Real world plans for preventing foreclosure, learn more.

What actions should you take to save your home from foreclosure.

If you are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments, you may be able to protect your home, but you must act immediately. Your action may prevent the loss of your home through foreclosure. This site may give you a framework to start the process, but it is only the beginning. If you are in serious financial difficulty, you should seek professional assistance and/or legal counsel to best protect your investment and your home.

First things first, call your mortgage lender. They will want to work with you and help you find a way to keep your home. The longer you wait, the more difficult this will be to do. If you are three months or more behind in your mortgage payments and the lender has not heard from you, they most likely will assume that you do not intend to pay. Don’t avoid your lender, work with them.

Be prepared

Be ready to discuss your situation in detail. Your lender will need complete information in order to help you. Think about what the lender will ask and prepare appropriate answers for the questions you may be asked. You are making a case as to why the lender should not proceed with the foreclosure. Know in detail the circumstances of your financial difficulties.

Options from your lender

There will be several options, many of which are discussed in detail in this site, that you lender many offer. Each one will be individual to your circumstances. Your lender may offer:

Debt counseling

A debt counselor can look at all your outstanding debt to see if any of it can be restructured or consolidated. Mortgage payments are often the last payment a person will let slide, so when you start having trouble making your mortgage payments it is likely that you are experiencing difficulty with your other payments as well. Your lender can help you make a budget to structure a repayment plan.

Mortgage modification

If you have sufficient equity in your home it may be possible to recast the loan for an extended period of time to lower your overall monthly payments. The past due is usually be added into the new loan.

Sell you home

If your financial situation will not allow you to stay in your home, it may be necessary for you to sell the home and find more affordable living accommodations. It may be possible to sell your home and pay off both the outstanding mortgage balance, thus avoiding foreclosure and salvaging your credit. By working closely with your lender, they many allow a reasonable time to sell the home. If the value of your home has declined recently, a short sale may also be possible.

Deed in lieu

This is considered a voluntary foreclosure and could affect your credit record. The lender will work with a real estate agent to complete the sale. While you will lose your home, you will not be held liable for any deficiency if the home sells below your loan amount.

Bankruptcy

This should be considered as a last resort. It may temporarily slow the foreclosure proceedings, but will adversely damage your credit record for at least seven years and you will lose control of your finances. However, foreclosure proceedings are usually stopped until bankruptcy is resolved.


 

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