Help Available for Ohio Families Facing Foreclosure

29 August 2008

Author: admin Posted under Foreclosure Crisis

As the problem in the housing industry endures, an increasing number of Ohio homeowners face the possibility of losing their homes to foreclosure. The number of foreclosure filings soared by 88 percent since 2006 until the end of 2007. For the present year, it is still uncertain how many more households will be affected but for sure the outlook for the state’s housing market is grim.

Help Available for Ohio Families Facing Foreclosure

The foreclosure process for this state typically starts from the time the homeowner missed a mortgage payment. It takes about 6 months for the entire process to complete its course, during which time the homeowner can look for a solution to their mortgage problem. Unfortunately, not many troubled borrowers were able to find an answer to their financial woes due to lack of information.

But according to the Columbus Housing Partnership, a non-profit organization which provides foreclosure assistance to these distressed homeowners, it is crucial that a solution is determined before the re-instatement period is up if you really want to avoid foreclosure. For this year alone, the organization has helped more than 2,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Many homeowners do not know that lenders are not actually interested in repossessing distressed homes since it will mean incurring foreclosure costs. In addition, they will have to spend more money in holding costs that include taxes and insurances. In fact, lenders lose about $50,000 for every home they foreclose.

Negotiating mortgage terms with your lender should not be complicated. You just need to prepare the necessary financial documents to support your claim that you can no longer afford your current mortgage payments.

You should not even wait until you miss a payment. This will blemish your credit record and will not be able to put you in a good position to negotiate a refinancing option. If you think that you no longer can afford your home, consider selling it at once.