10 Last-Minute Tips on How to Avoid Foreclosure In

Pueblo

10 Last-Minute Tips on How to Avoid Foreclosure

Are you currently experiencing a period of financial hardship? Have you been finding it difficult to keep up with your monthly mortgage payments? Have you gotten word that you are facing or may face foreclosure in the future?

If your house is foreclosed, you’ll be forced to relocate and have to find somewhere else to live. The prospect of that can be terrifying. What if you don’t have anywhere to stay while you search for a new home?

If you’re facing foreclosure and are terrified, here are 10 last-minute tips on how to avoid foreclosure that you can use to hopefully resolve the situation.

Let’s get down to it. You’ve got no time to waste!

1. Don’t Ignore Your Situation

If you pay attention to any of the tips in this list, this is, without a doubt, the most important one.

Whatever you do, don’t ignore your current situation and the fact that you’ve missed mortgage payments. The further behind in your payments you fall, the harder it’s going to be to try to redeem yourself and extricate yourself from the situation.

The longer you delay, the closer and closer you’ll get to losing your house.

2. Contact Your Bank or Lender

And the sooner you can contact them, the better your outcome is likely to be.

Believe it or not, your bank or other lender doesn’t want to take your house away from you. They have resources available that you can utilize if you’re going through a challenging financial period. Contact then and take advantage.

3. Don’t Neglect Your Mail

In the midst of a stressful and trying situation in life, it can be tempting to ignore basic responsibilities like checking your mail.

However, in the face of a possible foreclosure, you’re not only going to need to open all of your mail, you’re going to need to respond, too.

Neglecting to respond may result in legal action, and saying “I forgot to check my mail” probably isn’t going to hold up well in court, is it?

4. Know Your Rights

Dig up your loan documents and reread them. They will include information on what actions the lender can take if you don’t make your payments.

Then, contact the familiarize yourself with the laws in your state regarding foreclosure, as planning a course of action will be much easier to do if you know what your rights are.

5. Look into Your Options for Foreclosure Prevention

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has more resources available for you than you might even realize.

And, if you click on the “Avoiding Foreclosure” topic on their website, there’s a wealth of information about what programs are available to homeowners who are struggling and facing foreclosure.

Before you scare yourself silly worrying about what could happen during the foreclosure process, look into what you can do to prevent it from occurring.

6. Contact a Housing Counselor

The Department of Housing and Urban Development also funds counselors who specialize in housing issues too.

Working with a counselor will make it easier for you to understand what your options are, what the local law states, assist you in getting your finances together, and if need be, representing you when it’s time to negotiate with your lender.

7. Make Your Budget a Priority

When you’re facing possible foreclosure, all other expenses should come last. Focus only on the most important things: paying your bills and holding on to your house.

Take a look at all of your expenses and cut out all of the optional ones you can live without. For example, that $5 you spend on a latte every morning? Stop it. Wait until you get to work to have a cup of coffee.

If you have credit cards with balances too, hold off on paying them.

Put every extra penny you have into paying your mortgage while you still have the option.

8. Think About Your Assets

Is there anything you own that you could sell to help you to be able to continue paying your mortgage?

For example, does your family have multiple cars? You may be able to work out a schedule where you can get everyone where they need to be using only one car. If that’s the case, sell the one you can get away without.

While a sacrifice like this isn’t likely to make a huge dent in your mortgage, it will demonstrate to your bank or lender that you’re taking your impending foreclosure seriously and are willing to do whatever you have to in order to hold onto your home.

9. File a Lawsuit

Is your lender trying to move forward with your foreclosure outside of the legal system?

If they are, you just might be able to file a lawsuit against them and use it to challenge the impending foreclosure. However, it’s important to note that you’re going to need to have sufficient proof for the court as to why the foreclosure should not take place.

10. File for Bankruptcy

If you’re only days away from an impending foreclosure sale, you can put a stop to it immediately by filing for bankruptcy.

Of course, the lender will be able to appeal to continue with the foreclosure process, but, even if the motion is granted, you’ll buy yourself some additional time which you can then use to contact your lender and see if there are any other options you can come up with that will satisfy them.

Learn How to Avoid Foreclosure with These 10 Tips

With these 10 helpful tips, learning how to avoid foreclosure doesn’t have to be a completely overwhelming experience. Sure, facing foreclosure is scary – but there are resources out there that you can take advantage of – so don’t neglect them.

And if you’d still like some more advice, we’re here for you.

Contact us to discuss your situation today. We’re committed to working with you to resolve it however we can.