Homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments are at risk of losing the title on their house. But oftentimes a foreclosure can be avoided regardless of the circumstances, when taking the right steps.
If you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments or you cannot pay them on time it is important that you contact your lender in the minute you are fallen behind. Also if you have received a notice from your lender asking you to contact them, never disregard it and take whatever effort it takes to avoid foreclosure.
When you ignore the bill it will make the situation worse, and the probability to lose your home is higher. Your mortgage lender wants you to keep your home, as much as you do! Not only because a foreclosure process is expensive, but also because a lender makes more money out of the interest you pay and not when selling a home for foreclosure under market value.
Do not hesitate a minute and contact your lender to ask for help on how to prevent your property to go into foreclosure.
Avoiding foreclosure
- Don’t ignore letters from your lender, instead open all letters and respond
- Contact your lender and other free resources for counseling
- The sooner you contact your lender, the better the chances to help you avoid foreclosure
- Find out what options you have to make your mortgage payments more affordable, including refinances, modifications and short sales
- Get familiar with the foreclosure prevention options
- Don’t hire any foreclosure prevention company, you can get free help elsewhere. Rather pay off your mortgage with that money
- Understand your mortgage rights and go over your loan documents. What does your agreement say about not being able to keep up with your payments?
- Learn about foreclosure laws and timeframes in your state (as every state is different) by contacting the State Government Housing Office
- Review you finances and use your assets. Is there money you can use to balance your mortgage payments? Is there a possibility to take a second job to earn some extra money?
There are ways to prevent you from foreclosure. The most important is to not ignore the problem and take action as soon as you know you can’t make the next mortgage payment. The sooner you react, the more chances you will have to keep your house.
For more information about real estate sales check our previous posts.