To stop foreclosure in Texas – or any other city in America, there are basically only a few legitimate options to stop foreclosure. Some of these you might have already known, and some might be new to you.
- Sell your house prior to the foreclosure auction. The value of this idea will vary heavily depending on the nature and quality of your local real estate market. If you’re in a market that still has very slow resale rates, selling your home could be a challenge. Do a little research online or ask your local real estate agent to determine the average number of days on the market for properties in your area.
- Initiate a loan modification. A loan modification is a process through which your lender changes the payment terms of your loan to more closely match your ability to pay. While this is not a guarantee, loan modifications have become more popular in the last 12 months.
- Refinance the property. If you are not yet fully into the foreclosure process but have reason to expect you will fall behind on your payments, it may be wise to try to refinance your mortgage to a lower rate. If your property is worth less than the balance of the mortgage, you’ll want to inquire regarding a “short refinance”, which is when a lender forgives a portion of the debt against you in order for you to refinance your property and pay off the remainder of the debt you owe. A lender might do this because it is more cost effective than foreclosure proceedings.
- Source: Stop Foreclosure Houston
When you’re trying to stop a foreclosure and time is against you, the key is to know your options and act fast. Never think you are either too good to ask for help or too far in the hole to get out.
Remember, often times lenders look for ways to avoid foreclosure and attempt to work with you to minimize losses and avoid many of the costly and inconvenient issues when your mortgages go into a foreclosure situation.
Just about the only thing you need is to be very wary of people who aggressively attempt to purchase your home for investment purposes. While there are many legitimate real estate investors, there has been a significant amount of foreclosure scams in Texas, and it is wise to be extremely careful.
On the other hand, if you are in the market for foreclosures, preforeclosures, tax liens and distressed properties, take advantage our real-time free foreclosure listings – the latest and most up-to-date nationwide database of 1.2 million listings.