Perhaps the most important thing you can do when you’re facing a pre-foreclosure is to contact your lender. This can be difficult for people to do because of the shame and stress associated with a difficult financial situation. When you contact your lender about your financial situation you will probably start with the customer service number on your mortgage statement. However, this may just be a service company who’s acting on the behalf of the actual lender. Make sure that you ask them if they’re the actual company who holds the loan or if they’re simply servicing the loan. If they’re a service company, try to get a number for the loss prevention department at the actual mortgage holder and contact them. Sometimes you may need to speak with a supervisor to obtain this information. If it’s the loan holder that you’re speaking with, start with customer service although you may need to move up the corporate ‘food chain’ as your case progresses.

If you’ve received a default or intent to foreclose notice it is quite important that you deal with it as soon as possible. Contact the number on the notice after you gather all the information you need. You don’t want to be on the phone with them unprepared or stressed out. Get organized and put yourself in a calm frame of mind. When speaking with them, keep your voice low and calm as best you can. This will help you stay calm even though you’re sure to be stressed and will make them less likely to try collection intimidation tactics on you.

Before calling make sure that you have a game plan in place to explain how you will deal with the pre-foreclosure situation that you find yourself in. You should have complete knowledge of your current income and expenses. You’ll need to know how much equity, if any, you have in the home. Be prepared to explain to the lender why you missed your house payments. If you’ve had a temporary setback, like a health problem or job loss, explain this to them and let them know what steps you’re taking to get back on your feet financially.

Also, try to come up with a reasonable plan to present to the lender prior to your call. If you can afford to pay for your home, make a reasonable payment proposal that’s feasible for both you and the lender. If you feel that you can’t afford to pay the mortgage as it is, let them know this as well. Then you can work through the alternatives to foreclosure that might be available to you. For example, the “Making Home Affordable” government program, that went into effect on March 4, 2009, provided $75 billion in incentives for lenders to assist in refinancing loans for troubled borrowers. Mortgage lenders may have other options too and are more willing to work with borrowers in today’s economy. Even though you may still lose your home the financial and credit repercussions will be less.

You will want to keep a record of all contacts you have with your lender. You should note the date and time of the call as well as the name of the person you spoke to and their title and department. Having good documentation of your communication is essential to getting a good outcome in a pre-foreclosure situation.

If you feel that you can’t handle this situation well yourself, then you should enlist the aid of a legitimate housing credit counselor. These counselors are trained to assist borrowers who’re facing foreclosure with sound financial advice and are certified by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. You can find a list of certified counselors at the HUD web site. Other national groups that can assist borrowers with credit problems include the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Neighborworks America and Hope Now. Make sure that you deal with a certified, non-profit, housing credit counselor and be careful about scammers posing as such.

I hope that this article will help you if you’re facing a pre-foreclosure.

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By using information found on the Internet you can find advice about foreclosure laws in your state. You can also find out what your homeowner rights are. Most states in the US have an official website that will provide you with much of this information. I suggest that you start by performing  search on that site for information on foreclosures as they relate to your particular situation.  There you should find information on foreclosure laws in your state of residence along with detailed information on the legal process works in this case.  This information may also be available from other sources online. However, you know the information is accurate and up-to-date when you get it directly from the original source.

Another online resource that you may want to investigate is that of foreclosure attorneys or of lawyers who specialize in real estate law.  Many lawyers will provide important and timely foreclosure information on their websites. Most of them make this information available to you for free.  For example, a current search of foreclosure attorneys will tell you that in some states foreclosure can be stopped right in its tracks when bankruptcy is declared.  Although not all attorneys are willing to divulge all of their secrets, you may be surprised how much information you can find online from websites that belong to lawyers.

The Internet can also be used to help you find the right foreclosure attorney to hire in your case.  As I mentioned earlier, people who are facing foreclosure probably have limited financial resources and may find it cost prohibitive to hire a lawyer.  Fortunately, there are ways around this lack of money.  Some lawyers will accept cases pro bono, meaning for free, while others will work out a payment agreement for legal services with you.  You should hire an attorney if you should do so if you fall victim to a foreclosure scam or if you believe that your lender is treating you unfairly and illegally.  You should make sure that any lawyer you hire specializes in real estate and foreclosures.

Credit counseling websites are another online resource that’s available to you.  This can be a controversial approach, and there may be some risk involved, but help may be available to you.  Some credit counseling companies may try to work with your mortgage lender. In the best case scenario, this may result in you getting more affordable monthly mortgage payments.  With that in mind, there are many scams out there that surround these companies. That includes those that even claim to be non-profit organizations.  For that reason, do some research online first, including checking with the Better Business Bureau.

The website for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) should be visited as well.  This website can be found at HUD.gov. On that site you will see a lot of information that is from an accurate and reliable source. You can use their information to find out your options before, during, and after foreclosure. You can discover if your particular mortgage is covered by a government sponsored mortgage modification plan. You can also find out how to get in touch with a HUD approved housing counselor.

Another online resource are websites that are operated by individuals, such as myself, who’ve had personal experience in dealing with foreclosures during economic hard times.  These websites can be provide you with valuable resources as well as support for your situation.

I hope that you have found this basic advice about home loan foreclosure helpful to you.

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