Avoiding the Horrors of Foreclosure

Are you currently behind on your mortgage payments? Seek help from a professional real estate agent right away. The effects of a foreclosure are devastating, and you can avoid them by being proactive. You must save yourself from the financial nightmare of foreclosure, but you have to act quickly.

A foreclosure is not a process that is private. In fact, it is quite public. A notice may be published in the newspaper, and a sheriff can show up at your door and give you a notice that you must vacate your property. Police have been known to enter a home and start moving furniture out into the lawn in order to vacate homes when people ignore the deadline on their notice. Can you imagine how humiliating it would be? Imagine living in an upscale neighborhood in San Diego, only to be thrown out of your own home while your neighbor stares on in disbelief from the driver's side of his BMW. Foreclosures can happen in any neighborhood and in any economic market.

The nightmare of the foreclosure doesn't end when you vacate your property. In fact, the long-term financial devastation of a foreclosure is probably the worst part. It will remain on your credit for at least ten years. This is not a small blemish, either. It isn't like a missed credit card payment or a forgotten phone bill. A foreclosure can even prevent you from renting a home for yourself or your family. If you couldn't buy a house and no one would rent one to you, where would you live?

The credit scar isn't isolated to home buying. Even if your financial state bounces back and you are making double the money you were when your house was foreclosed, you will have a very difficult time finding an auto loan or any other line of credit. If you do, you will pay tremendous interest premiums on any amount of money you borrow because you will be considered a high risk.

It is important to note that when a home is in default, mortgage companies often will not accept less than full payment. For example, if you mail them a check for $300 but you owe $2500, they will often mail the check back to you.

Because the process is different at every mortgage company, the foreclosure process can take anywhere from two to nine months before you will be kicked out of your home. But, it doesn't have to turn out that way.

You have options. Know that people specialize in helping preforeclosure homeowners. For example, a realtor can step in and negotiate on your behalf with your mortgage company. They will attempt to get the amount of your debt reduced so your home can be sold quickly. This process can spare you the awful experience of a foreclosure. Rather than waiting for someone to drag your sofa out into the street, call a reputable agency that specializes in foreclosures, and let them help you out of your perilous financial situation.

By: Kari Shea