Month: February 2009

If you’re one of those people who have never faced foreclosure, you don’t understand. You just don’t get how someone can get into a situation where they need to avoid having their home foreclosed on. Isn’t their home their most important asset? Shouldn’t they pay the mortgage first?

Sure, they know all those nice words and fancy ideas, but sometimes what they want to have happen doesn’t match up with what happens and they are worried about home foreclosures and avoiding their lender.

How It Can Happen

There are many ways that a homeowner goes from being delighted with their new home and cushy and comfortable making their payments. Or maybe they were never so comfortable with the amount of their payments but at least they were making them, and on time!

Usually, something happens. You lose your job, or your income goes down for another reason. Maybe you’re on commission and sales are slow. Maybe you’ve been waiting for that inheritance to come, and the old relative hasn’t died yet. Maybe you have your own business and you didn’t sell that 1,000,000 widgets at a dollar a piece that you anticipated.

Maybe your health declined, making it more difficult to work. With added medical bills, things are tighter than ever. Maybe your circumstances left you depressed, making it hard to work for another reason. Maybe you’re just burnt out and can barely get out of bed in the morning.

Whatever the reason, once the money isn’t flowing like it used to, you’ve got to make some hard choices. Should you pay the mortgage, or the electricity bill? What about the water bill can you get an extension on that one? Or maybe you’ll go the borrowing money route. Can your boyfriend lend you $500 to help you get by? Can your grandparents? And if they do, when will you be able to pay it back? Should you get a loan to avoid foreclosure on your home would you qualify for one?

At first, when the bank calls you’re not avoiding them foreclosure on your home isn’t what they’re threatening, it’s just a vague possibility in the back of your head. But they’re leaving messages after the first call, since you identified that number as the bank and now you’re not picking up. They want your payment, you’ve got late charges…and things are looking bleak.

If you aren’t able to solve your money problem soon, and you don’t make the payment, the idea of foreclosure at home can’t be avoided. The bank is threatening that every time they leave a message.

Next thing you know…you get that notice in the mail usually two or three times, certified and regular letting you know your home is in foreclosure. Avoiding it is over. It really could happen to you but let’s hope it never does.

The economy’s in the toilet. Everyone’s saying so. It’s on the news, and the talk radio shows. Whenever they discuss the stock market, or the unemployment rate they tell us how bad it is. Things are looking pretty bleak. People all over are losing their jobs, and more all the time are losing their homes. They probably wanted to avoid foreclosure but weren’t able to do whatever they needed to do to keep the mortgage current. Millions are in foreclosure you want to avoid joining them. Seriously you don’t want to be in foreclosure.

You’ve Got A Fan Club?

Which of us doesn’t want to be more popular? Doesn’t everyone want to get more mail? Not if it is from companies promising to help you out of your FORECLOSURE and telling you how they can SELL YOUR HOUSE and SAVE YOUR CREDIT! If you can’t avoid foreclosure of your home and the bank files the paperwork, your foreclosure becomes a matter of public record. With a couple of days, you will be receiving many more pieces of mail every day, from companies who want your business. They try to catch your attention by sending you mail a few times a week for however long it takes for you to get out of foreclosure (if you are able to at all). It may seem like a trivial thing, but all that extra mail proclaiming loudly and boldly of your troubles is not only embarrassing but also annoying. That’s not the kind of popularity anyone wants.

You Thought Your Credit Was Bad Before….

Your credit will take a real hit if it has a foreclosure on it. Foreclosure is one of the big things that potential creditors look at when determining if they want to loan you money. It’s right up there with a bankruptcy they both show that when the going gets tough, you get going. You’ll walk away from your obligations if you can’t see a way of paying them. If they lend you money as a new mortgage, or a credit card, etc. – you could just as easily walk away from the loan again. Avoid foreclosure, and you avoid a nasty black mark on your record.

Refi, Anyone? Sign Me Up!

If you’re thinking that just letting the bank foreclose is your best option, think again. Usually, you can refinance your loan, ending up with a better solution all the way around. The upside is that you can end up with a lower monthly payment, helping you avoid foreclosure now and in the future, as your payments would be easier to keep up with. The downside is that there will be costs associated with refinancing, which you will either need to pay upfront or have rolled into your new loan. But in terms of avoiding foreclosure, this answer is a sure-fire winner in many ways. Check your options before signing anything, and be sure to consider refinancing as a way to avoid foreclosure.