subject: Housing Foreclosures [print this page] There are many reasons that foreclosures occur. For the most part, foreclosures are due to job loss or unexpected unemployment, perhaps a sickness in the family made medical bills begin to add up, or it could be as simple as the maintenance of the home is draining your wallet. Whatever the reason it has led you to the dreaded word- -- foreclosure.
If you find yourself getting closer and closer to the foreclosure situation, there are some things that you can do. First, acknowledge that you need help. There is no embarrassment to be had, reality is that people lose their jobs or get hurt. If you tell the lender the situation early before many payments go by unpaid they are more willing to work with you. There are a few ways that you can propose meeting in the middle.
For starters, tell the lender that you will be missing a certain amount of payments, let's say two, and that afterwards you will be on time with each and every payment. Some lends, not many, will just forgive the two payments. However, do not count on this as it rarely happens anymore.
You can also ask if the missed payments can be added onto what you are currently paying over the course of the home loan. This is a great way to still pay the mortgage and keep your house. Before you get into the situation where foreclosure is close on the horizon, consider asking to refinance your mortgage in order to lower payments. It may not help much, but every little bit that you save is worth the effort.
For those who are past the point of doing anything to prevent a foreclosure, there are a few ways to stop a foreclosure. For one thing, you can try to sell your home before the bank takes over. This may mean that you make a little extra money and can pay off the mortgage without suffering too much. However, it may also be that you take less than it is worth just to cover what you owe. Most people choose to sign a deed-in-lieu, which is where they sign the house back over to the bank willingly, and the bank forgives the payments that they have not received.
Foreclosures are a reality of the times. They are awful to go through, however things happen that are out of anyone's hands. If you find yourself in this situation, give these tips and advice a try before you do anything else, it just might save your house.
