People who are having a hard time making payments would do well to tackle the situation and either, 1, hunker down and make the mortgage payment a priority, and cut back on all other spending, or, 2, if they still can't make it, put the home on the market and get what equity they have out of the home.
The thing is, is that most people are in denial, or paralyzed with fear about their future and of being homeless, so they do nothing. OR, they just know their ship will come in, they will get money to be able to keep the house. Then all of a sudden they are in a panic because foreclosure has started and the 'vultures' who scour the public foreclosure sites are coming at them to buy at fire sale prices.
I do some loss mitigation work for mortgage companies where I contact buyers who are behind in payments and offer them a modification to their mortgage to help them catch up payments. Most people won't call me back; sometimes I go to the property and it has been abandoned. I guess they think I am one of the vultures. When you are in that situation, it's hard to know whom to trust.
We need to educate people on what to do if they start to get behind. Encourage them to get some information, ‘just in case.' Most of the time, they think they are the only ones with the problem, and are ashamed to get help. Education also needs to stress managing money and make keeping the home a priority, probably on the front end before closing the purchase.
The key is to start to tackle the problem early, either through calling a trusted Realtor to sell the home and get what equity is in it, out for the seller. Sellers are the ones who should have it, not the vultures. But the vultures will end up with it, if the sellers don't act in a timely manner. copyrighted 2007, Sarah Rummage
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