Avoid Foreclosure – four options to save your house and credit score
Facing foreclosure? You have options.
Have you or someone you know fallen behind on mortgage payments? and is your lender threatening foreclosure? Don’t panic; your home isn’t lost yet. There are several steps you can take to stall or prevent your home from being foreclosed. Here are a few worth thinking about:
4 options:
- Refinance Your Mortgage. Once one has fallen behind on your mortgage but maintains sufficient equity, one can request to add back payments to the remaining balance of the loan and agree to a longer amortization period. Make sure to work hard to catch up on your payments. Refinancing a mortgage is a good way to pay off your debts while keeping your credit intact.
- Appeal for Forbearance. Forbearance is an agreement between borrower and lender that will stall payments long enough for borrower finances to recover. This options is based on the condition that the borrower will pay back the negative balance over time. It will help if one can prove to the lender that absent payments are a result of temporary financial struggles; illness or unemployment. The lender can agree to forbearance instead of turning the matter into a legal issue.
- Short Sell Your House. If foreclosure seems imminent, short-selling your house will keep credit history in tact. A short sale essentially is listing a home on the market for less than what is owed to the lender. All proceeds of sale are provided to the lender in exchange for debt forgiveness. The property will be transacted to a new owner, but you will also be released of all related debt. Best of all, no foreclosure on your credit history. Remember, the banks are in the business of money, not real estate.
- Declare Bankruptcy. If this seems like an extreme measure to take to avoid foreclosure, it is. If you’re looking for a way to stall for time until you figure out how to solve the financial mess you’re in – filing for bankruptcy will freeze your debts. This prevents the lender from foreclosing on your home until a judge has reviewed the case. Although declaring bankruptcy is only a temporary solution, it can provide you with a little more time on the clock to configure a long term solution.
Losing a home through foreclosure is a tragedy that’s hard for anyone to recover from. If you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage, contact your lender immediately and appeal for a method of repayment that doesn’t involve losing your home. If your debts are too great to refinance your loan, you should use every available resource to avoid having a foreclosure appear on your record.
Whether you are behind or just want to sell, True Loyalty Properties would like to help.
Avoid Foreclosure w True Loyalty