This is the second Express Homebuyers Blog in a series on how you can avoid foreclosure. Some of these options are more drastic than others, and they all come with unique advantages and disadvantages. We buy houses to help people out of foreclosure, so you know where we stand. But honestly, if you are facing a foreclosure situation, we believe you should be as informed as possible on the alternatives available.

Happy New Year!

It may not seem the best time to continue our discussion about avoiding foreclosure, but let’s face it, more of us than ever before are reaching what seems to be the point of no return. However, as we mentioned last time, you can take very positive steps to avoid foreclosure without sacrificing your credit or, finally, your ability to buy a home.

We discussed bankruptcy as your first option in our last blog. Now let’s look at another option that just might work for you as well.

Option 2: Make Up Your Payments in a Lump Sum or Installments.

You might be surprised at how much your lender wants to work with you to avoid foreclosure. You see, they stand to lose as much, if not more than you if they have to sell your property at auction. For them, it’s not a very good roll of the dice.

The truth is, they are very willing to work with you. The most common reason lenders don’t work with homeowners facing foreclosure is that the homeowner never asks before it’s too late.

Let’s look at some options.

If you are able to prove to the lender that you can make the payments you have missed plus make your current payments over a period of time (up to 24 months), it may be possible to keep your home. This option requires significant negotiation and discussions with your lender, but look on the up side. You get to keep your home. It’s worth it, don’t you think?

Keep in mind that you will be charged late fees, modification fees and other fees once an agreement is reached. Also, you may be subject to new, higher payments once you’ve renegotiated the terms of your loan. But if you are in the middle of a short-term cash crunch – layoff, hospital bills, emergency – this might be your best option.

If the cash crunch you are in is long term, this option simply may not be possible. the only way you can find out is by contacting your lender. Before you seek this option, be sure you have the cash on hand to pay the up-front fees as well as the patience and persistence to work with the lender.

The upside, you may be able to keep your house. The downside is that this option can be expensive, not to mention time consuming.

Obviously, we’re in the home buying business where we buy houses, fast. We’ll discuss that option in a later post. What is important today is to understand that you can work with your lender to avoid foreclosure. A counter-intuitive statistic is that most financially-pressed families pay off their credit card payments and let their mortgage payments lapse. Yet, when you think about it, what’s more important, your home or your credit rating?

Talk to your lender, today. See if this option works for you. If not, stay tuned.