The most important factor homeowners in foreclosure need to remain aware of is how much time they have left to work out a solution, either to save the home or unload it with the least financial damage. The bank, working through its local attorneys, will typically attempt to push through the legal process as quickly as possible, in order for the lawyers to get paid and the bank to have an empty house they can sell on the market. Homeowners, on the other hand, would like more time and negotiating room in which to put together a more beneficial solution.

One of the easiest, most effective ways to get more time to stop foreclosure is just to ask the lender for help. A call to the mortgage company, followed by a written request, can postpone the initial filing of the foreclosure lawsuit, or even convince the bank to delay a sheriff sale just a few days before the property is scheduled to be auctioned. Since the lender is in control of the entire process of taking the house, it can dictate if and when it wants the courts or local government to proceed with certain aspects of the case.

However, simply flooding the mortgage company with delay requests, while effective once or twice, is not a long term solution to foreclosure. In fact, every time the homeowners ask for more time, they should be working on a specific plan that will help get the house completely out of the legal process and pay off the loan or pay back the arrears owed on the loan. Banks are much more willing to extend the time to save a house if it looks as if the borrowers are actively seeking out realistic methods.

Some banks, though, will eventually reach a breaking point at which they will no longer be willing to extend a sheriff sale or help out with any other solution the homeowners present. At this point, there may be two other ways that the borrowers can get more time to save the house, both of which involve entering the court system. The first way is to file bankruptcy, while the other involves defending the original foreclosure lawsuit.

Once homeowners file either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy and include their house debt in the petition, the lender must cease all collection efforts. This includes halting the lawsuit at whatever point to which it has progressed, and canceling any scheduled foreclosure auction of the property. As long as the property is tied up in the federal bankruptcy court, the mortgage company has no other option other than to work with the trustee to attempt to collect on the mortgage debt. This can tie up the house for several additional months while the owners either negotiate down the debt or work on another final solution.

And while some homeowners may not wish to enter the local courts to defend against the bank's lawsuit against them, this may be the single most effective way to get more time and prove to the bank that the owners are not willing to go down without a fight. Potential predatory lending or other lender misconduct may be enough to convince the bank that working out a mortgage modification or delaying the auction to help the borrowers sell their home will be less costly than litigation. As well, any motions or defenses the homeowners bring to the courts may take additional months or years to resolve, not to mention possible appeals.

Too often, homeowners in foreclosure are working on a solution that would stop the foreclosure process completely, but they are just running up against a deadline, after which the solution would no longer be viable. It is in these cases that borrowers should do everything they can just to get more time. The easiest way to do this is simply to request the bank to hold off on any more foreclosure proceedings, but bankruptcy and litigation are also quite effective at postponing an eviction. As always, though, it should go without saying that, unless the owners have some reasonable solution, constant delays will only prolong the inevitable.