“Foreclosure proceedings affected nearly a million U.S. homes and other real estate last year, down 14 percent from 2015 and down 70 percent from the worst of the housing crisis in 2009,” according to a report released January 12, 2017. Here are 8 Ways to Avoid Virginia Beach Area Foreclosure
Above is a map courtesy of Zillow, which shows the locations of 500 Virginia Beach area foreclosures. The total comes close to almost 4,000 in the area. Many of the homes are in pre-foreclosure, meaning they are in default. What can those homeowners do to avoid losing homes to foreclosure?
Foreclosure didn’t just suddenly appear like a box of kittens on your doorstep. Like dust storms, there are signs of approaching trouble, including:
- having difficulty paying the mortgage payment on time
- having very little savings for emergencies
- using credit cards to get to the next payday
- paying the minimum on your credit cards
- neglecting doctor and dental visits
- shrinking from the ring of the phone
- change in employment or change in debt to income ratio
If you see your family in that list, you may be facing possible foreclosure. Here are 8 Ways to Avoid Virginia Beach area foreclosure:
- Contact your lender and level with them. They may be nervous by the extent of your problem, but they have seen this before and will demand you take steps to fix it. That may require you selling your toys and making major cuts in your spending.
- Don’t ignore your mail. Many have been in your shoes. The first thing many did when the mail came was throw the bills in a drawer. Those first envelopes will contain helpful suggestions to get things under control. Then will come legal action. Ignoring those notices can cause you to lose everything.
- Know the Process of Foreclosure: If you miss a few mortgage payments you are in default. Your mortgage servicer will probably send a letter or two reminding you to get caught up, as well as call you to try to collect the payments. When the lender issues a notice of default and you will have not less than 30 days to cure the default. Here’s one of the 8 ways to avoid Virginia Beach area foreclosure: You can cure the default by bringing the loan current with the lender and paying the late fees
- In Nevada, foreclosures are judicial, which means the lender (the plaintiff) must file a lawsuit in state court. Here you have another opportunity to avoid default by responding to the court. If you file an answer, the lender cannot obtain a default judgment. Instead, the lender will either: seek a summary judgment or go to trial.
Here are four more of the 8 ways to Avoid Virginia Beach Area Foreclosure:
- Contact
Professionals –
Your banker does not want to own your house. When you come clean about your
financial situation, he may be able to modify the loan, offer forbearance,
or give you repayment options.
- Loan modification could include a reduction of the interest rate, convert from a variable interest rate to a fixed interest rate, or extend the length of the term of the loan. A loan modification agreement is a permanent solution to unaffordable monthly payments.
- A forbearance agreement provides short-term relief for borrowers. With a forbearance agreement, the lender agrees to reduce or suspend mortgage payments for a certain period and not to initiate a foreclosure during the forbearance period.
- Repayment options could include a plan to repay missed payments in addition to making monthly payments, especially if there is a temporary hardship
- Contact a credit counselor. The objective of most credit counseling is to help the creditor avoid bankruptcy, as well as provide basic education on financial management. Many counseling services also negotiate with creditors on behalf of the borrower to reduce interest rates and late fees.
- Contact a bankruptcy attorney. That sounds contrary to taking responsibility, but you need to know your options so you can make informed decisions.
- Contact a professional real estate investor. You may want to sell your home fast to get out of the problem or to save your credit rating. As investors, we can help homeowners out of just about any situation, no matter what! There are no fees, up-front costs, commissions, or anything else. Just the simple honest truth about your home and how we can help you sell it fast to resolve any situation.
In summary, recognize approaching trouble, contact your lender, and seek professional help.
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The information presented in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or as any other type of advice.
