6 Steps to Avoiding Foreclosure

When facing a foreclosure, all is not lost. There is still hope in protecting yourself. Oftentimes, people procrastinate when the lender has expressed their plans to foreclose. When this happens, your time is extremely limited and you must act fast to be successful. Here are some steps you need to follow to stop a foreclosure and protect yourself.

 1 - Do Not Ignore Your Lender or the Problem. Your success rate to stop or protect yourself from foreclosure drastically decreases as time passes. Your lender is more willing to work with you in the beginning stages of the process than if you wait only weeks prior to the foreclosure sale.

 2 - Contact Your Lender Immediately. In fact, at the very first sign of trouble--before you are late--you should contact your lender and begin discussing your options. Remember, foreclosure doesn't happen overnight. Every homeowner knows well in advance if keeping up with future mortgage payments will be a problem. In reality, lenders do not want your home no more than you want to give it up. They would rather you pay the mortgage on time, allowing them to recoup their investment. Consequently, they provide several options for defaulting homeowners.

 3 - Stay in Touch with Your Lender throughout the Entire Process. In addition to not ignoring your lender or the problem, stay in step with every correspondence you receive. In other words, open and respond to any and all mail from your lender. Because foreclosure law requires actual notice, the lender's initial communication will have very important information such as contact information, amounts to reinstate your loan, and timeframes. Oftentimes, homeowners will discard correspondences from the lender because it is mixed in with private companies selling their foreclosure help services. Take the time to review what is and what isn't from your lender.

 4 - Know Your Foreclosure Rights and Options. Do not rely solely on your lender to inform you of your rights or options. Although you must work with your lender, their interest is not to protect you. It's to protect them. Contact an attorney if necessary.

 5 - Use Your Assets to Your Advantage. If the problem causing you to be in foreclosure was temporary, then use your assets to the best of your ability. For example, you lost your job but are now employed and can resume making mortgage payments. Think of assets you can liquidate or sell for cash to help reinstate your loan. Perhaps, some examples are jewelry, a second vehicle, a life insurance policy, a retirement account, furniture, antiques or other collectibles etc.

 6 - Avoid Companies that Charge Money to Stop Foreclosure. Stopping a foreclosure is something you can do yourself. Because actual notice is given to the public during the foreclosure process, you will receive many mailings from companies and private investors claiming to have the magic pill for your situation. Although they may be legitimate companies, do not fall for the tricks. Perhaps, those options will work for you. However, you will give up something--usually cash or equity--in order to do what you can do yourself.

 In summary, these are the minimum steps required to avoiding foreclosure. In some cases, you may need to contact an attorney. If so, make sure you provide accurate up-to-date information and all correspondences from your lender.