What Should You Know If You Need Help With Foreclosure?
By: Josh Quentin
Submitted: 2010-01-21 20:42:14 | Word Count: 501
The lawn across the street needs mowing. The neighbors are posting garage sale signs. They will be moving soon too. These are not strangers. They are your friends. Now they are the faces of foreclosure.
When do you act on your own behalf? You need to take action as soon as you know you will have trouble making your mortgage payments. Job loss in the family, medical expenses or other factors may put you in a position where you simply cannot pay all the bills.
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After missing several payments you will receive a notice of default from your mortgage company. It is unlikely that the loan you procured downtown is still in their hands. Most mortgages are bundled and sold more than once. Your loan may now be held across the country.
Start calling your mortgage lender to determine if they offer any type of loan modification program. Your goal is to reduce your monthly mortgage payment to an amount you can pay. This can be accomplished with a longer term, a refinance of your existing loan, or even an interest reduction.
You also need to identify the type of loan you have on your home. There are toll free lines to in house counselors for FHA, VA, HUD, Rural Development, and others. Ask if you qualify for special categories of foreclosure relief due to age, disability, or any other status.
Go to your State Attorney General website and check for their latest guidance on foreclosure. Many have posted legal and procedural guidelines. You should not work with any loan modification company that requires you spend money up front.
There have been countless scams across the country where millions of dollars were collected in advance and no modifications were achieved for a single person. Determine your options as quickly as possible following a default notice.
You will normally have a set time period to cure your default. That means you pay all the overdue funds and fees associated with the foreclosure proceeding. Then you just continue on with your normal payments.
There is usually a final period of mere days where you can keep your home by paying the total amount of your loan. That expires and your home will go to auction.
Ask yourself if it is possible to move to your parents’ home and rent your house. This may not be an ideal situation but it may prevent the loss of your home to foreclosure. Even if the renters pay part of your monthly mortgage you will retain your chief asset.
Latest reports indicate that while foreclosure problems still exist, there is reason to be more optimistic for 2010 as indicated by the decreasing percentage of foreclosures from 2008 to 2009 and the stabilizing economy.
It is vital that you act the moment you know you may be in trouble. You will feel better being proactive to find a solution. You will find people anxious to help as you reach out to gather information that may allow you to keep your home.
