How to Stop Foreclosure - A Guide for Homeowners

Do you know how to stop foreclosure? If you are one of the millions of Americans who are on the downside of their homes loans and have no way out, this is a question you must ask yourself. The problem is not going to go away. If you don�t answer it properly, you could lose your house and even face homelessness. For that reason, I�m going to show you how to stop foreclosure.

First of all, you need to understand how we got into this situation. When real estate prices were steadily going up, banks were trying to attract as many people into loans as possible. Some people wanted to buy big, nice homes. Other people wanted any home, but they had bad marks on their credit. Still others simply couldn�t qualify for a home under a traditional mortgage program.

For these reasons, lenders such as Countrywide developed �creative financing� to get people into homes that they really couldn�t afford. One of the ways they did this was to offer limited time period �interest only� or �no interest� loans. After two years, the loans re-set and the homeowner could no longer afford the mortgage.

When home prices were consistently going up, the theory was that homeowners could just refinance the mortgage. But, when the bottom fell out of the housing market, homeowners could no longer obtain attractive rates of financing. Now, the question was how to stop foreclosure.

But the banks themselves also had to ask how to stop foreclosure. Suddenly, they were faced with a situation where assets (performing loans) were becoming liabilities (non-performing loans and bank owned homes) on their balance sheets. This caused their stock prices to plummet.

Washington, too, had to ask how to stop foreclosure because they were having to bail out the banks. There is even talk of nationalizing some portions of the financial sector. The federal government is using the carrot and the stick approach to force banks to modify loans.

This is good news for you if you are wondering how to stop foreclosure. Now banks have every reason to work with you to keep you in your home. They are increasingly willing to talk to homeowners even before their mortgage falls delinquent.

If you have found yourself in a mortgage that got reset and can no longer afford the home, you need to talk to your lender about your options right away. There are many types of loan modifications that can help you stay in your home.

If you have a loan underwritten by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the banks have to work with you under a specific set of guidelines outlined by the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

There are more and more answers to the question of how to stop foreclosure. The important thing, though, is that you find the answer that is right for you as soon as possible so that you don�t miss the boat and get forced out of your home.