Stop Mortgage Foreclosure

When you are facing foreclosing on your home, it is important to look at the situation realistically rather than idealistically. So what are some of those realities?

Once foreclosure has started on your home, it has just become more difficult and expensive to save it. The foreclosure process is expensive for banks. There are attorney fees and court fees, to name a few, that your bank will incur as soon as they file foreclosure paperwork. If you want to save your home, your bank will likely make you pay at least some of those fees, if not all.

You are now sitting on a ticking time bomb. Once your lender has filed that foreclosure paperwork, you are on the clock. Every state has their own foreclosure timeline. But once that paperwork is filed, that timeline has begun. It may be short or it may be long, you need to check your state’s resources to know for sure.

Most of the control of whether or not you can save your house is in the hands of your lender. Your bank has a legal right to foreclose if you do not make your payments. Unless they have done something illegal, your bank is really the one who controls this situation. So if you want to save your home, you will likely have to work out a solution with them.

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It may feel like your options to stop mortgage foreclosure are limited when you are in the middle of foreclosure. Unfortunately, that is the truth. Because unless your mortgage company has done something illegal, you will likely have to work with them in order to stop foreclosure. So how do you do that?

The first thing that you need to understand is that you are a number to them. You are a mortgage number and a loan amount. So be prepared to tell your story several times to several people. You might want to even write yourself a brief script of a few sentences so that you have an idea of what to say each time. You will also need to be persistent. You will have to call them and then call them again and again. Be polite and be sure to always leave your mortgage number, name, and phone number on every message you leave. If your call is urgent because of an upcoming deadline, let them know that. Do not lose your tempter with them. They are just doing their job.

Be honest with them about what your financial situation is. If you have had a recent major financial event in your life, tell them that. It may be what qualifies you for a workout package with them.

Be prepared to fill out a lot of paperwork and to provide them with detailed financial records. Have your most recent three years of tax returns ready and several months of your current financial records.

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It is always best to build a solid foundation before you try to build anything else. When it comes to being able to stop mortgage foreclosure, that foundation is vital. So how do you build it? What do you need to do?

The first block of the foundation is honesty This means being honest with yourself about what your financial situation is. Be honest with your mortgage company about what your money situation looks like. Be honest with your family about what is going on. If you are honest in all things and with everyone that you need to speak with about your foreclosure, you will be much better off and more likely to get the help that you really need.

The next block of the foundation to stop mortgage foreclosure is communication. You need to communicate with your mortgage company. This will likely require more effort at communication on your part. You will probably have to call them several times in order to talk to a real person. And you will have to continue to follow up with them. You also need to communicate with your family. Let them know what is going on, where you are at in the process and what the plan is. If you have children, be sure to keep the communication age appropriate. Do not try to lie to them though because kids will pick up on it.

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With decreasing home values and record unemployment, there are plenty of people facing foreclosure. As you look at your own individual situation, you really need to ask yourself if you should even bother to try to stop mortgage foreclosure. There are some serious questions you should ask.

Can I really even afford this home? If you find yourself in a situation where more than 30 to 40 percent of your income is going towards your mortgage, you likely have more home than you can afford.

Is this home worth what I owe on it? If the answer is no, figure out just how far “under water” you are on the home. How much do you owe on it versus how much it is worth? Is it a deficit that could be made up within a few years? If not, really think about just how valuable this home is to you.

How good is my credit? If you have otherwise excellent credit, think about just how much damage this will do to your credit scores. They will be affected for at least seven years because that is how long a foreclosure will remain on your credit report. How important is that to you?

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I know what you’re probably thinking; why would someone not want to stop mortgage foreclosure on their home? There are a lot of things that you need to take into consideration when you are facing foreclosure. And one of the most important questions is: can you afford the home at this time and will you be able to in the future? If you do not make enough money to be able to afford not only the mortgage payments but also the utilities and maintenance on the home, you need to seriously look at whether it makes sense for you to even try to stop the foreclosure process.

If you’ve been laid off, you might be able to work with your mortgage company to temporarily stop payments without any penalties. But if the prospect of you being able to find a job soon is not very good, then you need to look at if it is even worth it to save your home.

The truth of the matter is that you can find another place to live. Even with a foreclosure on your record, you can find somewhere to live. It might not be ideal and it might not be what you want to do but you need to consider the long-term financial consequences of your decision. How much is it worth to you to save your home from foreclosure? Is the price too high?

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There are a lot of ways to stop mortgage foreclosure. The best solution for you all depends on what your situation is, who your lender is and how much, if any, cash you have on hand to work with. It is good to take an inventory of these things to see where you stand.

But the thing to remember is that this does not have to get complicated. All you really need to do is find a method that works for you. In order to do this, I suggest you take some time to really look at your situation. Lay out what your income and expenses are. Figure out how much of a shortfall you are really looking at each month. That way, when you call your lender in order to figure out a solution with them, you can give them real numbers about where you are and then see what solutions you can work with them to develop.

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Having a foreclosing home is not easy. Figuring out how you can stop it is even more of a nightmare. Luckily, there are resources out there that can help you. You just need to know where to look in order to find them.

One of those resources are HUD counselors. If you live in a major metro area, you likely have a HUD counselor near you. They can offer free advice on how you can save your home from foreclosure. They also may be able to point you in the direction of other resources that can help you.

Another great resource is your state. Most states now have some sort of dedicated foreclosure help available. It may be in the form of a hotline, free classes or free counselors to help you. Do some digging and you are sure to come up with what your state is offering in the way of foreclosure assistance.

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It can be hard to know what to do with a foreclosing house. It can be challenging and emotionally draining to deal with. I know that it was for me. So how can you deal with it effectively? What can you do?

Remaining calm and rational in the middle of your foreclosure is essential. Both for your own piece of mind and for those around you. You will also get a much better response from the people who are critical to your foreclosure process when you remain calm. Giving energy and attention away to worry and aggravation does not help your case and only drains you.

Taking positive action every day is also important. Even taking a small step is important to your success in saving your home. Remember that saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Keep that in mind as you work on your foreclosing house situation. It is not going to be simple or easy. Accept that and just keep doing what you need to do every day.

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According to the Center for Responsible Lending, there is a new foreclosure started every 13 seconds. And that number does not look to be going down anytime soon. As unemployment skyrockets to new highs not seen for 26 years, it is likely that the number of foreclosures will continue to get worse before it gets better. More and more homeowners will be looking for ways to stop mortgage foreclosure on their homes and to find resources to help them.

So how did we get to this mess in the first place? Eric Stein’s testimony to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in October of 2008 helps shed some light on the issue. Eric is the senior vice president of the Center For Responsible Lending. In that testimony Eric indicates that base of the foreclosure problem we currently find ourselves in is founded on the number of unsustainable loans.

On the bright side, Eric offered the senate possible solutions to help stop mortgage foreclosure and get us back on track. The question is, will anything be done to fix the problem that we now find ourselves in?

You can get Eric’s full testimony at http://www.responsiblelending.org/pdfs/senate-testimony-10-16-08-hearing-stein-final.pdf

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President Obama’s inauguration speech reminded me of what I had to do to stop mortgage foreclosure on my home. Lots of hard work, responsibility and action. You will need these things as well in order to stop mortgage foreclosure on your home. Saving your home from foreclosure is not easy. You will have to work with your mortgage company. You will have to work to come up with the money that you need.

And you will need to take on a new financial responsibility. This means getting honest with yourself about what you spend money on and what are truly necessities in your life as opposed to niceties. You will need to find a way to cut back if you want to stop mortgage foreclosure on your home. You will need to find a way to downsize your lifestyle.

And you will need to act. Do something every day, even if it is a small thing, to stop mortgage foreclosure on your home. Doing something is better than doing nothing. The more you act and continue to act, the closer you will be to saving your home.

President Obama reminded us of what this country was founded on and that the path ahead will not be an easy one. Neither will the path for you if you want to stop mortgage foreclosure. Are you ready for the challenge?

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