This is not an unusual situation for many homeowners today. Most are overwhelmed and stressed out, and receive mixed advice on the best course of action.
But the train wreck is coming, and a do nothing scenario may mean the light at the end of the tunnel is the train ready to take you out. So my first advice is do your research and be pro-active to minimize the damage by preparing for it the best way possible! This article is to help you down the road to understand your choices.
Question: Do you have equity in your home?
If yes, you have several choices:
1. Refinance the home to a better interest rate.
2. Bring in an investor to help make the payments, in exchange for a share of the equity. You could have the investor payoff your second mortgage, giving you some payment relief.
3. Consolidation under Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws. Chapter 13 reorganizes your debt and sets up an affordable payment plan for your existing debt. The debt is not forgiven, and it is a significant hit to your credit rating for up to 10 years.
If No, there are other choices that you have to make and ultimately whether you can keep the house or need to sell.
1. Forbearance: If you are behind on your loan, the lender may give you a temporary break in payments until you can get back on your feet. This may help you avoid late fees and the 30-day late marks on your credit report. Forbearance allows for the delay in payment for a short period of time, but payments are not forgiven.
2. Loan Modification: This is popular among homeowners, but it is rife with potholes. 53% of
all loan modifications fail and 33% of them end up with higher payments! Professional loan modification companies have popped up everywhere. Many have established relationships with lenders, which can speed up the process and help get the results you want. Quite a few are charlatans with no real connections, and are probably not any more effective than if you call the bank yourself. If the property is significantly upside down, or you have no current source of income, then a loan modification will not be approved by the bank.
3. Deed in Lieu of Foreclosures: In exchange for the release of liability for the debt that you owe, you may be able to deed the property back to the bank. Generally if there is a second lien on the property the lender will not accept a deed in-lieu. Do not be deceived, a deed in lieu is still a foreclosure, and this will significantly affect your credit for years to come.
4. Short Sale: Many proactive homeowners are choosing to sell the home when payments get too high. A short sale, different than a traditional sale, involves an additional step of obtaining approval by the mortgage holder to take a loss on their loan, in order to get the house sold. Short sales are difficult, but with the right team, they can be accomplished successfully. Be careful, real estate agents and brokers may be great at selling a house, but typically do not have the bank connections to get the approval by the bank. 9 out of every 10 short sales that go to foreclosure are because the agent cannot get bank approval. Make sure that your selling team includes a professional short sale negotiator.
Author Resource:-
Julie Fontaine is the author of "Homeowner's Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure - Strategies & Solutions", and is a business partner in a successful short sale & loan mod company in San Diego, California Troubled Property Solutions
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://cdnimages.articlefriendly.net/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
