You have fallen behind in your mortgage payments and you wonder how long it will be before the mortgage company or bank sends you a notice that they are foreclosing on your home. How long do you have before you are evicted? How can you save your house? Who do you call? What do you do?
I had a biology professor, who was also the football coach, who was fond of saying:
"When in danger
When in Doubt
Run in Circles
Yell and Shout!"
You may feel like doing that, but if you are worried because you haven't made all of your payments and are behind more than 1 month, I recommend a different course of action.
1. As soon as you know that you are going to miss a payment, determine when you can make it, without fail, and call your mortgage company/bank and let them know...
2. If you suffer a work layoff or lose a job, or if you have a two-income household that has suddenly become one income, and believe that you are going to start to fall behind, call the lender and let them know. They may be able to give you additional time, grant a one-time forbearance, and move the payment or maybe even two payments to the end of the loan, so you can get caught-up, or make other arrangements.
3. Assuming that the above issues have been dealt with, or you have gone beyond the point of anticipating a default in payment and have missed 2 or 3 or them, expect to get a"Notice of Default".
4. Every state has its own rules, but there are some big commonalities. The Notice will state how much is owed to get caught up. In Massachusetts, once that Notice is given, the Lender must allow the borrower 90 days to cure the default, and during that period the lender can take no action against the borrower. Other states have differing time period, but almost all have one to give a borrower a chance to catch up. Once that notice is received, the clock is ticking . In reality it has been right along, just more quietly.
5. If your state is a "Non-Judicial" foreclosure state, such as is the case with Massachusetts, there do not have to be any court proceedings to foreclose on your property. You gave the lender the right to foreclose, for non-payment and other things, in your mortgage document itself. There are legal requirements, set up by state statute, but a Court hearing is not one of them. If your state does require Judicial Foreclosures, there will be a hearing, and you will get your day in Court. If a foreclosure is imminent, call an attorney. Most will give you some basic advice of what to do, without charge.
6. If you have problems like the ones mentioned above, or if you believe that your mortgage is not what you thought you were buying, and the payments went up faster and higher than you were promised they would, contact the Loss Mitigation department at the lender/servicer. If you have a legitimate case, you may find that a modification, to get your payments reasonable and deal with the back payments that are owed, can be accomplished without outside intervention. In all cases, do not wait - get help.
7. Gather all of the documents you received at your mortgage closing -purchase or refinance. Anyone who will be helping you will want to see the paperwork you were given, both signed and unsigned.
8. Prepare a realistic list of your monthly expenses, such as mortgage, auto insurance, gasoline, electricity, heating fuel, food, clothes, car payment, etc. Then, prepare a list of your income. Include all sources - wages from employment, child support, alimony, food stamps, any form of disability income, unemployment compensation etc. The reason for this preparation is that any Loss Mitigation department will want that information, along with your most recent taxes, as it considers any request for a modification or forbearance agreement. You do not want to wait one minute longer than you have to in starting the process, so get ready ahead of time.
9. If you do not have luck with direct contact with your lender, call an attorney who handles debt problems. The attorney may have experience in bankruptcy, or real estate, or debtor/creditor work-outs, or a number of other classifications. Just ask when you call as to whether the attorney deals with mortgage problems.
CAUTION: Do Not Fall for the Internet/radio Advertising "Get out of Debt for Pennies on the Dollar" Companies. Most, but not all, are charging for services they cannot provide
10. Think long and hard what sacrifices you are willing to make to keep your home. You will probably have to devote all non-essential income to catching-up on mortgage payments. Be sure it is worth the effort.
11. You may be advised that the only way to save the house is through filing for Bankruptcy Protection. The Bankruptcy laws are in place to protect people who get behind in payments"get over their heads' in debt. Assuming you are not trying to cheat creditors it is your right to use the law to protect you and your family.
If You Have No Entity or Person Locally Who Can Help You, Send Me an E-mail and I Will Refer You to an Agency or Attorney Who Should Be Able to Assist.
e-mail: rii@isacofflaw.com
