With more and more Americans realizing that their mortgages might be larger than they can handle, resources for avoiding foreclosure are becoming increasingly important. The FTC recommends working with your lender to work out a flexible or temporarily reduced payment plan as the first step to helping avoid foreclosure. If this step has already been exhausted, or the lender is unwilling to work out an alternative payment plan, there are other resources available to homeowners looking to manage their debt and avoid foreclosure.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has an entire section of their website committed to suggesting ways that homeowners can work towards avoiding foreclosure. One thing they strongly suggest is to evaluate and understand all the different foreclosure prevention resources available (foreclosure prevention is also known as loss mitigation).
One of the loss mitigation options that they suggest include knowing mortgage rights for your state; a great resource to help explain the difference between state foreclosures statutes is the State Government Housing Office. If a lender is not willing to work with you to set up a different payment plan, HUD recommends contacting a Department of Housing and Urban Development approved housing counselor or calling the Homeowners Hope Hotline.
A final piece of advice is to not get sucked into a foreclosure recovery scam. When trying to avoid foreclosure, make sure you are dealing with companies and counseling programs that have the appropriate accreditation and references so that you do not end up compounding your debt management problems.
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