I wrote a post about our rise in foreclosure notices here in Salem Oregon. I know many of the recent folks getting notice of defaults now were folks with good credit that have been laid off due to the recession. Finding a job in the Salem Oregon area is very difficult right now and many folks are unable to pay their mortgages right now.
For folks that have been served with a notice of default who WANT to try and keep their house, I wanted to point out some choices for you about handling your current situation.
Call the lender and ask for a forbearance. Most lenders have the ability to allow a short period of time with no or low mortgage payments. This time frame is for situations like many of you are facing with job loss. The missed mortgage payments during the forbearance get recapitalized and added to the mortgage at the end.
See about a loan modification. A loan modification can be a lower interest rate, longer loan terms, or a combination of the two.
If you have a Bank of America loan see if you qualify for HomeSaver Advance.
See if you qualify for Making Home Affordable.
See if you can do a deed-in-lieu-of foreclosure. In this case you deed the house back to the bank. If you have two separate mortgages on your property this can be very difficult. It is much easier to try and negotiate this if you have one loan holder.
You can look at declaring bankruptcy. If you declare bankruptcy it puts a stay on any default proceedings. If you can’t afford your home, this option may not make any sense.
Try and negotiate a short sale with the bank.
If you don’t want to try any of these options, then foreclosure is what will occur. If you need help navigating a short sale or want more information about how that might work, please call me at 503-371-6515 for assistance.
Many folks are getting notice on recession that they have been laid off.