Courts in the past have ruled that, because foreclosure is such a harsh remedy to a default of a contract, the use of the court and forfeiture of property should be a last resort. Especially in cases where there may be enough equity to pay off the loan in full as well as give the owners back some amount of money, selling on the open market may present a more equitable solution.

Thus, borrowers may be able to have their foreclosure enjoined for a reasonable length of time in which to list and sell their home. If there is enough equity to pay off the mortgage and receive some sort of gain on the sale, foreclosure should not be used unless there are no potential buyers. As well, open market sales present no risk to the lenders, who will be paid in full if the sale goes through.

The main issue holding this solution back is often the homeowners themselves, who are unable to use the courts with the same skill as the lender’s attorneys. They may not know how to file motions to enjoin the sale, or not even respond to any of the legal paperwork the mortgage company sends them. When the borrowers do not respond to the foreclosure, then there is little the courts can do to help them.

Lenders also have a duty to the homeowners to obtain the highest price possible for a property even at a sheriff sale. Allowing the owners to list the house for sale on the open market can be an effective way to show that the bank has made efforts to retain their equity and avoid foreclosure. The lender must meet its fiduciary duty to the homeowners to get the highest price for a property, even if state laws allow a faster process.

Despite this duty, some lenders may be unwilling to stop foreclosure for long enough to sell the house. In these cases, homeowners may be able to file bankruptcy in order to take advantage of the automatic stay and then list the house on the open market. Filing Chapter 13 may allow the borrowers to move forward with an orderly sale in order to liquidate the property and avoid a sheriff sale.

To be able to sell the house, utilize the equity, and prevent a foreclosure sale, homeowners may decide to retain an attorney about getting an injunction against the sheriff sale. Especially if there is a realistic chance of retaining some equity, courts may realize that there is only minor risk to the lender of allowing the borrowers to attempt their own sale.

Article Source: http://www.articlecat.com/Article/Sheriff-Sale-in-Foreclosure—Use-Your-Equity-to-Defeat-or-Delay-It/320952

Many of the things you should consider when your home is going into foreclosure include: - The foreclosure process - Tips on Saving Your Home

The foreclosure process can take up to a year for some people. This is because there are many steps of the foreclosure process. Not every home forecloses in exactly the same amount of time. This process can take six months for some homes and a year for others.

When a foreclosure begins a bank will issue a statement of claim because you have missed at least three payments on your mortgage. Your ability to service the financing of your home will be questioned. The second phase of a foreclosure is when the statement of claim is served to you. The third step of a foreclosure is the bank demanding you sell the home. This will be stated inside of the statement of claim. The bank will give you time to try to sell the home. This timeframe can be up to six months. This period is usually called the redemption period. Toward the end of this period the fifth step is the Order of Sale. This documentation will be served to you as a homeowner. This will include a date when the bank is going to sell the home through an auction at the county courthouse in your local county. The final period is when the home is sold through the auction and you are required to move out of the home. This entire process can be very lengthy.

Some people are not serious about saving their home. Because of the length of time it takes before you will be legally removed from the home, some people live in the home for free right up until the day the home is sold at the auction. If you want to keep your home you should not let the home get past the third stage of the foreclosure process.

There are three primary methods you can save your home from foreclosure. These three methods include loan reinstatement, forbearance, and loan modification. If you are serious about keeping your home you should look at these three options and determine which method is right for you.

The forbearance agreement is a common way a homeowner can save their home. This agreement is made between the bank and the homeowner. The homeowner commonly has an emergency in the household that prevents them from making the monthly payments. They make an agreement with the bank to catch up on the arrearages by making larger monthly payments on the home loan until they are caught up. The bank will usually give the homeowner a six month period. This could double the payments in some cases and may not even be affordable for you. When you agree with the bank on a forbearance agreement it does not stop the foreclosure process. This puts the foreclosure on hold until you are entirely caught up with your payments. If you do not make the promised payments your home will go through with the foreclosure process.

A loan modification used to be the most common method of resolving the problems of foreclosure in the past. This method allows the lender to issue a new home loan agreement with you where all of the arrearages are added to the end of the loan. This would extend the life of the loan but the homeowner can continue making their payments as if they were never behind and everyone wins. This is not a common solution anymore and banks rarely agree to allowing a homeowner have a loan modification.

The loan reinstatement is the third way you can save your home from foreclosing. This method is when the lender has initiated the process of foreclosure and you find a way to pay back all of the missed payments, late fees, attorney costs, etc. These amounts must be paid back in full and zeroed out in order for it to be valid.

There are many positive sides to the loan reinstatement you might consider. These include being able to keep your home without the worry of losing it to a foreclosure. You are back at square one with your monthly mortgage payments. You are not behind and you don’t owe any additional money for late fees or anything else. This is the best method and banks are usually willing to accept this method if you can come up with the payments to catch up.

There is a downside to the loan reinstatement that you might want to consider. The downside is that if you have to borrow the money to be able to pay the bank all of the money you now owe someone else. This may be another monthly payment for you. If you are in the foreclosure process because your monthly payments are difficult to be able to afford you might have a hard time making payments on an additional loan too.

The loan reinstatement method of saving your home from a foreclosure is the most expensive way to save your home and be able to keep it. It is important to remember that if you take a loan out to save your home then you must give the bank the entire amount you owe them including the fees. Do not just pay back the monthly payments you missed or the home may continue to go into the foreclosure process. A bank will not work with you on the loan reinstatement unless you zero the balance out.

You should be sure you can afford to come up with all of the money in this process also. If you really cannot afford to do this you might be digging an even bigger hole than you expected. It may be inevitable that your home goes into foreclosure but you are denying that you really cannot afford it. It is important to know for sure that you really can afford to save your home through the loan reinstatement program.

A loan reinstatement is the most commonly accepted method of saving your home if the bank has started the foreclosure process. It isn’t common for banks to agree to other methods because they want their money. You should be sure that you really can afford your home if you can get out of the hole you are in before you decide to pay off the entire debt.

OK, if you’ve found your way to this article, two things are probably true:

One, you are in trouble and you’re either struggling to make your mortgage payments or you are worried that you will be struggling soon.

Two, you KNOW you’re in trouble and you are looking for help to figure out the best actions to take to save your home.

The good news is that you KNOW you’re in trouble. That’s an important first step.

We are here to help you figure out what to do next, and in some cases what NOT to do.

Below are some questions you need to ask yourself. How you answer these questions will help determine what to do next.

1. Are you are still making mortgage payments (even if you won’t be able to very soon)?
2. If you are behind on your mortgage payments, how far behind are you? Have you responded to notices sent by your lender?
3. Do you know the terms of your loan? Specifically, if your have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) do you know when the interest rate will increase and the amount you will be expected to pay in future months?
4. Do you have the money to make the payments at the current amount (even though you may be in serious trouble when the payments increase)?
5. Do you know who (which financial institution) currently holds your home loan? Remember, the company that gave you the loan is probably not who owns it now.

The following steps are designed to help you save your home. But, they are not easy. They require hard work, dedication and determination on your part. You need to act quickly because the longer you wait, the fewer options you will have. So let’s get started.

Step 1: Decide to Fight for Your Home

Ask yourself if you are ready to take responsibility and WORK your way through your current financial challenges. You have to be honest. You have to know how tough you really are. There will be pain. Now, if you are ready to do whatever it takes, keep reading, if not, don’t waste your time, just go watch TV or do whatever else you’d like to do while you’re waiting for your financial world to crumble on top of you.

Step 2: Build a Rock-Solid Budget on Tough, Honest Choices

Write down your budget for the next several (3-5) years. This may sound hard, but do it. The word “budget” sounds like a complex plan that takes a long time to construct, but it doesn’t have to be that complicated. It’s just a list, month by month, of the money that’s coming in and the money that’s going out. What makes a budget good? Just the thought and honesty you put into it. What are you really going to make? What are you really going to spend? You will have to make some guesses. You don’t know what gas will cost next year (assume it will be more than it is now, at least 10% more each year). You don’t know how much money you’ll be making (assume it will stay exactly the same as it is right now).

You will have to think (hard). What happens in January? Will you have to pay for presents? What happens in July? Will you have to pay for travel? You get the idea. Assume something will hit you out of the blue every 3 months or so (car repairs, an appliance dies, etc.).

Once you see all of the “money out” items in your budget, you may need to make some hard choices. What can you live without to save your home?

Step 3: Know Your Budget Like the Back of Your Hand

Now that you have your budget, memorize it. I mean it. Memorize every little detail. Put it on flash cards if you have to. You should be able to recite every money-in, money-out detail if someone dumped a cold bucket of water on you at 3 o’clock in the morning. Why? So when you’re about to buy something you can ask your brain if it’s in the budget. Your brain will know the answer immediately. There will be no “maybe it is” or “maybe it isn’t”.

Step 4: Learn to Think Like Your Bank

You are going to contact the bank or the mortgage lender that currently holds your home loan. But don’t pick up the phone yet! First you have to be ready to have the RIGHT conversation with your bank. You know your budget by heart (that was Step 3), now you have to learn the RIGHT way to present yourself, and your budget to your bank. The right way means that you appear to be someone who is AHEAD of the game. You appear to be someone with a clear plan (your budget). You appear to be someone who is going to be able to survive your current money problems.

Put yourself in the shoes of your bank. You (the bank) has hundreds of people in trouble with their home loans. You can’t help every one of them. You are a bank, and you don’t need a bunch of homes (especially not NOW, when every other bank is experiencing the same problem). What does your bank want? They want “bad” loans to go away. They can either play hardball with you and take your home (and sell it for a loss just to make the whole painful episode end) or they can work with you, so you can keep paying. What does that mean for you? It means you have to look like someone who is going to be able to keep paying. They want to be sure you aren’t lying about what you make or what you spend each month. If there’s NO chance you’ll be able to keep up with lower mortgage payments, there’s NO REASON for them to help you! You’ll just be back in trouble in a few months anyway, and they’ll end up taking your house (foreclosure). If your bank thinks you are a hopeless cause, they’ll just foreclose now rather than prolonging the pain.

Step 5: Track down whoever is Holding Your Home Loan

Contact whoever is currently holding your loan/mortgage. If they’ve sent you mortgage materials telling you how to contact them, great. If not, locate your lender any way you can (phone number on mail they’ve sent you, yellow pages, internet search, etc.). Call or write to them and tell them about your situation. Be clear about what you want (I want to keep my home. I have a clear budget that will allow me to make payments of a specific amount, etc.). If your goal is to keep your home, then make sure they know that you have a plan (the budget that you’ve carefully built and memorized). Leave no doubt that you are better than you look on paper (your credit score, your payment history, etc.).

Tracking down the actual owner of your loan can be difficult. You can start by calling or writing a letter to the company that receives your monthly mortgage payments. Expect to hear something like, “We don’t actually own your loan, we just process the paperwork” from this company. In your communication with them make the following request: “If you don’t own this loan, please send me the contact information for the company that does own it.” You may have to go through several companies to find the one that owns your loan and has the power to change its terms (to freeze or reduce your payments). Do not give up. If it’s hard for you, it’s also hard for all of the other people out there who are also struggling with their home payments. You are competing with these people to be selected as one worthy of help from your lender. You should be happy that the task of finding that lender is difficult. You should be happy because other people will give up once they see that locating the lender is difficult. But you won’t give up until you find them. Be tough. Do not give up.

If you reach a dead-end in your effort to locate the bank that holds your home loan, then contact the consumer affairs department of your state’s Attorney General Office and ask if they have a mortgage unit. Tell them what you are trying to do, and ask how they can help.

Step 6: Respond to Whatever Your Lender Throws at You

How your lender responds to your request will determine how you proceed. If they are willing to work with you, great. If they ask for more information from you, follow their instructions, and give them what they ask for as quickly as you can. If they deny your request, ask them what you could change that would make them agree to reset the terms of your home loan.

It’s OK to look for help. Some of the links on this page may help you. Some of the advertisements and offers may provide information or services you can use. Shop around, learn, and explore your options. But don’t let anyone push you into anything you don’t fully understand.

There are lots of companies out there that talk about foreclosure prevention or debt rescue. They may tell you that they can let you keep your home and help you pay your mortgage. They may have a plan where you can stay and just pay rent. Be very skeptical. Ask every question that pops into your head. What will really happen to your mortgage? What will happen to your credit? Make them prove that their plan is best for you. Did they ask you about your specific situation? If they don’t ask you about your specific situation (your budget, for example) how can they possibly know what is best for you?

Ask to talk with satisfied customers. Some companies can provide real options that may help you. But many, many companies talking about foreclosure prevention, mortgage restructuring, loan modification and/or mortgage rescue are simply predators. They know you need help. They know you need to act quickly. They might just want the last few dollars you have.

You should check out accredited debt counselors in your area. You can get a referral to a non-profit counseling agency approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development at http://www.hud.gov. The National Federation of Credit Counselors also has a program to certify counselors.

These steps are not easy. But remember, if they aren’t easy for you, they aren’t easy for other people struggling to make their mortgage payments. Be tougher than these other people. Keep going when they give up.

Remember, no one can guarantee success. But giving up will guarantee failure.

Article Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_9585.shtml

In real estate business everyone wants to make a healthy profit. Either individuals looking to buy a house with a dire budget, or bargain house hunters, all buyer s’ goal is to spend as little as possible. The major problem is that many people simply don’t know how or where to actually find those hard to pin down investments. It can be really difficult to come across unusually good deals when buying on the open market. If you’re really looking for savings that will create lots of initial reserves and maximum potential investment value, then you have to consider a pre-foreclosure sale as your best option.

Pre-foreclosure sales can turn into bargain deals on great homes, which can sometimes provide savings of as much as 50% off your initial purchase. How can this happen? Easily, providing it is dome correctly. A pre-foreclosure sale entails the direct contact between the homeowner, sometimes the lender, and the buyer, and that is a win-win situation. On one hand, the homeowners win because they make a pre-foreclosure sale, get the money and pay back the loan, so they are no longer in default; on the other hand, the buyer is also a winner, purchasing the property at a substantial discount and under a flexible sales agreement, depending on one’s negotiating abilities.

As a rule, the first step in every business is the most important and the most difficult, at the same time. When buying pre-foreclosures, the most important step is to get your hands on at a pre-foreclosure listing. Not just any listing, but a reliable, comprehensive and frequently updated pre-foreclosure listing. You don’t find these sorts of listings every day, still there are various medium that offer related information, namely local newspaper, lenders, and online services.

Local newspapers carry classifieds, which are informative but they are not updated on a daily basis and they provide information only for the local market. Lenders or banks can also be a source of information, provided you are lucky and get through the right officials willing to help you with a pre-foreclosure listing; otherwise, it is a waste of time.

Probate and divorce lawyers can also come up with long lists of homeowners willing to sell their houses very fast. It may sound awkward for some of us, but this is a daily reality. And if you have any moral issues, that you take advantage from someone else’s misfortune, think of it this way: they need to sell immediately and you offer to help them. You give them the money and they get rid of another major problem. These unofficial pre-foreclosure listings can lead to pre-foreclosure sales even before the properties hit the market.

Last but not the least, the internet proves to be a resourceful location when it comes to pre-foreclosure listings. There are many websites that will make lucrative offers like free listings, which are alluring for many people. What people don’t realize is that, most of the times, free listings are outdated and have hidden costs attached. So, the best option is to find a detailed, comprehensive and daily updated pre-foreclosure listing with no hidden costs attached, that can be efficiently and successfully used. A good start point is foreclosureconnections.com, a reliable foreclosure listings online service, where you can also peruse for valuable pre-foreclosure sale tips.

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/How-To-Track-down-Pre-foreclosure-Sales/127574

Many homeowners these days are going through the mortgage foreclosure process. Most of them usually end up filing for bankruptcy in an attempt to save their properties. The bankruptcy option is actually the process least understood by homeowners. It is also the least popular at that. However, this option can actually provide a ray of hope for mortgage foreclosure victims. There maybe drawbacks but in filing for it in one way or the other. But it may actually save your home and your credit history at the same time.

Bankruptcy is also referred to as Chapter 13. It a provision of the law where in a restructured payment plan is created in an attempt to mend one’s debts and credit problems. The payment plan through bankruptcy can sometimes get very expensive. But a lot of individuals still go for it just so they can get their finances back on track. After all your obligations are met, the bankruptcy clause would be lifted and the repayment of regular mortgage continues.

If foreclosure is your main problem, you can actually file for bankruptcy and stop the entire mortgage foreclosure process - at least for a certain period of time. This is most applicable at the point wherein the trustee’s sale is being enforced. Usually, this is the most critical part of the entire process of bankruptcy, especially for those facing an imminent foreclosure on their mortgage. Filing for Chapter 13 will give the borrower some time to plan and hopefully, save their ownership of the property.

Chapter 13 can be a good option for people who are facing foreclosure. But of course, you may also want to exhaust all your alternatives first. Bankruptcy is not always the best solution, but it is still a solution nonetheless. Every mortgage foreclosure situation is unique. What works for others may not work for you and vice versa. It takes a lot of financial analysis to find the best possible solution to your money concerns.

Ideally, mortgage foreclosure should be the last resort of homeowners facing foreclosure. Talk to a lawyer who handles personal bankruptcy cases and try to acquire a good understanding of everything involved in this particular law. You have to be well-informed about the implications of bankruptcy before filing for it because it is going to affect your finances and social status more than anyone else.

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/The-Mortgage-Foreclosure-Process—Can-Bankruptcy-Stop-It-/432158

Getting training and support can be easier than what most people think. In fact, the resources you need may be well within your reach. You can for example get them online. Having a background in lending or real estate may help though, but it is not really required. You can browse about loss mitigation for a few hours each day or enroll under online loss mitigation training. If such are not possible you can buy CDs or DVDs and watch them part by part each day. Just make sure that the materials you will be buying specifically pertain to the state of your residence because respective states have their very own laws and regulations when it comes to loss mitigation. Whether you will be engaging in browsing, enrolling in online studies, or watching CDs and DVDs, you can do such during your free time so you will be able to train and study without having much of a change in your lifestyle. There are plenty of jobs in the loss mitigation industry, so it is guaranteed that your efforts will surely pay off when you get a loss mitigation work, whether full or part time. Aside from the earnings, you will also be able to take part in helping people save their homes from foreclosure, which may motivate you to do more. Engage in loss mitigation training now; help others while improving your economic status.

Loss mitigation lead training will teach you different techniques on finding loss mitigation leads and on working as mediators between homeowners and lenders in restructuring loans to benefit both parties. Commissions can be obtained from each successfully completed loan package, and with enough effort and some wits, you will surely make good doing such business. The global economic crisis has and will continue to produce more and more great job opportunities in the loss mitigation industry in the coming decades. If a fresh career is what you want, this is the time to take advantage of the situation and start learning how to help others while in their foreclosure dilemma while making sure there will always be money on your pockets.

Anyone Can Enter the Loss Mitigation Industry
Many people have the wrong notion that only bankers and real estate brokers can emerge successful in helping others in negotiations for loan modification and loss mitigation. Actually, anyone who can handle public relations well and is good in making negotiations can take that first step and get started with loss mitigation lead training. You can start working with other loss mitigation trainees or loss mitigation specialists or you can start advertising your own business as a loss mitigation solutions provider.

It easier, however, to be part of a network of loss mitigation individuals or loss mitigation companies than starting on your own. Being a newcomer in the loss mitigation industry might make it very difficult to start building your very own clientele. You can engage in advertising to let people know that your company exists. Before being able to help people save their homes, you must first get them to trust you. You must keep doing marketing efforts until your company gets firmly established.

When banks foreclose on a home, the owners are often confused by the language used in the various legal documents. One of the terms that causes the most confusion is “default.” There are at least two different ways that this word is used during the foreclosure process, neither of which have good implications for the borrowers most of the time. However, homeowners should know how the word will be used by the bank.

The first way that banks use the word “default” is when they allege that the homeowners are in default of the mortgage contract. The borrowers sign the mortgage or deed of trust to establish the terms under which they will make payments to the lender or servicing company to keep the contract in place. Once payments are missed, the payment terms of the contract have been breached and the homeowners are in default.

So a default of a mortgage contract means that the homeowners have failed to meet one of the conditions for holding up their end of the agreement. While there are other ways to fall into default of a loan, the most common breach of the contract is when borrowers fail to make payments on time and the lender begins the foreclosure process. In the lawsuit paperwork, the lender claims the owners are in default.

The second way that banks use the word “default” is when they file a motion with the court during the foreclosure. This motion may be called an order of default, motion for default judgment, or some other similar term. For the purposes of this article, the motion will be referred to as an “order of default.” However, homeowners should be aware that the same type of legal document may have a different name in their state.

An order of default means that the bank is attempting to get a judgment against the homeowners for foreclosure without having to go through a trial or other court procedures. Of course, this can not be done just under any circumstances, but it is often done in foreclosure cases due to the uninformed nature of most borrowers. The bank can begin a few steps of the process and then get a judgment without having to prove its case.

This is usually done when homeowners do not show up at an initial foreclosure hearing or file an answer to the lender’s complaint. The borrowers’ silence is taken by the courts to mean that they have no objection or argument with the bank’s allegations of breaching the mortgage contract, nor do they dispute the lender’s ability to bring a foreclosure into court in the first place.

Thus, if the homeowners did not file an answer to the lawsuit or show up or request a hearing on the matter, then the bank will request that an order of default judgment be entered by the court. Most courts will have little problem entering this order, as they figure the homeowners were given enough time in which to hire a lawyer, obtain a law degree, or learn the court procedures competently enough to file an answer.

An order of default is not the end of the line, however, as homeowners can try to have the default judgment vacated or dismissed. This requires that they file the appropriate motions in court in time. If the order to vacate the default judgment is granted, the bank will have to pursue the lawsuit more carefully. It will not be able to rely on homeowner ignorance of the process in order to have the home sold at a sheriff sale.

it is a small tragedy that most foreclosure cases are decided by default judgment. This is due to so many borrowers not filing an answer or showing up to foreclosure hearings. Thus, it is important for more borrowers to educate themselves on at least a few basic steps they can take to make it much more difficult for the bank to declare them in default of the contact and then get a default judgment against them.

Article Source:  http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Does-Default-Mean-in-the-Foreclosure-Process?&id=3118081

Being able to stop foreclosure sale when your mortgage company refuses to work with you can be a challenge at best, a nightmare at worst. But there are still ways to save your home from foreclosure even if your mortgage company will not work with you.

You even have options if your mortgage company will not work with you to stop foreclosure sale. Check to see if your state has a right to cure period and a right to redeem period. A right to cure means that you pay all of the money necessary to get your loan current. This includes all fees. In my county, I had to file right to cure papers at least 15 calendar days before the sale date. All I had to do was fill out a piece of paper and send it in to the public trustee in my county. The county then got the cure figures from the mortgage company. By law, the mortgage company has to provide cure figures.

A right to redeem means that you can still get your home back even after it has been sold at a foreclosure sale. While this is not a way to stop foreclosure sale, it is still a way to save your home. The trick with this is that you have to come up with all of the money that you owe your mortgage company plus any fees. This is not just getting your loan current, it is paying off your loan in full. The other thing to keep in mind is that not every state has a redemption period. Do not count on this as an option. Be sure to do your research so you know what the rules are for your state.

Another thing that you can do is enlist an advocate to help you stop foreclosure sale. Try getting a HUD approved counselor to help you work with your mortgage company. HUD counselors are trained to help with housing issues and may be able to come up with options or ideas that you have not thought of. Another good advocate that you can get is a lawyer. They can help you understand what your legal rights are when your mortgage company will not work with you.

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Stop-Foreclosure-Sale-When-Your-Mortgage-Company-Will-Not-Work-With-You&id=1865423

Being able to stop foreclosure sale when your mortgage company refuses to work with you can be a challenge at best, a nightmare at worst. But there are still ways to save your home from foreclosure even if your mortgage company will not work with you.

You even have options if your mortgage company will not work with you to stop foreclosure sale. Check to see if your state has a right to cure period and a right to redeem period. A right to cure means that you pay all of the money necessary to get your loan current. This includes all fees. In my county, I had to file right to cure papers at least 15 calendar days before the sale date. All I had to do was fill out a piece of paper and send it in to the public trustee in my county. The county then got the cure figures from the mortgage company. By law, the mortgage company has to provide cure figures.

A right to redeem means that you can still get your home back even after it has been sold at a foreclosure sale. While this is not a way to stop foreclosure sale, it is still a way to save your home. The trick with this is that you have to come up with all of the money that you owe your mortgage company plus any fees. This is not just getting your loan current, it is paying off your loan in full. The other thing to keep in mind is that not every state has a redemption period. Do not count on this as an option. Be sure to do your research so you know what the rules are for your state.

Another thing that you can do is enlist an advocate to help you stop foreclosure sale. Try getting a HUD approved counselor to help you work with your mortgage company. HUD counselors are trained to help with housing issues and may be able to come up with options or ideas that you have not thought of. Another good advocate that you can get is a lawyer. They can help you understand what your legal rights are when your mortgage company will not work with you.

You can still stop foreclosure sale even if your mortgage company is unwilling to work with you. You just need to be aware of what your options are.

Article Source:  http://www.articlealley.com/article_750446_19.html

If you are facing a short sale or foreclosure, you may be looking for every way out that could possibly exist. It’s natural to want a ‘miracle solution’ to come to pass, but many ‘miracles’ are only that for the person trying to con you out of your money, your property or both.

Rule #1: Never Let Go of Your Home or Power of Attorney

Never give someone you don’t know or don’t trust the authority to do with your home as it pleases them. Until foreclosure is completed, it is still your home and you may still have a chance to legitimately reclaim it. Do not believe anyone who claims that they or their good credit can miraculously restore your home to you at an affordable price. No legitimate foreclosure help will ever ask for you to sign over these things.

Rule #2: Beware the Helpful Stranger

Someone who comes soliciting your business should be looked upon with a cynical eye. Also, verify with your lender the identity of anyone claiming to be representing your lender. Anyone who is genuinely interested in helping you will be telling you to communicate regularly with your lender to resolve your loan issues. Stay far away from anyone who wants you to cease all contact with your lender. Drop anyone who starts pressuring you, especially if it has to do with giving them money or power over your home.

Rule #3: Don’t Pay Top Dollar for Advice

There are counselors who will give you your options for free, if you can demonstrate that you are in a cash bind. There are also housing counselors who charge you a fee, but whose services are clearly outlined and easy to verify. Stay away from people who want to charge you thousands of dollars up front; if your loan is being refinanced or changed in some ways, costs are added up at the closing of the loan. Shop around for prices and consult the Better Business Bureau to see if a company or individual has any complaints against them.

Foreclosure can be a terrifying thing to face, but you are better off working with your lender and a legitimate housing counselor who will at least tell you the truth instead of holding a grain of hope out in order to get your money, property or both. For more information about your options, explore HUD’s (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) housing and foreclosure advice at hud.gov.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Avoid-Foreclosure-Prevention-Scams/1046543