Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Finance


Save Your Home From The Credit Crunch

By:

The looming credit crunch is affecting markets world wide. The crunch is fueled largely by the alarming number of home foreclosures. The crisis initially began in the sub-prime lending sector, but is starting to show signs of moving into prime mortgages. If you find yourself one of the unfortunate homeowners that has or is about to miss a mortgage payment, use these steps to hopefully avoid the pain of foreclosure and losing your home.

1. Keep in constant communication with your mortgage servicer. If you are about to miss a payment, call them immediately. Never ignore any phone calls or letters they send you.

2. Remember to pay your mortgage payment before any unsecured credit payments. Credit card companies will let you know the moment you miss a payment, and will convince you your life will be over if you don't pay them. The reason they get so upset is that they can't take anything from you if you don't pay. The banks know they can take your house if you don't pay. Late and missed credit card payments will damage your credit, but nothing like a foreclosure.

3. Never give up hope. There are several steps that can be taken to get you back on the right track with your mortgage lender.

Some of the programs that help you resolve your issues with your lender include:

1. Reinstatement - paying a lump sum to bring the loan current and continuing with payments as normal afterwards.

2. Forbearance - you are allowed to delay payments for a short period of time with the understanding that you will bring the account current at an agreed upon date.

3. Repayment Plan - the lender may allow you to add some of your missed payments to an agreed upon number of future payments, thus bringing your account current.

4. Mortgage Modification - if you can't pay a lump sum to bring your loan current, but can now make monthly payments, your lender may work with you, possibly adding the past due amount to the principal balance.

5. Selling your home - if you have adequate equity in your home, and are able to sell it for an amount to satisfy your mortgage balance.

6. Short Sale - the bank may accept a lesser payoff for your mortgage if you get an offer on your home. Make sure the bank accepts the amount received from the short sale as paid in full with no recourse, otherwise they can come after you for the difference. Banks are warming up to the short sale because they stand to lose even more money if they have to foreclose on your home.

7. Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure - the lender takes ownership of the property and forgives your debt. Much less damaging to your credit than a foreclosure.

8. FHA/VA - FHA loans and VA loans are government backed loan programs that have special programs to help you avoid foreclosure. Contact the VA or HUD if you have one of these loans for more information.

Your mortgage lender won't automatically put you on one of these programs, you must work with them, and keep your promises to them. If you simply stop paying, you will lose your house, and any equity you may have in it. Banks are not in the real estate business, and do not want to own your home, they will work with you.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Visit Credit Crunch Help for more information on credit issues and personal finance.

| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Recent Finance Articles

  • How To Invest Wisely In Denver Foreclosure Homes By: Joseph Smith - A great many people are making the decision to invest in Denver foreclosure homes, but the often make mistakes that could be very costly. There are some things that you can do to make sure that your investment goes as smoothly as possible. Just as you would with any type of investment, you have to do your research on your Denver foreclosure homes investment.
  • The Role of Net Operating Income in Real Estate Analysis By: James Kobzeff - In this article, we want to discuss the role of net operating income to real estate analysis. How it's calculated and then how real estate analysts use net operating income to determine the profitability of investment real estate. Net operating income (or NOI) is one of the most important calculations made during the analysis of any real estate investment because it represents the property's potential income after all vacancy and operating expenses have been subtracted.
  • Becoming A Landlord With Chicago Foreclosure Homes By: Joseph Smith - The days of flipping homes is over. If you are considering buying Chicago foreclosure homes, you should seriously consider renting in the current market as a way to make some income from the properties that you buy. It is not an easy job as some people might think and you will have to make sure that you are following all the rules for a landlord in the community where you are buying your homes.
  • New Discovery Leaves Stock Market Vulnerable By: Larry Parr - It has long been held that stock prices are random. How could they be otherwise when prices are set by tens of thousands of individual investors bidding prices up or down with no connection to each other? The only problem with that theory is that we all know it's a load of rubbish and you can prove it for yourself.
  • The Benefits of a Good Stock Market Education By: Ben Symons - For some, the stock market has become a great source of fun and challenge, wherein you only have to identify the risks and relate the current political and economic situation of the country to the bulls and the bears in the stock market. For others, it is a good source of income, and a good way to earn money without doing anything.
  • What it Takes to be a Stock Market Investor By: Ben Symons - There are a few things you have to learn before you become a stock market investor. First is the idea of buying low and selling high. But even though that phrase is quite simple to say and memorize, it is not that easy to put into practice. One of the questions that you would probably ask is, how do you identify which stocks could be bought low and sold high? Moreover, when is the right time to do it?
  • Answering Your Money Management Questions By: MIKE SELVON - If you ask many Americans, and indeed people from all over the globe, they would probably mention financial troubles as one of their biggest stressors. With jobs no longer giving out guaranteed raises, many people are finding themselves in a huge financial mess. Creditors call constantly demanding their cash. Credit scores begin to plummet and your way of life begins to take a turn for the worse. There is hope though.
  • Your Credit Repair Questions Answered By: MIKE SELVON - You would be hard pressed to turn on the television, or visit a news website, without hearing about how you can repair your credit. In today's troubling financial times there are many people who are having trouble maintaining their credit score. They find themselves falling farther behind in payments and before long there is significant damage that can no longer be ignored.
  • Save Money At The Grocery Store By: Matt Chang - The times are a getting tougher and tougher. So one of the things that people are starting to really take a hard look at is how to save money. With the USA and Japan officially in recession, the question is what to do about that. One of the things you can do right away to save money is plan how you buy your groceries. If our body did not require food, we would have more money.
  • The Dangers of Not Comparing Credit Cards By: Roberto Bell - The world of credit cards is confusing, and often times we end up with a credit card we don’t want. In our credit card blog we have examined why you might want to compare credit cards with basic information. In this article we are going to take you deeper into why a comparison could have you avoiding the dangers of credit cards. Credit cards are not all the same.

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!


Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.