Are You Having Trouble Paying Your Mortgage? Call us before it is too late!

If you don't pay your mortgage, foreclosure may occur. This means your lender can legally repossess (take over) your home. When this happens, you must move out of your house. If your property is worth less than the total amount you owe on your mortgage loan, a deficiency judgment could be pursued, meaning you would not only lose your home, you also would owe HUD money.

Both foreclosures and deficiency judgments could seriously affect your ability to qualify for credit in the future. So you should avoid foreclosure if at all possible.

If you cannot pay your mortgage, take the following steps:

* Look at your monthly mortgage coupons or billing statements for the lender's name and contact information. You should also know what kind of mortgage you have. Look on the original mortgage documents or call your mortgage lender.
* Do not ignore letters from your lender. If you are having problems making your payments, call or write to your lender's loss mitigation department immediately. Explain your situation. Be prepared to provide financial information, such as your monthly income and expenses. Without this information, they may not be able to help.
* Stay in your home for now. You may not qualify for assistance if you abandon your property. But talk with your lender about your particular situation and the options available to you.
* Contact a HUD-approved foreclosure housing counseling agency. Call toll free 1-800-569-4287 or TDD (800) 877-8339 for the housing counseling agency nearest you. These agencies are valuable resources. They have information on services and programs offered by government agencies and private and community organizations that might be able to help you.

What precautions can I take?

These precautions can help you avoid being "taken" by a scam artist:

* Don't sign any papers you don't fully understand.
* Make sure you get all "promises" in writing.
* Beware of any sales contract that assumes the loan where you are not formally released from liability (responsibility) for your mortgage debt.
* Check with a lawyer or your mortgage company before entering into any deal involving your home.

Will I be responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses if I am approved for a loan modification or workout option?

You may have to pay expenses such as recording fees for a loan modification. Because every situation is different, contact your lender for more information. But, if a lender has no contact with you and has to start foreclosure, you may have to pay very high legal fees. To avoid this, call your lender as soon as you realize you might have trouble.

Explore Loan Workout Solutions

First and foremost, if you can keep your mortgage current, do so. But if you find you are unable to make your mortgage payments, you might qualify for a loan workout option. Check with your lender to see which option may be available. Some options may not apply to your loan if it is not insured by FHA.

If your problem is temporary - call your lender to discuss these possibilities:

* Reinstatement: Your lender is always willing to discuss accepting the total amount owed in a lump sum by a specific date. Forbearance may accompany this option.
* Forbearance: Your lender may allow you to reduce or suspend payments for a short period of time and then agree to another option to bring your loan current. A forbearance option is often combined with a reinstatement when you know you will have enough money to bring the account current at a specific time. The money might come from a hiring bonus, investment, insurance settlement, or tax refund.
* Repayment plan: You may be able to get an agreement to resume making your regular monthly payments, plus a portion of the past due payments each month until you are caught up.

If it appears that your situation is long-term or will permanently affect your ability to bring your account current - call your lender to discuss options:

* Mortgage modification: If you can make payments on your loan, but don't have enough money to bring your account current or you can't afford your current payment, your lender may be able to change the terms of your original loan to make the payments more affordable. Your loan could be permanently changed in one or more of the following ways:
o Adding the missed payments to the existing loan balance.
o Changing the interest rate, including making an adjustable rate into a fixed rate.

Extending the number of years you have to repay.
* Partial Claim: If your mortgage is insured, your lender might help you get a one-time interest-free loan from your mortgage guarantor to bring your account current. You may be allowed to wait several years before repaying this loan. You qualify for an FHA partial claim if:
o Your loan is between 4 and 12 months delinquent.
o You are able to begin making full mortgage payments again.

When your lender files a partial claim, HUD will pay your lender the amount necessary to bring your mortgage current. You must sign a promissory note, and a lien will be placed on your property until the promissory note is paid in full. (The promissory note is interest-free and is due when you pay off the first mortgage or when you sell the property)

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