Is it absolutely possible to avoid foreclosure? Of course it is. To absolutely avoid foreclosure simply pay all your mortgage payments on time.
You knew there had to be a catch, right?
Staying current will certainly avoid foreclosure, but what happens when you can not, for some reason, make a required payment?
When you know you can't make a mortgage payment on time, first thing to do is call your lender to discuss the situation. Just pick up the telephone, dial the customer service number listed on your most current payment notice, and call them. Explain that you can not make the payment this month, and you expect that to be the case for however many months, due to whatever the problem is. The bigger the problem, the better for you: Job loss, illness, injury, called to active duty, divorce work well. Spent too much on your vacation, party, sports tickets - not so good.
Lenders can do many things to help resolve such challenges. They can move a few payments to the end of your loan. They can renegotiate the interest rate and/or term. They can modify the payment amount for a period of time to get you through the challenge, then increase the payment to get you caught up again when you are back earning as before.
Lenders really just want to get their interest and their principal back with minimal difficulty. They really don't want to foreclose and have to deal with the property. This is especially true in the current market.
The key is to communicate honestly with your lender as soon as you know there is going to be a challenge meeting your obligations. If you wait until the foreclosure gets filed and do not communicate with the lender, the situation will only get worse. It certainly will not cure itself.
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