How to Stop Foreclosure

Preventing Foreclosure

The first useful thing to remember when you face foreclosure is to be proactive. This means not ignoring the problem. As soon as you realize you may have a problem making home loan payments, contact your lender or your lender´s Loss Mitigation department with your financial information. The lender does not want to go through the legal process of foreclosure and may be willing to work with you to develop an alternative form of financing or another solution that allows you to get out of debt or allows you to keep your home.

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If you have fallen behind in mortgage payments and are worried about foreclosure, it is important that you remain in your home. You may qualify for some forms of government help as long as you maintain occupancy. Most of the government agencies offer free help as well as Foreclosure-Support.com. We can help you review your options and help you determine whether you qualify for any assistance programs that can help you prevent foreclosure.

Alternatives to Foreclosure

Foreclosure is not the only solution if you have no way of repaying your mortgage. There are also other options which may satisfy your lender and help stop the foreclosure process:

1. Mortgage modification. Also called financing, this option changes your monthly mortgage payment amounts, your interest, or your mortgage term so that your mortgage is more affordable for you. This option is a good option if you can afford a different and slightly smaller mortgage payment and have the good credit to qualify for refinancing.
2. Special forbearance. In this arrangement, the lender allows you to stop paying mortgage payments for a very limited time or, more likely, allows you to develop a repayment plan that allows you to pay off your arrears. This agreement is more likely if you have a good track record of making mortgage payments and have a good credit history. Your lender is more likely to agree to this option if you have recently had an increase in your living expenses or a recent reduction in your income that is temporary. When contacting your lender about a special forbearance option, you should have financial records ready.
3. Pre-foreclosure sale. In this type of arrangement, you sell your house to repay all or part of your mortgage amount. You may qualify for this option if you can sell your home fairly quickly within three to five months and you are at least two months behind on your loan payments. In order to offer your home for sale as a pre-foreclosure, your lender must also have your home appraised and that appraisal must meet specific HUD rules.
4. Partial claim. In this solution, the HUD will pay the arrears on your home loan out of the FHA Insurance Fund. You may qualify for this type of government assistance if you can start making your mortgage payments and you have between four and twelve months of unpaid mortgage payments to repay. Once the government pays your mortgage arrears, a lien will be placed on your property until you repay the amount the government has paid for your loan. There is no interest, but you will need to repay this amount if you sell your property or once your main mortgage is paid off.
5. Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. In this option, you give the deed (ownership) of your home to the lender. In exchange, the lender will usually forgive the loan or most of the loan. While you do not get to keep your home, the effect on your credit is not as damaging and you avoid the stress and legal problems of a full foreclosure. This is generally a last resort and you should only pursue it if other options do not work. You can only seek this option if you don´t have multiple mortgages in default that are insured by the Federal Housing Agency (FHA).

You can determine which options are best for you by learning more about these options at Foreclosure-Support.com. You can also review your options with your lender or with an HUD approved counseling agency to determine your best course of action.