By Cory Boatright


No one would like to face a foreclosure if he/she owns a house. Losing a home could be one of the most traumatic financial events in a individual's life, but its happening every day. Here are few tips which can help you avoid foreclosure.

Its crucial that you take early action. Few individuals are aware of their homes in the foreclosure. Usually you would be capable of finding warning signs which precede the event. Being aware of these warning signs and taking fast, decisive action early on can mean the difference between keeping your home and losing it.

Its vital that you contact a lender the moment you know that you may miss a payment. Contacting the lender early on allows the lender to assist you work out alternate options. The truth is most banks don't want to take your home. They do not want the hassle of foreclosing, maintaining, and then selling the home. They would much prefer that some arrangement be worked out, but this often requires your early contact with them.

You should always follow up a phone call with a letter. You will be able to draft a hardship letter and send it over to the lender. This is not a good time to be too creative. Be specific about what caused the payment delinquency, make it detailed and be honest, but also be concise.

Unless there aren't any other choices for you, you should not accept a short sale. A short sale is when the bank or lender agrees to sell your home for less than what you owe. The main difference between the selling price and the amount you owe would still have to be made up by you, and, of course, you will lose the home in the process.

You would be capable of going a long way if you are polite and patient with the lenders. You will be offered many solutions by the lender. These may include extending the repayment period, suspending payments for a few months, or tacking the missed payments onto the back end of the loan.

You could also extend your contract by talking to the lender. For example, if you've a 30 yr fixed rate loan, perhaps you can change it to a 40 yr loan. Not all lenders would be willing to do this, but its surely worth asking about as the difference in the payment amounts could be the difference between keeping the home and losing it.

Refinancing, in general, is also a common alternative but homeowners ought to understand that refinancing is much easier to get when the housing market is moving up and less easy to get when the market is moving downwards.

Filing for bankruptcy is another alternative for few individuals. This is an option that has to be decided on based on the advice of an attorney. Not all homeowners can find relief from the bankruptcy court. For this reason, you must speak with an experienced attorney who could fill you in on the details and whether your home could be protected.

Although preventing foreclosure is often not easy and it might also be stressful, you ought to remember that a foreclosure would remain on your credit records for at least seven years. It might take up to four years after you have gone through a foreclosure that you would be able to get a loan at regular interest rates again. These are just some of the reasons as to why you have to work extremely hard to prevent foreclosure.




About the Author: