Stop Foreclosure

Many people who are facing having their house taken away want to stop foreclosure by ignoring the problem. This decision is a poor one. Instead of ignoring letter or phone calls from your mortgage company, you should take a proactive stance in trying to stop foreclosure on your home. Keep in mind that while bankers may talk tough, they do not want to foreclose as it costs them money, time, and effort that they would rather put into ensuring that you continue to make payments to them. Once you have made the decision to talk to your mortgage company, which should be as soon as you cannot make payments, there are several options available.

The first way to stop foreclosure is to ask for a reinstatement. This method means that your payments are behind and will remain that way for a while because of lost employment, illness, or another problem. You typically can promise, however, to bring your account current by a certain time or to be able to pay a certain amount toward your mortgage, and the company will consider your mortgage payments current although they are not. Another option to stop foreclosure for temporary problems such as illness is to ask for a forbearance, whereby the bank would agree to stop your payments for a specified period of time, usually six months, until you can get back on your feet.

Long-term problems have other solution possibilities. If you have been behind for a period of time and can now make your regular payment but cannot catch up, the lender may agree to a repayment plan. Under this plan, the mortgage would appear caught up, and you would pay your regular payment plus an agreed upon extra amount until you get caught up. When the situation is really grim, see if the lender will stop foreclosure proceedings to give you time to try to sell your home so that you can move on and someone else will have the mortgage.