Foreclosure .............. What Should You Do

 

Foreclosure .............. What Should You Do.  Foreclosure has become a common word in today’s housing market do to many homeowners losing their homes.  As troubling as that is, there are many more who are in danger of losing their homes unless they can arrive at a short term solution with their Lender to help them keep their homes until they can bring their mortgage back up to date. 

In a recent article in the New York Times it was stated that over 2.6 million homeowners are 60 days or more late on their mortgage payment.  Being 60 days late on a mortgage payment seems to be the significant number when it comes to mortgage lates.  If a homeowner is less than 60 days behind on their mortgage, there is a very good possibility that they will be able to bring themselves current again.  But once a homeowner goes beyond 60 days late on their mortgage, the odds of catching up is very unlikely. 

One of the most important things that a homeowner needs to do as soon as they find themselves falling behind on their mortgage is to contact their Lender, and workout a payment plan that will allow them to catch up on their payments.  However, that payment plan needs to be realistic if it is going to have a chance to work.  Therefore, in order to put together a realistic payment plan the homeowner needs to have an accurate idea of what their expenses and income is.  Making a good guess is not good enough, it needs to be accurate in order to work.  That means keeping an accurate record of ALL expenses, and when I say ALL I mean every single dollar needs to be accounted for.  Then and only then can the homeowner and Lender determine if the payment plan that is agreeable to by both will work.  At first glance a lower monthly payment might seem good, but once a true accurate picture of a families monthly expenses are determined, the reduce payment might still not work.  In fact after looking at what their normal monthly expenses are, the reality might be that they cannot afford any monthly mortgage payment without substantially cutting back on the other expenses.

Homeowners who are behind on their mortgage should also seek the help of a free financial counselor like the ones that are provided by the Department of Housing (HUD).   The HUD councilors will not only help homeowners establish a budget, but they will also make them aware of programs that they would not normally know of.  However, homeowners should not be tricked by some companies that have names that are similar to the free government agencies, but in reality are just con artists.  One quick way of determining if they are legitimate or not is if they want to charge a substantial fee for their services.  HUD councilors are free, or charge a very minimal fee, but the con artist will charge fees of $2,000 and higher.  If they ask for CASH run!!! 

Regardless of the solution that a homeowner seeks in trying to keep their home, none of them are likely to work, if the homeowner does not identify the true reason why they have fallen behind.  It could be because of loss of income, illness, or simply over spending.  Whatever the reason, until the source is identified and corrected, the problem will not be solved no matter how creative the solutions maybe.

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Who To Call For Your Mortgage Needs In Connecticut:

George Souto NMLS# 65149 is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308  gsouto@mccuemortgage.com, or visit my McCue Mortgage Homepage.