Essential Information about Foreclosure
by Gerry Vandewall
Unfortunately, everyone runs into a time of life when money is tight and juggling finances is a serious challenge. For individuals owning a home, they could be in a position of having the home foreclosed for lack of payment. If you have found yourself in a compromising position but desperately want to do what you can to save your home, the good news is that avoiding a foreclosure is possible if you know how.
Foreclosure is a serious situation that means your lender can take your house and resell it if you start missing payments. Fortunately, you usually have some alternatives to consider. First, you can try to find a way to keep it. Second, you can put the house on the market yourself, and use the proceeds to pay off your loan and any additional charges you've incurred. Third, you can go through foreclosure. If you do this however, it will be up to you to pay any balance due once the loan is paid off.
The first rule of thumb is to respond to any letters you receive about late payments. The worst thing you can do is just ignore them. Call the number provided and give a detailed explanation to someone as to why you are behind. Remember that a foreclosure is a major undertaking for the mortgage holder as well as you, so they will most likely try to work with you. It costs them money, time and trouble.
A Special Forbearance involves the mortgage company providing you with a temporary reduction or even a suspension of your monthly mortgage payments. If you have recently lost your job, had a reduction in income, or your living expenses have increased unrepentantly, this option may be ideal.
Another option is a Mortgage Modification. With this option, your mortgage is refinanced or the term of your loan extended. The way this program is designed, you have an opportunity to become caught up on payments. A Partial Claim is another possibility whereby your mortgage company would help you secure an interest free loan from HUD, which helps you bring your mortgage to a current payment status.
If you ever do face the possibility of foreclosure, before you completely stress out, talk to your lender immediately to explore options. There well may be programs that you qualify for. Ignoring the problem won't make it disappear.
Copyright 2006, Gerry Vandewall, All Rights Reserved. This article may be published on web sites or in newsletters provided this notice and the resource box is included without ammendment.
Gerry Vandewall runs the Foreclosure OK, web site that focuses on a range of resources about foreclosure issues. For more details, go over to: http://www.foreclosureok.com Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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