Many homeowners are getting surprise foreclosure notices, some who don’t even have mortgages on their homes. What do you need to know and how can you protect yourself?
Falling behind on mortgage payments isn’t the only way you can lose your home. Watch out for these other threats which could put you in foreclosure too and beware of lenders speeding up the foreclosure process…
Property Taxes
Most have heard about homes selling on the cheap at tax lien auctions and how real estate investors are picking them up at ridiculously low prices. Homeowners need to realize that whether they have a mortgage or not they can lose their homes in a foreclosure for simply failing to pay property taxes.
Insurance Issues
Homeowners’ insurance issues have also played major havoc with property owners’ rights. Forced placed insurance by mortgage lenders, even when it did not need to be has in turn pushed borrowers into foreclosure when they wouldn’t have otherwise defaulted. On top of this those who are delinquent on their home loans will often find lenders refusing to release insurance claim checks to repair damage while homes continue to deteriorate.
Association Dues
In states like Florida condo and home owner associations can pursue foreclosure for delinquent dues and can often foreclosure faster than mortgage lenders. This means losing a home and still being liable to pay back the entire mortgage.
Don’t rely on the length of time it took others to be foreclosed on or on the stats in the news, each case is different and some are being foreclosed on much faster than others.
Don’t let your home be swept away from underneath you. There are options. Even if you are behind on your mortgage and underwater there are still ways to push mortgage lenders to offer better deals or to sell and even potentially walk away with some cash in hand.
