With the recession and the downturn in the housing market many people have either lost their job or are in danger of losing their job. It is becoming apparent that this present crisis isn't going to be ending anytime soon. The loss of a job can be the starting point in a run of events that leads to foreclosure. While most people believe that the only ending to falling behind on the mortgage payment is the loss of the family home, there are some things that the homeowner who is behind on their home loan payment can do to at the very least forestall the natural progress of a foreclosure? Preventing a foreclosure is really a possibility.
The reality of foreclosure is that most homeowners unwittingly assist the bank in the foreclosure process. The initial reaction when the bank starts calling is to hide and hope that they go away. The bank won't go away; money is their business and their only concern. There is nothing personal they don't hate you they just want to exercise the default option in the mortgage, recoup their funds and get on with their business of lending money to credit worthy borrowers.
The trouble with the banks business plan is that today's credit worthy borrower is tomorrow's unemployed defaulter. Very few borrowers enter into a mortgage contract with a lending institution with the intention of going into default and eventual foreclosure, eviction and possible homelessness.
The best advice that can be given to a person who finds themselves in the foreclosure is to consciously take control of their situation. If one decides to let events take their course the foreclosure process will most probably be finalized in as little as 180 days from the initial default. 180 days translates into six months which is not a long time for a family whose bread winner is out of work and whose finances are depleted.
The worst thing to do is nothing. Merely submitting an answer to the banks complaint to the foreclosure court will most probably add another 6 months onto the process. This is valuable extra time for a family trying to prepare for fiscally for the future. Foreclosure prevention translates into holding off the lender for a period of time allowing the homeowner to adequately prepare for the future.
It is true that is a small number of cases the banks so mishandle the foreclosure process that they end up paying large damage awards to the homeowner but in most cases the plan is to delay the process for the maximum amount of time possible to allow the homeowner to move on with their lives in a financially stable way.
Friday, July 3, 2009
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