Here are the different ways to keep your home from going into foreclosure:

1.  Refinance

Refinancing requires good credit, equity in your home and you need to qualify for the loan.  Due to current decrease in price, this becomes less and less of a viable option.  If you anticipate falling behind on your payments but not yet delinquent and your credit scores are still high, and you have a decent amount of equity on your home, this may be an option to consider. 

 2.  Reinstatement

Banks could allow you to “catch up” with your past due amount by bringing your account current.  Late payments including penalties and late fees are added on to your payment spread out over several months.  Expect to add about 1% for late fees.

 3.  Forebearance

This is a short term arrangement where the lender gives the borrower additional time to pay less than the full amount of the mortgage over a period of time until the borrower solves their financial problems.  At the end of the period specified, regular payments are resumed and the loan is brought current by making a lump sum payment or additional partial payments over a number of months.

 4.  Loan Modification

This is a written agreement between borrower and the mortgage company to change the original terms of the loan to make the payments more affordable.  This can result in a substantially reduced payment or a lower interest rate.  This agreement could be a permanent or temporary change in the loan.  The modification could include adding the missed payments to the existing loan balance, make an adjustable rate mortgage into a fixed rate mortgage, extend the number of years of the loan or temporary reduce the interest rate.  Modification plans typically require “good faith” money to bring to the table.

 5.  Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

This stops foreclosure and debt collection activity.  This gives borrower an opportunity to reorganize their finances over a period of time and catch up on missed payments.  A good  bankruptcy attorney should be consulted to learn the pros and cons of such action.

Elizabeth M. Eugenio, (909) 376-8615,

Email: Help@StopForeclosureRemedies.com, Website: www.StopForeclosureRemedies.com

Certified Distressed Property Expert, Certified Residential Specialist, Graduate Realtor Institute

Strategies to Keep Your Home is a post from: Chino Hills Real Estate Resource Center