Foreclosure Help and Options- This is a series of articles to help homeowners in distress.
Are you behind in your mortgage payments?
- Have you lost your job, been laid off or your hours cut back to where you can no longer make your payments?
- Did you recently get divorced?
- Did your mortgage payment readjust and now you can not make the higher payments?
There are a lot of reasons that you may have fallen behind in your mortgage payments. 
Most homeowners who call us when they are in this situation are very embarrassed. We understand how you feel. We know it does not change things but most people feel less humiliated by their circumstances when they realize that there are a lot of other people in the same situation. There are a lot of people who are in the same boat as you. You are NOT alone!
No matter how tough this all seems to be, no matter how tired you are, no matter how bad you feel- the most important thing you can do at this time is to stay in communication with your mortgage lender.
Ignoring the mail from them is not going to make your problem go away. Ignoring their phone calls is not going to change your circumstances and moving without leaving a forwarding address only will hurt you in being able to respond to communication from your mortgage lender.
If you get served with a summons and complaint, a lis pendens- this is a set of documents that your lender files with the courthouse to start your foreclosure procedings- you should get the advice of an attorney or legal aid right away.
If you move and do not leave a forwarding address then the lender can tell the court that you did not leave them any way to contact you- so then the judge is going to allow them to publish your foreclosure filing in a newspaper which you are probably never going to see. This means you won't know what is going on with your foreclosure filing.
Out of all the options there are for you, having you lose your home in a foreclosure is the worst option for most people. According to attorneys and mortgage brokers that we have spoken with; in almost all situations a bankruptcy is better than a foreclosure on your record.
The first thing you need to do when you get behind is to talk to your lender. Try to get a work out plan with them. They may have different options for you such as what they call forebearance, refinancing, deferrment and/or loan modifications. You do NOT need to go through a third party to do this.
Please be very careful who you give your information to. There are many companies out there that are being investigated by the attorney generals of different states. Check with your state attorneys website to see if any complaints have been filed against a company you are considering to hire to do your loan modification for you.
We will cover more on this subject further into this series.
For information about short sales please click here.
For information about what to watch out for when seeking options click here.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this Foreclosure Help and Options- Series of Articles To Help Homeowners.
If you know of someone close to you or a neighbor who is in this situation, please forward this article to them. Call Nestor Gasset or Katerina Gasset at 561-753-0135 for more information. Your call is confidential.
To view Wellington Florida Homes For Sale Click here. We know Palm Beach County Short Sales and Port St Lucie Florida Short Sales and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida : Call us today.
Foreclosure Help and Options- Series Of Articles to Help Homeowners was first published on South- Florida-Luxury-Living.com.
Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset- Realtors®, CIPS, ABR, SFR, GRI, REOS
Very helpful information Katerina. It's important that folks who are going through a difficult time financially understand that this does NOT make them a bad person. It's just money. Many people are stuggling right now. Don't hide your head in a hole. Stand up straight and attack the problem head on.
Katerina - This is very helpful information. I'm sure many can take advantage of these tips. So many customers run from their lender instead of communicating with them.
Sage advice Katerina. There are horror stories about people who had choices, but instead of being proactive they ignored the problem. In the end, the only 'choice' was foreclosure. This is a painful thing to have to deal with, but it is one that should be faced head on and with trusted professionals at your side.
Great information Katerina. The last thing people should do is ignore the problem because it will not go away.
Great idea for a series. I look forward to even more useful information from you.
Well written Katerina, A homeowner in trouble can certainly benifit from this series.