A Yahoo search for "foreclosure assistance" results in 7,710,000 hits.  The Google search was a little less than a million.  Where do you start?  Better yet, where do you end?

First let's get this out of the way:  Yes, you CAN negotiate with your bank, you do not have to pay someone to do it for you.  OK, there, I've said it.  Just like you can cut your own hair or change the oil in your car; you too can negotiate with your bank to stop the foreclosure.

Of course, stopping a foreclosure is just a little bit more important than a bad hair cut. 

5 tips to help you find help:

1. Try to find someone LOCAL to the property.  Sometimes being familiar with local property values, trends and real estate market is pertinent when negotiating a repayment plan. 

2. Check credentials.  Is the business listed in the phone book? Member of the Better Business Bureau?  Licensed?  Is this a professional or someone who just had business cards printed up?

3.  Ask for a free consultation.  Ask questions.  Are the answers direct and relative to your question or is it just a lot of beating-around-the-bush fast talk?  Listen carefully to the questions YOU are asked, are you being asked for information so that an evaluation of your specific situation can be completed?

4.  Be watchful of their demeanor.  Are you being pressured into a quick decision, sign here, sign now, etc.?  Is there good eye contact?  Listen to your gut, does this person make you feel comfortable? 

5.  Is the Agreement in writing?  You don't need a long contract with a lot of legalease that is complicated, you just need a simple Agreement in which the services for which you are paying are spelled out.  WYSIWYG.  What you see is what you get.

Final suggestion, be sure to ask how often you can expect an update on the negotiations.  Loss Mitigation and Home Retention departments are so backed up that it crosses the lines of sanity. 

As a full time Foreclosure Consultant, I can tell you the folks working in Home Retention and Loss Mitigation are overworked and under extreme pressure.  (maybe that's why they get so ugly sometimes?) - be sure to ask whomever you are interviewing how often you will be updated as to progress.

There's a lot of scammers out there, be alert.

Good Luck, best wishes.