For everybody who is dealing with financial dilemma and fear the loss of your home, realize you’re not alone. Just like millions of other homeowners, you could have lost a job or suffered a pay cut, your adjustable rate mortgage could have reset so you can’t afford the payment, or falling property values mean it’s not possible to refinance. It might seem that bankruptcy, foreclosure and loss of your house is inevitable. One answer doesn’t cover every scenario, and you will have options that include keeping the house while you work through financial challenges. Explore all options before concluding that all will be lost in foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Your loan payment, which could include amounts for property insurance and taxes, is perhaps the largest single bill you have to pay each and every month. The check covers your housing needs, plus it presents an investment for most homeowners – you can find financial and emotional aspects also. If you cannot make your mortgage repayments, you need to have a hard assessment of your situation, financially and otherwise, and decide on an alternative that’s the right one for you. Consulting a bankruptcy or real estate lawyer in your area can help with your decision-making process.

Consider All Options

This is a set of options and factors you will need to consider:

• What is the degree of your financial crisis – is there a predominant element, like a job loss, or is paying one particular debt at the root of the financial problems, like medical bills or your mortgage?
• Is your financial crisis non permanent, such as a short period of unemployment or underemployment, or is there a lasting change, like a disability that may affect your earning power on a long-term basis?
• How much equity is in your house?
• How does the value of your house compare to the debt it secures – do you owe more than the house is worth?
• How does your current home meet your housing needs – is it the right size, what are the ongoing maintenance and ownership costs, and does the location meet your lifestyle, family, and employment needs?
• Is home ownership the best way to meet your housing needs? Do you have the abilities and resources needed to own the place in which you currently live?
• If you want to keep your home, have all options for loan modification been explored?
• If you don’t want to keep your home, have you tried to sell it, either through conventional means or through a short sale?
• Is your lender willing to pursue foreclosure alternatives, such as accepting a deed in lieu of foreclosure?
• Have foreclosure proceedings started, and if so, how far along is the process?
• Would you qualify Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief?
• Do you have other debts, and could those debts be discharged or restructured through bankruptcy?

Making Home Affordable Relief

Just before reaching the critical stage of bankruptcy or foreclosure, discover if refinancing or changing your mortgage is a viable option. In reaction to widespread economic crises suffered by so many homeowners, the Making Home Affordable program offers relief. Financialstability.gov is a government Website that makes data available about eligibility along with the process to getting help. The Site includes an interactive tool for helping determine whether you’re eligible for relief.

Making Home Affordable has two types of relief:

1.Home Affordable Refinancing for homeowners who have loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This targets people who haven’t got a possibility to refinance their mortgages at today’s substantially low rates because of dropping home values, leaving them “underwater” along with a mortgage balance that’s above the house value

2.Home Affordable Modification for homeowners who can’t afford their mortgage payments owing to loss or decrease in income, increased mortgage rates or who don’t get a Home Affordable Refinancing. The program aims to modify your mortgage terms and to bring the payment within an affordable range

Start by contacting your lender or loan servicer, butbe patient and persistent. These programs are new, and lenders must work to quickly implement the programs and the demand is high. In case you don’t qualify for these programs, work with your lender to find a solution. Avoiding foreclosure is generally best for all parties.

For help with a Columbus Georgia bankruptcy, select a Columbus bankruptcy lawyer. A Columbus Georgia bankruptcy lawyer could give you the help you need.