Avoiding a Mortgage Foreclosure

When people build or purchase a home, they are usually fulfilling a lifelong dream of home ownership. Unless you're one of the lucky few, you'll be taking out a mortgage loan to buy their home. As part of the loan agreements, you'll be putting your home up for collateral. You are also agreeing to make so many payments per month for a designated number of years, usually anywhere from 10 years to 30 years. Until the loan is paid in full, the bank's name is listed along with yours on the mortgage as owners of the home.

Although everyone that takes out a loan to buy a home has every intention of paying off their loan and owning their home free and clear, sometimes unforeseen circumstances make it difficult. Many times homeowners find themselves in more debt than they can afford to pay, whether through careless planning or unexpected circumstances. Some of these unexpected circumstances may be death of a family member, divorce, loss of job, health problems, etc. Whatever the reasons, when people fail to make their mortgage payments as promised, they often find themselves in a mortgage foreclosure.

A mortgage foreclosure is not something the bank wants anymore than the homeowner, but sometimes it can't be avoided. With the price of homes and a weak economy, more people are dealing with mortgage foreclosure than ever before. When a mortgage foreclosure takes place, the bank will initiate court proceedings to repossess the home. Once they repossess the home, they will attempt to sell it at public auction to get their money back. If they don't get the money that is owed to them at the auction, the homeowner will lose their home and may still wind up owing the bank money. If, however, the house sells for more than is owed, the homeowner will get the difference back after legal costs are paid. Unfortunately, in addition to the money the homeowners get, they'll also get a very bad credit rating. This credit rating will be with them for many years, often up to 10 years.

A mortgage foreclosure should be avoided at all costs. There are ways you can try to avoid losing your home through mortgage foreclosure. The best way to avoid this is to work with your lender. At the first sign of financial difficulties, contact your lender and explain the situation to them. They want to help you in any way they can. They may defer a payment or two until you can get ahead financially. They may also suggest a mortgage refinance, which may extend your loan but lower your monthly payments to a more affordable amount. They may also consider a debt consolidation loan to pay off your other debts and add it to your mortgage so you have one payment instead of many.

Many of these solutions may help you to avoid a mortgage foreclosure, but only if you contact your lender and work with them.