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Help! I Just Got Served With the Foreclosure Paperwork! Part 3 of 7

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty Pensacola

Someone just knocked on your door, and served you with paperwork stating the lender is foreclosing on your Florida home. This is the third of seven parts on what you should do if a foreclosure lawsuit is filed against you.

I've seen examples of people who wanted to keep their homes pack what they could and take off, causing a terrible mess for both them and the lender. Whether you want to keep the home or get it sold to avoid foreclosure, you need to know that the game is not over. BUT you need to step up to the plate and help yourself.

The good news is, the game has changed. You were dealing with your lender's collections department in the first couple months of missed payments. They will say just about anything to get you to pay, and to make you feel bad about not paying. Now, you will be dealing with loss mitigation, and their job is to try to find better solutions to foreclosure.

1. Realize that you still have time, and that many people are going through this.

2. If you feel you need legal advice, seek it.

3. You need to open dialogue with your lender. Don't get hung up on what your lender has told you before. When you were a month or two behind on payments, it was the job of collections to say and do anything to get you to pay. Now, it's time to pick up the phone and try to work something out.

I don't care what your lender said before. The situation with the lenders changes all the time. Plus, what one person tells you could be different from what another person tells you. If someone at the lender is rude or not helpful, say there's someone at the door, hang up and call back to talk to someone else.

If you want to stay in the home, tell them you had a temporary hardship and you need help getting caught up, and see what they offer. Keep probing to find out which options you qualify for that will make your situation better. If you don't want to stay in the home, or cannot afford to, it's time to look at better options than a foreclosure, such as a short sale.

If you don't want to do this yourself, you can hire someone like me who has extensive experience in negotiating with the lenders. But you can do this for free if you want. It's time to step up to the plate, though. Communication is key.

Scott Gregory has dozens of closed and pending short sales in the Pensacola area, and more than 80 hours of specialized training on short sale negotiation and loss mitigation issues. He has spoken with hundreds of homeowners in an effort to help them avoid foreclosure, and he has shared his knowledge and experience with thousands of real-estate agents via conference calls. Gregory was the Top Producer for the 160-agent Keller Williams Realty Pensacola marketplace in 2007. He does business in all of Northwest Florida, including Navarre, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, Mary Esther, Destin, Ft. Walton, Milton, Cantonment and Pace. He can assist any homeowners in Florida, and co-lists short sales with agents at his company and other companies. He is a certified short sales and REO specialist with Harris Real Estate University, and holds a degree in communications from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. If you need legal or tax advice, please seek the assistance of a professional in those areas.

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