Are you having trouble making ends meet? Not paying your bills
on time? Are you not able to keep up with your mortgage
payments and continue to get further and further behind? How do
you get yourself out of this mess and not lose your home?
Avoiding foreclosure may be possible and you should work hard
to avoid it.
What is foreclosure?
Foreclosure is the legal means by which a bank or other secured
creditor sells or repossesses your home or a piece of real
property due to your default on its promissory note. When your
house is foreclosed on, you must move out and it is usually
sold at public auction. When the foreclosure process is
complete, it is typically said that "the lender has foreclosed
its mortgage or lien."
In the United States, there are two sorts of foreclosure in
most common law states. Under "strict foreclosure," the bank
claims the title and possession of the property back in full
satisfaction of a debt, usually on contract. In the proceeding
simply known as foreclosure, the property is exposed to auction
by the county sheriff or some other officer of the court. Many
states require this latter sort of proceeding in some or all
cases of foreclosure, in order to protect any equity the debtor
may have in the property, in case the value of the debt being
foreclosed on is substantially less than the market value of
the property. In this type of foreclosure, a deed is issued to
the winning bidder at auction. Banks and other institutional
lenders typically bid in the amount of the owed debt at the
sale, and if no other buyers step forward they get title to the
property in return.
Some states have adopted non-judicial foreclosure proceedings,
in which the mortgagee, gives the homeowner a legally specified
notice of the default and the mortgagee's intent to sell the
property. If the homeowner fails to cure its default, or use
other lawful means, such as filing for bankruptcy to stop the
sale, the mortgagee or its representative will conduct a public
auction in a similar manner as the auction described above. The
highest bidder at the auction becomes the owner of the property
free and clear of any interest of the former homeowner.
What Should You Do To Avoid Foreclosure?
. Do not ignore letters from your lender. If you are having
problems making your payments, call or write to your lender's
Loss Mitigation Department without delay. Explain your
situation. This shows good faith on your part. Be prepared to
provide them with financial information, such as your monthly
income and expenses. Without this information, they may not be
able to help.
. Stay in your home for now. You may not qualify for assistance
if you abandon your property.
. Contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Call (800)
569-4287 for the housing counseling agency nearest you. These
agencies are valuable resources and they frequently have
information on services and programs offered by Government
agencies as well as private and community organizations that
could help you. The housing counseling agency may also offer
credit counseling. These services are usually free of charge,
and they can help explain possible alternatives.
Some of the possible alternatives you may consider include the
following:
Special Forbearance. Your lender may be able to arrange a
repayment plan based on your financial situation and may even
provide for a temporary reduction or suspension of your
payments. You may qualify for this if you have recently
experienced a reduction in income or an increase in living
expenses. You must furnish information to your lender to show
that you would be able to meet the requirements of the new
payment plan.
Mortgage Modification. You may be able to refinance the debt
and/or extend the term of your mortgage loan. This may help you
catch up by reducing the monthly payments to a more affordable
level. You may qualify if you have recovered from a financial
problem and can afford the new payment amount.
Partial Claim. Your lender may be able to work with you to
obtain a one-time payment from the FHA-Insurance fund to bring
your mortgage current.
Pre-foreclosure sale. This will allow you to avoid foreclosure
by selling your property for an amount less than the amount
necessary to pay off your mortgage loan.
Keep in mind that your lender does not want to force
foreclosure proceedings because it costs them a lot of money to
do so. Therefore, if you are sincere and show good faith, they
are more likely to work with you to find a solution.
Foreclosure can seriously affect your ability to qualify for
credit in the future. So get the help you need and avoid it if
at all possible!
About The Author: Greg Smith publishes information on real
estate issues at http://www.searchexact.com/Real_Estate/. Visit
his web site http://www.searchexact.com/ for top resources on
unique and popular topics. This article may be freely reprinted
as long as the author's resource box and url links remain
intact.
