Simple Steps to Avoid Foreclosure

- John Wooden

Foreclosure is the legal means that a lender can exercise to repossess your home. When this happens you must, by order of the court system, relinquish all rights of ownership and you must find another place to live. The psychological and financial impact that this process can have on your family could be irreversible and can take years for a person or family to recover from this.

If your property is worth less than you currently owe on it, your lender may also get a deficiency judgment against you, which is a judgment against a borrower in favor of the lender in an amount equal to the difference between the funds received from a court sale of property and the balance remaining on a mortgage or other loan. So not only will you lose your home, you would still owe any additional amounts.

I saw the writing on the wall and knew this problem would be coming a few short years ago when lenders were giving pretty much anyone with a pulse an "adjustable rate" (ARM) mortgage. The rates are now "adjusting" which means the interest rate can double dramatically affecting a homeowners monthly payment. For example, what you were once paying $800 a month for can now be $1300 or more. For a lot of consumers, this is unacceptable and they quickly fall behind on their payments and legal remedies are sought by the lenders

Both foreclosures and deficiency judgments could very seriously affect your ability to qualify for future credit. So you should try to always avoid these actions that can be taken against you. But there are steps that you can take, as a homeowner, to save your property and get caught up with your payments.

The number one thing that many consumers must do is keep in contact with your lender. If you are having problems making your payments, contact your lenders loss mitigation department without delay. Explain your current financial situation to them. They may be able to help before it gets too late and out of control.

You may be eligible for a special forbearance where your lender may be able to arrange a repayment plan based on your current financial situation and can even provide a temporary reduction of your payments if you qualify. On certain occasions, suspension of payments for a short period of time can be arranged. This might provide enough time for your situation to improve or give you the time needed to make other plans.

You can try to refinance for a more affordable fixed rate but chances are that if you are in a bad financial situation, you may not qualify, but there are other things you can do to save your home.

You may be able to apply for mortgage midification where you can extend the term of your mortgage with the money you owe added to the new mortgage. This can help you catch up by reducing your monthly payments to a more affordable level.

There are also programs available from the FHA insurance fund that your lender can obtain a one time payment to bring your mortgage current. Do some research and communicate with your lender to find out what your options truly are.

To qualify, your loan must be at least 4 months, but no more than 12 months delinquent and you will be able to begin making your full mortgage payments. When your lender files the claim with HUD, they will pay your lender the amount necessary to bring your mortgage current. You will execute a promissory note and a lien will be placed on your property until the promissory note is paid back.

There are also steps you can take when the foreclosure is imminent. You will still lose your home but the affect on your credit report will be lessened.

A pre-foreclosure sale will allow you to avoid foreclosure by selling your property for an amount necessary to pay off your mortgage loan. To qualify for this program, your loan must be at least 2 month delinquent and you are able to sell your house within 5 months. You must also get a new appraisal to show that your home value meets HUD guidelines.

And as a last resort, you might qualify for a program called "deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, which allows you to give back the property to your lender. To qualify, you must currently be in default and do not qualify for any other programs and any attempt to sell the house before foreclosure were unsuccessful.

The bottom line is DO NOT, under any circumstances, hide from your lenders letters or phone calls when you find yourself suffering a temporary financial hardship. This would serve as the kiss of death and will surely result in a foreclosure that you don't want.