Sensational headlines desperate to boost dwindling readership levels so that they don’t go broke have been luring already victimized homeowners into a dangerous sense of false security.
Shocking stories tell tales of homeowners who have eluded foreclosure for incredibly lengthy periods of time and give others the impression that this what they can expect if they stop paying their mortgages and that there is little point in writing that check every month. Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky. With some 91 million plus foreclosures expected to have happened since the bust and the end of 2012 your odds of beating the foreclosure process aren’t great.
Mortgage lenders may be changing tactics and strategies and coming up with new ways to sell the properties they have already taken back but they aren’t just going to allow homeowners a free ride forever. In fact it is widely accepted that while 2011 saw lenders taking it easy on foreclosures, now that the legal issues have been worked out they are on a fresh rampage.
Banks and lenders may be being more selective about which homes they decide to foreclose on first but who knows when they could set their eyes on your home. In fact, as the market improves the more likely they are to sweep in and scoop up homes.
For some the foreclosure process has taken a couple of years, for others just a few months. Do you know what it is like for the sheriff to show up and evict you? Are you really going to wait until your belongings are tossed in the street in front of your family and you are locked out on the curb to come up with a plan?
Don’t forget, in many states lenders can still sue and chase you for what you owe even after taking the home away! Why go through that when you could possibly get money to relocate somewhere else and have your debt forgiven?
Understand what your options are, how they work, what the real consequences of each of them are and how long they take to work. Then do something…
