Foreclosure can be a very strenuous process for homeowners and comes with many problems. Most homeowners think that lenders are the enemy—in reality, most of them want to help you avoid going through this process. These are some of the main mistakes that homeowners make during foreclosure. 

Your lender will try to contact you many times throughout the foreclosure process. Not answering the phone or door for your lender is the worst thing you can do; this is because you may miss the opportunity to save your home, or, force your lender to speed up the foreclosure process.

Most homeowners think that if they miss their payments, foreclosure will come eventually. Know that lenders aim to avoid foreclosure. Sometimes they will offer to restructure your loan to help you avoid foreclosure. If you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be able to stall the foreclosure process; you might also be able to even keep your home by getting on a payment plan for your other debts and mortgage payments. Don’t make the mistake of not exploring your possibilities to avoid foreclosure, because there are possibilities.

Many people stop maintaining their property when they have issues paying their mortgage, as they think the home is going to go through foreclosure anyway. This is not a good plan, if the bank closes on the house, you will be stuck with the money on home repairs. Aside from the fact, that, if you have followed step 3, you have a possibility of saving your home—and if you do, then you are stuck with the aftermath of not maintaining your property. Some homeowners will vandalize the home out of spite to the bank; this vandalization can include stripping pipes, stealing fixtures, and stealing appliances. This resorts to serious legal consequences.

short sale should be considered, if all other options are exhausted. If you find a buyer who is willing to buy your home, even for less than what is owed, you can still present this offer to your bank and they may accept the money as full payment. Don’t expect your credit score to rise—it will be a detriment; however, you will avoid the legal implications that come along with foreclosure on a home.

Just because you know your home is about to be foreclosed on, you should still be saving the money that was going toward your mortgage; obviously, you will need to find another place to live, and you are going to have problems with this already, as your credit will not be so great from a foreclosure on a house added to it. For some proactive information, read this article, Avoiding Foreclosure – US Department of Housing, as well as NOLO’s article on How to Avoid Foreclosure.

2 Comments

  1. Brad

    Foreclosure is a scary matter. I was in pre-foreclosure and it was terrifying. We have a small child (she was 4 at the time) I had just lost my job and honestly, was really freaked out. Do what the article says, and talk to your lender. They really will work with you. I was shocked. I had missed about four months of payments. Talked to my lender and they were really cool about it. Of course, by that point I had found a new job and was able to start making up my payments. But if you’re going through foreclosure, I feel for you!

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  2. Nancy Edwards

    Exactly, Brad 🙂 I’m so glad it worked out for you. Banks really are willing and ready to help you out when it comes to foreclosure. Nobody involved wants to go through the process.

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