The best thing that you can do to avoid a foreclosure is to negotiate with the mortgage lending company. However, there are some instances when your lender refuses to negotiate. In such cases, you should consider taking other actions that may prevent or minimize the impact of a foreclosure.
File for Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy refers to the financial situation when you cannot pay your debts because your creditors or lending companies have all your assets tied up. If you file for bankruptcy, this technically means that you are not capable of paying for your mortgage debts.
In general, filing for bankruptcy can help you keep your home for some time or it can help you prevent your mortgage company to take legal actions against you. The moment you file for a bankruptcy status, the “automatic stay” statute is enforced. This means that the foreclosure process will be temporarily stopped and it cannot be processed until your mortgage lender gets court permission to “lift the stay”. Moreover, the “automatic stay” statute will remain effective for as long as your bankruptcy case is still in effect.
On the contrary, bankruptcy cases will terribly bring negative consequences to your credit report. It may prevent you from getting another mortgage or getting other forms of loans. Such bad credit records will appear in your credit report for at least ten (10) years.
Sell Your House
In cases where you think that your financial shortcoming will last for several months or even a year, you may consider selling your house. Selling your house not only prevents a foreclosure. It can also help you deal with your debts and eventually have some spare money for rental fees.
You can opt to sell your house if you know that the value of your house has increased. Most of the time, you will know that your house value has appreciated if many real estate agents are bargaining for your house.
If you opt to sell your house, be sure to contact your mortgage lender first. He may be willing to help you make the sale arrangements or he may be able to recommend potential buyers or agents that can make the sale easy for you.
Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure
If you think that you will find it hard to sell the house, you can opt to contact the lender and ask him to take the deed and your house before your mortgage debt ends up in a foreclosure. This is highly appropriate for you if you have not missed three (3) or more monthly payments.
In such cases, the lender may agree to a “deed in lieu of foreclosure”. This means that the lender will take the deed and actually sell your house. However, they will not declare your debt as a foreclosure. As such, no bad credit record will appear in your credit report and you can ultimately find it easy to find another mortgage for a new home.
