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Anyone can fall behind on mortgage payments sometimes. No matter the reason, you have to figure out something because you don’t want to be homeless. The good thing is there are a few things you can do if you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage payments, and the following are some things to consider.
Make the Call
A lot of times, homeowners stay quiet about their financial troubles. The last thing they think about is admitting they’re in trouble, especially to their lenders. The reality is that letting the lender know is one of the smartest moves you can make right now. Call your lender and let them know what you’re going through. This may not be the perfect solution, but it might help. Tell them why you’re falling behind on monthly mortgage payments and what you’re willing to do to get back on track. Sometimes, lenders might grant you a grace period. You’ll never know what they can do for you unless you give them a call.
Selling the Property
Another thing you could do is simply sell the property. If you want to continue staying in your home after selling it to give yourself some time, you could even consider a shared mortgage. A shared ownership mortgage with bad credit lets you stay in your home after selling it. This is handy if you don’t see a way out of this other than selling your home. Give the responsibility to someone who can take care of it. If you know there’s no way of fixing your financial issues quickly enough, this might be your only option.
You could also look into a sell my land contract if you have additional land attached to your property that you would be willing to sell to free up money tied up within the property as a whole.
Restructuring the Loan
It may be a good idea to see if you qualify for a loan modification of some sort, or maybe your lender might agree to refinance for you. Both of these allow you to lower how much you’re paying. Sometimes, the only thing you need is a little time to get back on your feet. This may be easier to do if you spend a little less. The reality is your lender wants to stay with you, especially if you’ve been keeping up with your payments for a long time. They would prefer to stay with a trustworthy homeowner, so you do have some leverage. Whatever deal you come up with, be sure to stick with it.
State Assistance
Every state has some kind of resource for homeowners in trouble. It might be time for you to use these resources. You’re looking for a Foreclosure Prevention Fund program. This is for homeowners who are in trouble. What you’re going to need to do is work with these folks and be as honest as possible about your financial problems. Assistance doesn’t come easy, so you’re going to have to be patient with them, but hopefully, they’ll end up helping you. It can feel pretty bad to ask for help, but there’s no shame in asking for it if you’ve got no other option. America wants homeowners, so they’ll do their best to help.
Chapter 13
The last thing you can do is file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This is one of the last options you should consider, but you should consider it if you’ve got nothing else. If you tried everything here and still don’t see a way out, then you’re going to have to declare bankruptcy. Doing this will put you in a financial hole for many years, but at least you might be able to keep your property.
Now, it doesn’t wipe out what you owe, but it does stop any foreclosure proceedings that might have gotten started. If you go this route, you must pay your mortgage every time without fail. If you do fail, everything is taken away from you, and that’s not good.
These are some things you could do to catch up on your mortgage payments. Some of these options aren’t ideal, but this isn’t an ideal situation, so just choose what helps you the most and hurts you the least.
