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How To Avoid The Foreclosure Crisis

Posted Friday, January 16, 2009

Foreclosures set yet another record this month, with the highest foreclosure rate on record. The foreclosure rate is up over 81 percent from January 2007, and over 225 percent from 2006.

Over 860,000 home owners lost their houses to foreclosure in 2007. This amounts to one out of every 50 homes in the entire nation. Think about it. If one out over every 50 people are loosing their house to foreclosure, then you have to know someone who is going through the foreclosure process.

It is clear the current process to stop the foreclosure crisis and slow the rate that people are being kicked out of their homes and to the streets is not working. The government has been trying to slow the number of foreclosures by putting money into the banking system and asking lenders to work with home owners. The system is not working.

But, there are some ways home owners can get banks to work with them and avoid foreclosure. I have spoke with many famlies from Idaho, California, Florida and Massachusetts that have all had success in stopping the bank from taking their home. Some of these families refinanced because they have equity, some were able to sell their house below what their mortgage balance was, and some had their payment lowered by the mortgage company.

By far the best way to avoid foreclosure is to sell your house. The process can be difficult for home owners who do not know the real estate dialog and short sale process. This is why I suggest contacting a real estate professional who is experienced in purchasing homes in preforeclosure and having them work with the bank to sell your home as a short sale.

A short sale is when the bank allows you to sell your house to someone else for a price that is lower than your mortgage. Banks allow this because the foreclosure process can cost them thousands of dollars and just selling the property at a loss will save them money in the long run.

So help your fellow neighbors, friends, and family who may be in a situation where they need to halt a foreclosure. Tell them to get a professional who will work with the bank to buy their house fast. They will avoid a foreclosure on their credit and be able to sell their house.

This is by far the best way to avoid foreclosure, keep your credit semi clean, and put the bad memories of foreclosure behind you. There are home buyers who specialize in helping home owners through the foreclosure process while avoiding foreclosure. These real estate professionals are experienced in mortgage laws and are honest hard working individuals.