First of all, put your emotion aside and channel your energy into finding a solution to your problem. Dwelling on the emotion of the situation only makes it worse while taking action, even if it means finding and moving to a new location, can help you recover mentally from the blow. When you begin to think clearly and take action, you’ll feel much better. Let’s take a look at some of the basic steps you can take and who you can turn to who can assist you in this situation.

If you are having financial problems as serious as foreclosure, my first recommendation is to contact members of your extended family. Of course, this depends on how strong your family bonds are and how good your family relationships are. I understand that not everyone is blessed with a good family situation. But, if your relationship is good, don’t ignore the help you can get from them. Sometimes, they may be able to help you through a financial rough spot if they’re fully aware of the problem. But even if they can’t help financially, they can often help you deal with the problem at an emotional level. Sometimes close friends can substitute for family relationships but I always counsel caution when money is involved although emotional support is fine.

When one is dealing with foreclosure, one of the first places, outside of family and friends, to contact is with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (aka HUD). They can put you in touch with a HUD approved housing counselor. This counselor can give you some ideas you can use to avoid foreclosure. Even if your foreclosure cannot be stopped, these counselors have resources at their disposal that can help you find a new place to live.

You may also find it useful to contact an attorney who specializes in handling foreclosure cases. While bankruptcy is the most common way lawyers stop foreclosure they can have other tools at their disposal, such as determining if your lender has followed legal procedures correctly. Another thing that a good foreclosure attorney can do is provide an emotional buffer between you and the mortgage lender and their representatives. Since your lawyer doesn’t have an emotional stake in the dispute, they can shield you from the troubling emotions that can surround a foreclosure and speaking to lender on the phone or in person about it. The downside of hiring an attorney is the cost. If you’re having financial trouble, then one may not be affordable to you.

Real estate agents who specialize in pre-foreclosure sales and short sales may also be a helpful resource. Having an agent who knows the laws in your state and how to work with lenders on these sales can be a great asset. You do need to be a little wary about who you work with though. Some agents may be lazy in working with you for various reasons and others may push you toward questionable deals. I always recommend checking out the reputation of any real estate agent you work with but especially in the difficult situation.

In some cases, working with your mortgage lender themselves is an option. If your loan is through a smaller, local, bank or loan organization, this is a practical thing to do. They have an incentive to avoid foreclosing on properties in the mortgage portfolio and may be quite willing to work with you. If this is where your home loan is, by all means, contact them as soon as you can. However, if your loan is from a large national banks or if your loan has been sold on the secondary investment market it can be difficult or even impossible to contact anyone with any real decision making authority regarding your loan. At best, you’ll be put in touch with a low level cubical dweller who’s only interest is in following a pre-defined collection script and have no interest in hearing the details of your situation. Don’t put yourself through that kind of useless stress.

I hope this article has provided you with some ideas on who to consult when you’re dealing with a foreclosure.

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If you are facing foreclosure, you need to do start by taking a close look at your financial situation. How far behind are you on your mortgage? What caused you to get in this situation? What are your chances of recovering financially? If you don’t know where to begin, then you probably need some financial counseling to help you get back on track. If you do understand what got you into this situation, what can you do?

Of course, getting current with the payments on your mortgage is one of the best ways to prevent foreclosure. But that is typically not an option for most people. If you can make a partial payment, talk to your bank or mortgage lender. If you can, make an appointment to see someone in person. If this isn’t possible, try to arrange for a specific time for a phone conference with someone who can help. Your goal is to determine what they are willing to accept as a forbearance agreement and/or what, if any, alternative mortgage payment plans can be made. Often they’re willing to help you, especially if they’re a locally owned bank, but some aren’t willing to help at all.

If you can’t get help from the mortgage holder, your next step should be to contact the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD is the place to start when your looking for help with mortgage payments or to avoid foreclosure altogether. Their job is to point you in the right direction for the help you need. Every state has specially trained housing counselors that are know and understand the laws, rules, and restrictions related to foreclosure in their state. This foreclosure counseling is normally offered for a low fee or even free of charge. Because of the number of foreclosure scams, it is suggested that you only deal with a HUD approved housing counselor.

In some situations legal representation by a foreclosure attorney is recommended. If you’re keeping up your end of a forbearance agreement or loan modification but are still facing foreclosure, you need legal representation. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can get you in touch with with affordable or perhaps even pro bono real estate lawyers in your area that specialize in foreclosures.

There are many places where you can find foreclosure assistance so make sure you take advantage of them if you need to do so.

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First of all, it’s important to understand that there is little a lawyer can do to help you save your home. None of the laws governing home mortgages, even the ones passed recently like the Making Home Affordable program, force lenders to offer lower interest rates or make other concessions to troubled homeowners. Not even a bankruptcy judge can modify or ‘cram down’ the interest rate on a mortgage loan without the agreement of the mortgage lender. Only a very few give their agreement though. While the laws offer incentives, fewer than expected mortgage lenders are offering modification programs or they’re making the process difficult. Plus, the current programs were designed to assist people with sub-prime mortgages. Due to high unemployment or underemployment, more and more conventional mortgages are falling into default and there are no programs for these loans and lenders are less willing to negotiate these loans.

What you will primarily want from a loan modification lawyer is their ability to negotiate and navigate the often tricky world of mortgage loans and real estate law. Often the troubled homeowner is overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork involved as well as the emotionally draining threat of losing their home. A good attorney can assist the homeowner in the process. This will be based on the particular situation of the homeowner. In some cases, bankruptcy, either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, will be the best option. Others may require some negotiation and speaking with the right people. Often an attorney calling can get more attention than the homeowner calling.

But, how do you find a good and reliable loan modification attorney that can really assist you and not rip you off?

Unfortunately, the current economic situation has created a number of fraudsters billing themselves as “foreclosure rescue specialists.” These organizations, which may or may not be tied to a law firm, seek out desperate homeowners. They will often tell the homeowner that they can save their home but they want a large upfront fee to do so. Others use other legal trickery to scam troubled homeowners. You need to be very wary of any loan modification attorney or foreclosure rescue organization that makes vague promises of saving your home while demanding a substantial upfront fee.

However, there are a few good loan modification lawyers that have been successful in challenging foreclosures based on the lack of a good paper trail due to the way mortgages were repackaged as financial instruments. Others have challenged the mortgage based on evidence of predatory lending. These legal maneuvers don’t work in every case and take specialized legal skill so it is important to find a lawyer who is well acquainted with these methods.

In order to locate a good attorney you will need to find one that specializes in bad mortgages and consumer law. One of the best ways to find such an attorney is to consult your local HUD-approved housing counseling agency. They can give you a referral. Always ask for multiple references. Check out the references and make an appointment to discuss your case. This meeting should be free of charge and should clearly describe the legal process they will use and what the fees for their services will be. If they ask for a big upfront fee, be prepared to walk away. Also be wary of high pressure sales tactics as well.

Sadly, there are many more troubled mortgage loan cases than the number of available loan modification attorneys can handle. Plus, most families that are having trouble paying their mortgage are very short on money and will find it difficult to pay for a lawyer. Sometimes though, local legal aid organizations can help put troubled homeowners in touch with an attorney that will take their case for low or no cost.

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Foreclosure rescue firms have many different ways to find potential clients. Some of them simply check local foreclosure listings in local legal announcement newspapers or directly access public records at local government offices. These rescue firms will often send very well crafted personal looking letters to desperate homeowners. Other foreclosure firms cast a wide net and use Internet advertising, TV spots, newspaper ads and even fliers. No matter the method used the advertising typically features a simple message like “Stop Foreclosure” or “Save Your Home” and will be rather spotty on the details. Legitimate financial counselors don’t advertise this way in most cases.

Some will tell you that they can guarantee you that they can stop your foreclosure. Well, they can’t. This is entirely up to the lender, especially once the foreclosure legal procedure has begun. No legit housing counselor will make such a guarantee to you. Some of these foreclosure rescue firms tout that they have special business relationships with banks and mortgage lenders that will allow them to ‘fast track’ mortgage loan modification. Often, this isn’t true and, anyway, lenders will refuse to negotiate with third parties unless they’re a practicing attorney or a HUD certified housing counselor. Remember negotiating a loan modification or a short sale is a long and complex process and anyone who’s promising quick results isn’t being truthful with you.

One thing that these foreclosure rescue scammers will tell you to do is to not contact your lawyer and not to speak with the lender. This is a classic con job tactic that’s meant to keep you from communicating with people who might expose the scam to you. You should be suspicious of firms who request a fee before providing you with services. Even worse are those who ask for wire transfer payments or tell you to send your house payments to them rather than to the lender. Those who operate in person will try to pressure you into signing paperwork without explaining it. As we’ll see in a moment, this is particularly dangerous.

Perhaps the most common con is that of a fake housing counselor. These tricksters will tell you that they can save your house from foreclosure if you’ll only pay them an upfront fee roughly the same as your mortgage payment. They’ll pass themselves off as having great negotiation skills and special connections with your lender. They’ll also tell you not to contact anyone else about this special deal in order to keep it secret. As you can guess, the conman runs off with your money.

Another foreclosure rescue con that they’ll pull is to offer to get you into a new home loan that will pay off your existing mortgage loan or simply bring it current. In this case, the unwitting homeowner signs a document that turns over the house title to the scammer. They do this by pressuring you into signing quickly or by presenting you with overwhelming paperwork. The really sad part is that many victims don’t realize they’ve been conned until the sheriff shows up with an eviction notice.

Another trick that foreclosure rescue scammers pull that’s more legal but still very sneaky is a rental scheme. In this scamming technique they offer to buy your home and then allow you to stay in it as a renter and buy it back over time. They’ll say that once you’re released from the burden of the original mortgage it will be easy for you to get a new loan to repurchase the home. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work this way. Sometimes the conman just cashes out the equity and defaults on the loan, resulting in the mortgage company evicting the renter, the previous homeowner. Another way this works is for the scammer to keep raising the rent until the original homeowner can’t pay and is evicted. Sadly, this process, although highly unethical, is legal in most states.

A similar ‘sign over the deed’ trick is a buy out-move out con. In this scam the homeowner is told that a ‘white knight’ financier will buy the house from them and hold it until it sells for a profit. They’ll tell the owner to transfer the title to the house and that they will need to move out so that they can ‘flip’ the house easier. When the house sells at a profit, they promise to share the profits with the original homeowner. But, what usually happens is that the scammer simply rents out the home and pockets the money, letting the house fall into to foreclosure under the owner’s name. This creates an ugly surprise for the homeowner, because they’re still responsible for the mortgage, and for the unsuspecting renter as well.

The last foreclosure rescue scam we’ll look at is the unauthorized bankruptcy. In this paperwork shuffle con, the homeowner signs a document allowing the scammer to file bankruptcy on them. This is usually done in the guise of an offer to renegotiate the home loan with the lender or to get refinancing. This is always accompanied by an upfront fee. While bankruptcy will stop the foreclosure, at least temporarily, it does have considerable legal and financial repercussions that can be quite difficult to deal with.

Be wary of these foreclosure rescue scams and protect your financial future.

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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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First, the rising number of homes for sale puts a drag on home prices that will be difficult to overcome for some time. This creates a difficult environment if you need to sell your home, even as a short sale, or refinance a home loan since it keeps home prices low. Even if you live in an area that isn’t as badly impacted, your home value will suffer too. While some home ownership tracking agencies report a tapering off of new foreclosures in heavily hit areas the current inventory glut means that the recovery of home prices is going to be pushed out several years.

However, the news that foreclosures in areas where there was a significant price bubble and many sub-prime loans isn’t getting worse has to be weighed against the news that prime, mainstream, home loans are being affected at an increasing rate. Homeowners who had good credit and a once solid earnings history are now beginning to default in increasing numbers due to job loss and other such factors related to the recession.

On top of this news, banks and other mortgage loan companies are beginning to move faster on foreclosures. Last year, many were under political pressure from the Obama administration and Congress to hold off on foreclosures. Now, with the new financial reform law passed and Democrats set to lose some control in Washington after the 2010 elections, this pressure appears to be reduced. Also, bank loan analysts have had enough time to discover if a loan is worth salvaging under various foreclosure relief programs. This means that banks are more prone to enforce their foreclosure rights now than they were a few months ago. The net effect is that strategic defaults and other delaying tactics which allowed people to stay in their homes for months or even a year or more without making a payment aren’t going to work now.

Unfortunately, all of this new foreclosure activity has caused an increase in the number of foreclosure relief scams. Be wary of anyone trying to sell you a program that encourages you to use dodgy techniques to forestall foreclosure. Banks have become wise to these tricks and are moving ahead with foreclosure if they think a home loan can’t be saved.

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