Having to worry about losing your home is one of the hardest things that can happen to anyone. This is especially hard if you've lived in the same house for a long time and your kids have never lived anywhere else. Most of the time, the stress is worse for the kids who have to leave their friends, and it can be scary if you can't take your pets with you and have to leave them behind.
Is there a way to keep from having your home taken away, or "foreclosure," as it is often called? The best way to avoid it is to let the lender know as soon as you realise you can't make the payments. If you have less money coming in, the lender may be willing to lower your payments and take only the interest until you can figure out how to make up the difference. The important thing is to keep the lender in the loop. Don't just skip payments or pay less than you owe without telling the lender. If you don't talk to your lender, it looks like you're trying to get out of your obligation or are too careless to think it will go away on its own. If you don't tell your lender that you have a problem, he can't help you figure out a solution.
What happens if a lender just doesn't want to help you? Most of the time, this won't happen unless you have a history of paying late. However, that doesn't mean there aren't lenders out there who only care about getting their money. When you run into people who won't work with you, you'll need to know other ways to deal with the problem of not being able to pay your mortgage. Even though you don't want to make promises you can't keep, a lender who doesn't care about your needs will change his mind if he thinks you might be able to file for bankruptcy. Even if you file for Chapter 13, you have up to five years to catch up on your payments, and the lender can't change the court's decision as long as you keep making your payments every month.
When your lender won't work with you, another way to keep from losing your home is to deal with your debt. Unlike when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the lender is not required to accept the terms that a debt management counsellor offers. Most of the time, lenders are more than happy to help you work through a programme that will let you keep your home. However, there are times when lenders won't do anything to help you. If you don't want to or can't file for bankruptcy and your lender won't work with you or a debt management counsellor, you may have no choice but to find a lender who will pay off your mortgage and let you start over.
