Looking to Avoid or Stop Foreclosure?

If you find yourself facing this issue, before you make any decisions it is worth gathering as much information as you can. The foreclosure process is a rather lenghty one so if you start early time is on your side. One of the first things you need to consider is do you want to stay in your home?

If you do, then the first thing is to find out where you are with the bank or banks. Find out exactly home much you owe. It may not be as much as you think and you may be in a position to pay what you owe and keep the home. Most people can't do this, but it's worth mentioning if you're getting a new job or have some savings or a 401k that you could use.

The other choice is to speak with the bank about a loan modification. Banks would rather keep you in the home and work with you than foreclose on you. If you apply for loan modification make sure you understand the terms before you sign anything. It never hurts to have an attorney look over the paperwork.

If you don't want to stay but want to try to keep your credit somewhat intact you can do a short sale. The process is very involved, so make sure you hire a real estate agent that understands the complexities of the process and will help to guide you through it from start to finish. The benefit of a short sale is that the seller has the opportunity to settle with all parties involved. By doing this you will not have to worry about the banks coming after you once the short sale is done with the correct negotiations.

Please feel free to watch the attached video for more information.

Tom Sommers is a real estate agent with Edina Realty. He can be reached at 952-994-7204.