Steps you can take to help avoid Foreclosure

Facing foreclosure is a very difficult situation for most anyone.

If you are facing foreclosure there are a few things that you need to consider.

By the time you get a court date, it's a little late to unwind the clock; instead if you want to stop the bank for foreclosing on your house, the time to get help is in the early stages of the foreclosure process not at the end.

 Most people know how to account for every dollar that come in, It may not be your favorite task each month, but if money is tight and you're trying to make ends meet, you  know  when the budget is about to snap.

 When you have a list of debts and bills, you should sort them from most important to least important. While all the bills should be paid, the one that goes to the top of the list is the one that will cause your family the most damage if it isn't paid on time.

 If I were organizing a list, it would read: mortgage payment; home equity line of credit; utility bills; car payment; credit card debt and other bills.

 Once you know that you won't have enough cash to go around, it's tempting to skip the largest bill, which is typically your mortgage payment. But in some states, foreclosure is fast-tracked, which means you could find yourself receiving a foreclosure notice from your lender in as little as 60 days.

 So once you know there isn't enough money to go around and you know you'll be missing a payment you need to call your lender. If you've already missed a payment, and your lender has called you, you need to pick yup the phone and return the call.

Talking to your lender is the best way to stop foreclosure.

 Many borrowers have complained that when they call there mortgage company no one picks up the phone.  Or, they get transferred from department to department.

  The truth is, if you don't talk to your lender, and it doesn't get recorded in your file, it doesn't matter how often you tried to call. When it come to foreclosure

Trying doesn't count.

 If you're  having trouble reaching your lender, call a HUD-certified housing counselor, who may be able  to reach  out to your lender on your behalf. The toll free number is (800)569-4287, or goes online to www.HUD.Gov/foreclosure/index.cfn.

 Once you miss a payment your lender will start sending you letters. If you want to avoid foreclosure, open the letters,. These are supposed to contain information on how you can save your home.

  IN order to help you save your home, lenders can make changes to the terms of your loan agreement. The best time to do this is either just before or just after you miss your first payment.

 There are a number of things that the lender can do.

•(1)   Reinstate your loan (you'll catch up with everything you owe by a certain date.

•(2)   Offer forbearance (give you a few months off from making payments, while developing a plan to get you current on your loan down the line.

•(3)    Set up a repayment plan (where you agree to pay  a little each moth for the next six  months or a year until you're caught up

•(4)   Modify your loan (this will change the terms so that the payments are more affordable.

 All of the talk you're hearing about the government-sponsored solution to the mortgage crisis deals with loan-modifications. The federal government is pushing investors who bought your loan to agree to modify the terms for the next few years. When a lenders aggress to modify your loan, it could mean that the  missed payments will be added  to the loan amount, or that the interest rate will be changed from a variable  rate to a fixed, or perhaps it will be lowered to a different interest  rate. A final loan modification option is to adjust the amortization schedule, so that you have a longer loan term, but your payments each month are smaller.

 So, if you are facing foreclosure, Talk to your lender.

There are options available to you.

Good Luck.

James Loftis P.A. CRS,GRI, EPRO

http://www.realestate911.com/