In recent years, the rate of foreclosures has increased at an alarming rate. It has created a sense of panic in the process. This has actually led some people to jump to the conclusion that foreclosure is the only remaining alternative. That may not be the case. There are some things that every homeowner should evaluate before they take that next step in hiring a Foreclosure Attorney In Lebanon.
Mortgage Negotiation
The first thing that a person should do is contact their mortgage lender. Most people fear answering the phone or picking up the phone to call their mortgage lender. They do not have the money to pay all of the late fees and past due payments. They fear that if they talk to the mortgage lender, the lender will ask for the payments in full. Nothing could be further from the truth. As long as a person is no more than four months behind on their mortgage there are plenty of options available to get things current again.
Now if the mortgage payments are approaching four months late and there is still not enough money, there is another option to consider. Most mortgage lenders have programs available to lower the monthly mortgage payments. This is called a loan modification. It typically involves a trial period where the borrower is asked to make the modified payment amounts for three months. After making the successful payments the loan will then be automatically modified to the new monthly amount. All past due balances will be added to the back end of the mortgage, and all late fees will be dropped.
Short Sale
Another option might be a short sale. This is where the mortgage lender allows a person to sell their home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. The mortgage lender will then accept the proceeds from the sale and forgive the remaining balance owed on the mortgage. Now this is not an option that is always available. A lot of mortgage lenders really try to stay away from this if possible. Of course in some cases, it ends up being the better option than foreclosure.
Foreclosure
The final option is foreclosure. This is when it is time to go ahead and look for a Foreclosure Attorney In Lebanon. Now technically a person does not have to have a lawyer in order to go through a foreclosure process. However, if a person feels in any way that they should be able to avoid foreclosure then they should definitely hire an attorney.
For the most part, everyone is on the side of the borrower. Lenders, as well as the government, try to offer every solution possible to help a person stay in their home.
John M Hyams is a foreclosure attorney for Lebanon, Mechanicsburg, Hummelstown and the surrounding areas. He caters to both personal and business bankruptcy. The areas that John M Hyams practices include Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies as well as business law, debtor and creditor law and real estate.
