEP IN MIND THE TERMS, INTEREST RATE AND TIME FRAME WILL ALL CHANGE.

STAND-UP CLOSE :14
YOU MAY FIND SOLUTIONS CLOSER TO HOME. TRY CUTTING BACK ON MONTHLY EXPENSES-SUCH AS FOOD, CLOTHING AND ENTERTAINMENT-YOU'LL BE SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH YOU CAN SAVE...MONEY THAT SOME DAY-MAY KEEP YOU OUT OF MORTGAGE TROUBLE. FOR HEADS UP! I'M SCOTT HANSON.

ANCHOR TAG
IF AFTER ALL THIS YOU'RE STILL HAVING A HARD TIME, EXPERTS SAY IT'S BETTER TO SELL YOUR HOME- AND PAY OFF THE LOAN- THAN TO HAVE THE LENDER FORECLOSE.

SOURCES

Diana Plucienkowski
Meg Green and Associates
(305) 931-1400

Ms. Plucienkowski is President of the Financial Planning Division of Meg Green and Associates, the leading financial planning and investment management firm in South Florida.