Any Option If My House Is Going To Foreclosure Sale In 21 days?

The bomb is ticking and it's set to go off in twenty-one days. It would be easy to panic at this point, but take a deep breath, calm down and examine some of the ways you may be able to disarm the foreclosure bomb! First of all, do not be afraid to contact your lender - yes, even at this late date. You may still be able to gain a "temporary indulgence" by paying the amount that is in arrears in full and arranging with the lender to simply reinstate the original loan agreement. If that amount of money is not available to you in a lump sum, you may be able to negotiate a repayment plan with your lender by paying a portion (about half) of the arrearage up front plus legal fees, and then adding the remaining debt to your regular monthly payments over an agreed period of time.

Admittedly, this would still require you to have significant funds on hand. A lender may also grant "forbearance" on the debt by negotiating a temporary change of the terms on the original loan if you can show them you are listing the property for sale, or in exchange for doing repairs or improvements. An alternative could be to arrange for a full payoff refinance whereby you would take out a new mortgage in order to repay the current one. This may sound like a pretty fancy finance maneuver, but those who have a large enough equity in their property have actually been able to pull this off successfully! For those with private mortgage insurance, some have found that the insurance company will actually allow a cash advance in the amount necessary to bring the loan current.

All of the options mentioned allow you to still retain title on the property. In some cases, ownership may have to be forfeited in order to stop foreclosure proceedings. Lenders will often accept a "deed in lieu" of the debt which requires that you return the title to the lender in return for forgiveness of the debt in cases where the value of the property is deemed not less than the amount of the debt. However, the lender can sue for the difference in the value amount between the property and the debt if the property value is not at least equal to what is owed them.

Working out a chapter 13 is often the option of last resort for defusing the foreclosure bomb but is certainly an option worth exploring. Making difficult choices has become all too common place for most people facing foreclosure. But just remember, there is nothing to loose by approaching your lender with some of these strategies and possibly escaping a foreclosure explosion.