Stop Foreclosure Part 1: 4 Simple Steps You Can Take Right Now
to Stop The Sale
Here are 4 steps you can take right now to escape foreclosure:
1. Talk to your bank when you first get behind. You want o put
this behind you and not let this get out of hand. You want all
of the stresses to go away, however, if you do not talk to the
bank and be open to different options, the matter will only
continue to get worse. I have seen people avoid the bank at all
costs at first believing there will be this miracle to happen,
only in the end to find out it is too late for them to do
anything. I do believe in miracles. I do believe that you have
to be proactive and looking for that miracle before it will be
given to you. The longer you wait, the more the fees that you
will incur. Attorney fees run around $1600 for the bank to
conduct a foreclosure. If you wait to reinstate at the last
minute, you are the one that has to pay for these fees.
2. Ask the bank for a forbearance agreement. This is an
agreement to help you get caught up on the monthly payment. For
example, if you were 4 months behind on your house payment, the
bank may be willing to stop the process if you were to bring 2
months worth of payments in. Usually, the bank will require you
to get your tax returns and fill out some paperwork to do this.
If so, fill out the paperwork completely and get it back to them
as soon as possible. If you are not sure about a question, call
the representative that you are working with. Be responsible and
take action. Bank representatives are only human, they are given
200 foreclosure files every month to try to resolve. So be
patient with the person you are dealing. Do not scream or yell
your frustrations, as this will only cause more problems for
yourself. So be understanding, explain to them that you
understand how hard their job is and this will create a bond
with the person you are dealing with which is important because
this will be the person that is going to bat for you when they
talk about getting approvals with their boss. There are
companies out there charging fees up front for doing this. Do
not pay anyone up front to negotiate with the bank a forbearance
agreement. The people that want the money up front will not make
any guarantee while you are out $300-$400, this puts you taking
all the risk for someone else to get the situation resolved. If
you want to go this route, then hire someone that gets paid on
performance after they have worked out a possible solution.
Usually these consultants will work harder to get your situation
resolved because their pay will depend on it.
3. Refinance you current loan or getting a 2nd mortgage. This is
a very unlikely scenario, but I have seen it happen. Usually, if
you are in foreclosure, there is only a slim chance to getting a
refinance or another loan. You really have to look within to see
if this is a real solution or if it just going to overload you
even more. Imagine having another payment that you have to worry
about plus all of your existing payments, how does it make you
feel? Be sure to be real with yourself. Do not overestimate and
say