Homebuyers take on a mortgage to finance their home. However, not every homeowner can afford their mortgage.
People can fall behind on mortgage payments for various reasons. Some lose their jobs, while others spend too much money.
If you fall far behind, the lender may try to foreclose on your home. However, it’s not necessarily game over if a lender goes after your home.
Alamo homeowners can employ several foreclosure strategies to keep lenders away. These strategies let you keep your home and give you time to make mortgage payments.
Let’s explore three foreclosure strategies so you can evade a foreclosure sale.
1. File a Lawsuit
When all else fails, you can file a lawsuit against the lender. Any foreclosure completed outside of the court system can trigger a lawsuit. The lawsuit will buy you extra time.
Some home buyers win the lawsuit and shut down the foreclosure sale. You must prove the bank failed to follow laws or foreclosure procedures. You can also win if the bank committed a grievous error during the foreclosure process.
Lawsuits however, get costly and can only delay the inevitable. Only pursue this route if you believe you can win or want to save time.
2. Request a Loan Modification
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy lets you arrange a repayment plan with the lender. This structure allows you to get back on your feet in order to meet your monthly payments.
However, you don’t have to endure bankruptcy to request a loan modification. Call your lender and express your commitment to paying off a modified loan.
As lenders can decide whether to grant your request or not, you must pitch yourself similar to how a realtor pitches a property.
Show lenders that you’ve been able to lower expenses and raise income. Taking up a side hustle can add hundreds of dollars to your monthly income.
These measures lower the lender’s risk, making them more likely to compromise. Renegotiating the loan also helps lenders make more money on your home. Most want to work with you because of this.
Strive to request a single loan modification. If you show up a few years later in the same situation, the lender may give up on you.
3. File for Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy will hurt your credit score. However, many homeowners falling behind on mortgage payments already have low credit scores. Many homeowners will trade away credit score points in order to keep their homes.
When you file for bankruptcy, lenders cannot collect their debts on your assets. Filing for bankruptcy will stop the sale from taking place.
What happens after bankruptcy depends on how you file. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not let you keep the home. This bankruptcy prolongs the inevitable.
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy lets you keep your home. Some homeowners eventually repay their debts because of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Our Foreclosure Strategies Can Help You Keep your Alamo Home
Foreclosures come with heightened stress and anxiety about the future. Having an ally assist with your foreclosure strategies can provide peace of mind.
Our Alamo foreclosure law experts can help you keep your home. Contact us today to see how we can help.