Are you struggling to keep up with mortgage payments and worried about losing your house to the bank in Lehigh Valley?
Nobody wants to lose their home. But sometimes financial circumstances turn against you and those financial commitments become simply too much to manage.
The fear of losing one’s home is a nightmare scenario that nobody wants to experience. However, financial circumstances can change quickly and unexpectedly, leaving many people struggling to meet their mortgage payments. If you find yourself in this situation and your situation progresses too far, you may be forced into the unfortunate situation of having to give your house back to the bank in Lehigh Valley PA, leaving you temporarily without a place to stay. In addition to the immediate stress of losing your home, there may be long-term consequences, including a dramatic and long-lasting impact to your credit score (and therefore your ability to get a house in the future).
No one wants that. That’s not an ideal outcome. Fortunately, there is a strategy you can take today to help you proactively protect yourself and get back on track to financial solvency.
Foreclosure process in Allentown, PA
The foreclosure process can vary depending on location and the type of mortgage you have.
Typically, if you become delinquent on a few mortgage payments, your lender will begin by sending you notifications and warnings to remind you of your overdue obligations. However, if you continue to default on your mortgage payments over a prolonged period, your lender may take the extreme step of putting your property up for public auction.
The duration you can remain in your home after it is sold at auction is dictated by state law. Regardless, it is inevitable that you will need to locate a new residence at some point.
You have options to save your house and credit
Fortunately, there are options available to you if you find yourself struggling to make your mortgage payments. If you wait until your home is foreclosed, it can have a devastating effect on your credit rating.
One option to protect yourself is to work out an arrangement with the loan company called a “deed in lieu of foreclosure”. This is when you hand over ownership of the house to the loan company so that they save the money they would spend on foreclosure proceedings, which can be significant. You get to avoid having a foreclosure listed on your credit rating, which can save you significant headaches in the future.
Another option to avoid foreclosure is to sell your house before it’s lost at the auction. If your loan is paid in full, then there will be no more penalties against you and your credit rating. If your loan isn’t paid in full, you will need to make up the shortfall.
For example, let’s say you owed $100,000 on your home and you sold your home to us for $90,000. You would give that money to the loan company, along with $10,000 to make up the shortfall, and your loan would be paid off. If you contact a real estate attorney, you may be able to negotiate a deed in lieu of foreclosure deal in which the loan company agrees not to go after the difference in exchange for the deed to the house.
At iBuyLehigh, we’re professional real estate investors who specialize in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. If you’re struggling to make your mortgage payments and are worried about losing your home in your local area, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today at (484) 549-0019.
We’ll help you explore your options and find the best solution for your unique situation.
I want to avoid giving my house back to the bank in Lehigh Valley!
Why do people choose to sell their home instead of going through foreclosure? (After all, they still don’t live in their home anymore.)
Ultimately, losing a home can be a devastating experience, but the impact on your financial situation and your credit is considerably less than if you simply wait out the foreclosure process. In fact, going through foreclosure could impact your credit score by as much as 100 to 150 points, making it even more challenging to get a loan in the future. So, even though selling your house may be a difficult decision, it’s still a better choice than the long-term pain of giving your house back to the bank.