How to Avoid Mortgage Foreclosure

If you are currently going through a financial crisis and are falling behind on your monthly mortgage payments, there are steps you can take avoid mortgage foreclosure. First, contact your lender immediately. You may be able to work out a payment agreement where you resume making your regular payments along with a portion of the past due balance until you catch up.

One option may be modifying your mortgage. If you are able to make your monthly payments but do not have enough cash on hand to catch up or can not afford the entire amount of your monthly payment, your mortgage lender may be able to change the terms of your mortgage to make your monthly payment more affordable. Your lender may be able to add the passed due amount to the existing balance, modify the interest, or lengthen the term of the mortgage. Your mortgage lender may be willing to accept the total amount due by a specific date.

You may also be able to negotiate a forbearance from your lender. This would allow you to reduce the amount you pay or even stop payment for a period of time. This is what is currently being done for the victims of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in the Gulf coast. The best advice you can get in avoiding mortgage foreclosure is talk to your lender, sooner than later. The more you put it off, the deeper you will dig yourself into a hole; a hole that might be too deep for your lender to help you out of.