Foreclosure Prevention Services

Foreclosure prevention services are available that will examine a financial situation and stop mortgage foreclosure. This list of services includes specialized agencies, lawyers, financial consultants and planners, investors, lenders and realtors to name a few. These professionals employ many measures including but not limited to short sales, loss mitigation, refinancing or creative financing, "workout agreements", and as a last resort, bankruptcy. As always, be careful of scam artists who promise the world, ask for a few hundred to a thousand dollars, and then never come through. When the feeling of urgency becomes overwhelming, a homeowner should strive to find a valid agency or service that does not prey on the financially beset.

Primarily foreclosure prevention services help a homeowner negotiate with a lender. A lender does not want the house. Specifically, a lender wants the money that was not paid over a period of time, as well as the fees for late payment that will bring the loan current. By law, bringing the loan up to date in this manner will stop mortgage foreclosure immediately. Negotiation professionals who can help in this manner are found on the Internet or in the phone book and will fight a foreclosure by taking the burden of negotiation off the homeowner while the homeowner seeks out funds to bring the mortgage up to date.

A realtor is one of many types of foreclosure prevention services. If time is of the essence and the market is favorable, listing with a realtor and moving is an option. A realtor will bring buyers quicker than trying to sell by owner. The realtor understands the market and can expedite all of the paperwork. Sometimes a realtor can find an investor in the area who can buy a home with cash for the balance of the loan and immediately stop the foreclosure. A realtor can also direct a short sale where a lender has agreed to accept a lesser amount than what is owed and forgive the rest of the loan. The path to take with a realtor all depends on the market and the equity in the house. However, if a home has enough equity, it may be more feasible, if the situation permits, to find a new lender to refinance or refinance with the old one.

Mortgage lenders may be able to provide refinancing to stop mortgage foreclosure. If a home has enough equity, all of the fees and back payments may be tacked into a new loan that will cover the previous lender's needs. The old lender may be willing to do this as well if a homeowner can provide proof that resources are available to refinance and into the future so as not to fall into the current situation once more. In other words, this is only a valid option if the loan to value ratio works out and if the homeowner can afford the new payments over the life of the loan. If a homeowner cannot meet these requirements, other foreclosure prevention services may need to be sought out. A homeowner must not be hasty and take on a loan with terms that will put them back into the situation that caused foreclosure in the first place.

Two foreclosure prevention services lawyers provide are negotiation and bankruptcy. A lawyer can either lead a client through bankruptcy, which immediately stops foreclosure, or review and negotiate loan, possibly creating a "workout agreement". "Workout agreements" negotiate a period of time to acquire the money to bring the loan current or find a buyer. "Workout agreements" are preferred alternatives to bankruptcy as the latter requires at least three months of financial counseling prior to filing which may not be practical, not to mention the consequent damage to a credit rating. Lawyers, however, are expensive and a cheaper alternative may be a service specifically set up to stop mortgage foreclosure. Financial planners typically have a network of mortgage lenders and realtors who can provide any of the options mentioned above, all tied into a tidy helpful package. Such concentrated wisdom may be just the ticket. "He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good." (Proverbs 19:8)

Mortgage prevention services provided by financial consultants can be found on the Internet or in the phone book. These consultants will look at an entire financial portfolio and determine a good course of action to create a brighter financial future overall. Many of these consultants will be able to give advice to a homeowner in a free initial consultation. Some of these specialty services are completely free on the Internet; they receive payment through kickbacks from the companies who they set the homeowner up with in order to save their home or their credit rating. One way or another, these services are in abundance on the Internet free or for a fee. Just be certain that they have a favorable rating with a consumer protection agency. Once set up with good prevention service, the pressures to stop mortgage foreclosure will ease and the path to an enlightened financial future will begin to emerge.

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