If you’re a struggling homeowner who is in danger of falling behind your mortgage, or perhaps you’ve already fallen back on your monthly payment, that means it’s time to be proactive. Before you proceed with this article, it is worth noting that your lender doesn’t want you out. They are ever ready to work with you, to help you keep your home.
That being said, you will need to get more organized and take the necessary actions to prevent a foreclosure. You can begin by understanding the processes involved and what your option are. When you equip yourself with the right knowledge, you have a better chance of keeping your home.
Here are some of the steps you can take to prevent a foreclosure.
- Organize Your Files
First and foremost, you will need to set up a file for your home records, including important documents. You would also want to include your loan documents, like the promissory note, copies of the mortgage, or the deed of trust.
Some of the documents should include property tax information, escrow statement, monthly billing statements, payment records, and lots more. Ensure you have any vital documents that you believe will be necessary for your case.
- Know Your Legal Rights
The next step is learning about your rights, and you can do that by carefully going through the document and reading them to yourself. Find out what will happen when you fall behind in payment, and see if there are options you can utilize.
The deed of trust and promissory note contains essential information that might help your case, like whether you can reinstate the loan, monthly late charge amount, and other kinds of fees the servicers can charge in the event of failure to pay your mortgage.
- Review Your Budget
If you must pay up your mortgage and prevent foreclosure, you need to make considerable changes to your lifestyle and budget. By reviewing your spending habits, you can create a better budget that will improve your situation.
Discover ways to cut down on your expenses, which could entail quitting eating lunch out or even buying a cup of coffee in the morning. Other things that might help you cut down costs could be your cable television, gym membership, and any other form of entertainment that you can live without until your situation improves.
- Know Your Options
Most borrowers have access to either permanent or temporary loss mitigation, which often helps prevent a foreclosure. One other option is a loan modification, which is a permanent change to your loan. For instance, a loan modification may extend the loan duration or maybe reduce your property’s interest rate.
- Call Your Servicer
You don’t need to wait for everything to fall apart before seeking help. Call your servicer as soon as you miss a payment. If you can call even before falling back on your mortgage payment, that will be great. The sooner you deal with the problem at hand, the better your chances will be.
Contact Lamb, Carroll, Papp and Cunabaugh, P.C., Attorneys at Law today for legal help.