How to Deal with Foreclosure Home Auction
Foreclosure home auction is becoming more and more common as homeowners all across the United States struggle to keep up with their mortgage payments. Foreclosure rates in some states have skyrocketed well over fifty percent in the first half of 2008 alone. It is easy to feel as if life as you know it is over when you are facing foreclosure, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Many people may not realize it, but there is always a last ditch chance of saving a home from foreclosure home auction.
Give it Time
Just because a foreclosure notice has been served doesn’t mean that time has run out to save the home, because bank foreclosure auction often takes more time which gives the homeowner more time as well. The process takes months. One alternative to foreclosure home auction is to sell your home before it is too late, and you still have time to do that after the foreclosure notice.
For starters, you can seek foreclosure assistance from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department. Contact them for their free financial counseling services, which could help get you back on track. HUD pays them so you don’t have to. To get connected with the nearest location to you, just call their information line at 1-800-569-4287, or look them up on the internet.
It is always important to know your rights, no matter what your financial situation may be, and a HUD counselor can provide you with those specifics. Given there is still some hope to delay or prevent foreclosure home auction in your situation, the counselor will also advise you on how to do that. A bank or mortgage lender will usually work with a homeowner trying to get back on their feet, because they will lose money if they have to go through the foreclosure process.
Avoid Scams
There are a growing number of scam artists feeding off the desperation of troubled homeowners, usually promising to stop a home for going into foreclosure home auction in exchange for a large up front fee. It’s a rather cruel scam in which they get the up front fee and take off, leaving you even more troubled than you were before. You can tell they are scam artists usually because they claim they can fix your credit record or ask you to falsify some records.
Getting Even is Not Worth It
If it appears inevitable that your house will go to a foreclosure home auction, don’t try to "get even" with the bank by either trashing your home, leaving dead animals or homemade bombs on the property. Instead of getting back at the mortgage lender or bank, you will likely make your own situation harder by facing criminal charges. If you have to give up your pets, please surrender them to your local animal shelter.
Besides, it is just a house. It isn’t necessarily the physical house that makes a warm, loving home. If there is literally no way to save your home, then consider selling it before the auction takes place to limit your long term consequences.
