When you contact the center, be prepared to provide the full name(s) of all persons listed on the mortgage loan and the full address of the property including the city, state and zip. They also  may be able to help you more quickly if you can also provide your 13-digit FHA case number from the loan settlement statement.

Don’t hesitate. You have rights. You may not be able to stop foreclosure but you certainly need to try all available options.

Temporary solutions for short term financial situations:

Reinstatement:

Your lenders may be willing to consider “reinstating” your loan if you can make arrangements to pay back your overdue  payments in one lump sum by a specific date. A forbearance plan often accompanies this option.

Forbearance:

This is well worth looking into as your mortgage holder may be willing to provide a temporary reduction or suspension of your mortgage payments for a short period, such as 3 or 4 months. Once this time period elapses, theywill work with you to create a repayment plan for your loan. You may qualify for forbearance if you have experienced a reduction in income (as an example, you have become unemployed) or you have experienced an increase in living expenses (higher medical bills). You will have to show that you will be able to stick with the new payment plan.

Repayment plan:

Sometimes you may be able to work out a plan where you pay your regular monthly payments and add an additional amount to your payment until you catch up on the payments you missed. This will likely incur additional finance charges so try to pay back your back payments as quickly as possible.

But are mortgage rescue services legit? Or effective?

There are numerous foreclosure rescue services  that may be able to help you with your problems. Some services are available for a fee and some are offered by non-profit services.

It’s important that you exercise caution when dealing with a company or organization that offers to help you save your house. Quite often these are companies that want to do a reverse mortgage or equity stripping deal with you.

While this deal might possibly work in your favor as an alternative to losing your house, it can be very expensive so you better take your time and look closely at all the contracts and weigh all the pros and cons of dealing with such a service. Getting legal advice is always a good idea.

Non-profit companies might also offer to help you through credit counseling services or to help you deal with your lenders effectively. But just because it’s non profit, you still need to research the organization thoroughly. I know you are trying to act quickly to stop foreclosure but you could end up in even worse shape entering a contract you haven’t taken time to review and understand.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and there are some things you can attempt to do to try to stop the foreclosure process.

• Talk to your lender and see if you can have an extension. Work to get the money they need to them. Chances are that they will want to work with you instead of foreclosing

• Have a short sale. Work with a realtor or sell privately with a quick closing and aggressive sales price

• Equity stripping options. Some lenders will let you have the equity in your home and will buy it at a discount. This can be costly but can save you from having to move. You could rent your home from the lender who pays off your mortgage and provides you with an agreed on fee. This is also called a reverse mortgage

• Raise funds quickly through a sale or by borrowing funds

• Talk to HUD, a government agency who can help you find out what your options are

It might not be too late to save your home. It’s important that you research your options and most importantly, act quickly! Do everything you can to stop foreclosure and you may be rewarded in the end.

If you are having financial difficulties and find yourself at risk for having your mortgage foreclosed, it is extremely important that you communicate with your mortgage holder. Don’t procrastinate!

Here are a few tips for dealing with your lender that might help you stop foreclosure proceedings.

1. Communicate early. Don’t wait until you get into a serious and potential unsolvable financial situation. Discuss the possibilities that might exist for refinancing or different payment arrangements. If you don’t do this in the beginning, they may place your account in default without considering your options.

2. Don’t ignore collection calls. Hanging up on them or screening your calls and then ignoring them will not work. Your lender will be less likely to work with you if you avoid them. Their job is to collect the monies owed and they don’t want to foreclose if they don’t have to.  Most lenders would  much rather help you keep your home as it’s also more profitable for them. Communicate!

3. Keep your promises. Don’t make commitments that you cannot keep. Be up front and honest otherwise your effort spent will mean nothing but a little borrowed time until foreclosure becomes inevitable.

Keep in mind that If your house has not yet been foreclosed, it’s not too late for you to find solutions so you can save it. Go over all your options and work with your lenders to find a solution.