If you are in the middle of a financial crisis then you are most likely feeling like your world is caving in. I know what it’s like to have the Sheriff ring the door bell and serve you papers. When you are facing a foreclosure on your home getting the mail out of the mailbox can be a frightening experience. I needed help dealing with a foreclosure on my home and so do you.
First let me say upfront that I’m not an Attorney and I cannot give you any legal advice. If you can afford a Lawyer I would encourage you to hire one. I could not afford an attorney when I was experiencing financial hardship. I had the $1,600 fee the Attorney required to assist me. However, I was to afraid to give up that amount of money. My thinking was, “If I’m going to lose the house, why give up $1,600 that I could use for some other expenses.”
However, I was able to find a Lawyer who was willing to consult for free. He was like an Angel because when I left his office, I felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off my shoulders. He took an hour out of his time to explain what the bankruptcy process is like. Visiting his office was one of the best decisions I made when dealing with my financial crisis. I slept well for the first time in a long time.
I recommend that if you can find an Attorney who is willing to consult with you for free, get to his or her office as soon as you can. Find out where you are in the legal process and get some direction from the Lawyer regarding your options. Lawyers very often get a bad rap based on the unethical behavior of a small minority of Lawyers. Find the right one and you will feel more confident about avoiding foreclosure on your home.
Now, if you have looked into getting an Attorney but have decided against it, your still have options. I was able to get my loan modified and my interest rate was lowered to 2%. The bank was also able to roll my missed payments back into the mortgage and paid off my taxes and insurance for the year. I’m grateful that the bank was willing to work with me to keep our family in our home.
I realize that your situation, might be totally different, than mine was. However, if someone told me that my bank would be willing to drop my interest rate and catch up all of my missed payments, I would have said they were crazy.
Please consider trying to get your bank to work with you. If they can they most likely will. It’s not in their best interest to kick you out of your home. They really don’t want to proceed with a foreclosure on your home. It’s not because they care about you, although they might. It’s because it doesn’t make sense financially for them unless there is a ton of equity in your home. I’m convinced that the banks don’t decide foreclosures based on the equity in the home. If that were the case my home would have been foreclosed on.
As I mentioned above, you have steps you can take to avoid losing your home. The one thing you cannot afford to do is “do nothing”. If you ignore the financial obstacles in your life they will eventually overwhelm you and knock you down for good.
I don’t want you to lose your home and I know you don’t want to either. I can’t promise you that things will work out but I can assure you that if you have tried your best you will have no regrets. You don’t want to be beating yourself up 5 years from now because you failed to act promptly and wisely.