When you fall behind on your mortgage payments on your Norman home, it can feel like you’re drowning in debt.
Even if you’re able to make your monthly payment, catching up on a past due balance can be an overwhelming challenge.
There are a few options that can help you to avoid foreclosure in Norman, Oklahoma and maybe even keep your house, even if you’re seriously behind in payments. Lots of properties in Norman, OK have been lost to foreclosure, but there are many ways to avoid it.
Help, I’m Behind in My Mortgage Payments in Norman! A Few Things You Can Do Now To Help Your Situation
1. Bankruptcy:
This is usually the tool of last resort. If you’re being crushed by lots of debt, bankruptcy can be a good way to negotiate with lots of lenders at once. It’s a lot of work, and it won’t help you avoid your mortgage. Different lenders will treat your circumstances in unique ways. You’d benefit from serious professional help – the best you can afford.
2. Loan Modification or Forbearance:
This can be a good card to play, but it may come with some unseen penalties. A loan modification is a change in your loan terms and is a type of loss mitigation for your lender. Sometimes they can put the payments on hold or rework your loan by adding the arrears to the back of the loan and have you start making payments on the new amount moving forward.
3. Making Home Affordable (MFA):
If your mortgage qualifies, you might be able to participate in MHA. Any loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must be considered for MHA, and other lenders choose to participate in MFA.
With MFA, your payments and/or interest rates might be lowered – even the principal balance (if your home is worth less than you owe). If you’re unemployed, you might be able to get your payments temporarily suspended or reduced.
MFA is a government program, so be prepared to deal with lots of paperwork. It ain’t free money – you gotta work for it.
4. Negotiate with your bank:
Lots of lenders routinely offer some level of assistance. You have to work hard at it, but you might be able to get your interest rate reduced or a temporary reduction in your payment.
Most of the time, lenders will want to steer you to refinance your loan – but by the time you’re a few payments behind, you probably don’t qualify for a reduction in interest rate.
You have to work really hard to negotiate with a bank. Usually, it takes lots of calls and the patience of a saint to get through the bureaucracy. Never, ever act rude. Ask for help from everyone you speak with, but don’t sound desperate. Explain your situation, offer supporting documents, and reassure the bank that you want to live in your home for the long term.
If you’re in need of a temporary fix and want to stay in your home, most banks can be forgiving. Sometimes they’ll be willing to add a few months of payments back onto the primary balance of your loan. It’s all dollars and cents to them, so remind them that you need their help to give them a lot more money in the long run. If they have to sell your house at a foreclosure auction, they’ll take a huge loss. And, so will you.
That sounds obvious, but for some reason, bankers seem to forget it when saying no to someone in need of help.
5. Borrow money from a private investor:
If you’re behind on payments and need to sell fast, we can help. We buy houses in Norman. If you’ve exhausted your other options and decided selling is your best bet then contact us right away so we can put a stop to the foreclosure in Norman and put some cash in your pocket before it’s all lost to the sheriff’s sale.
Even if we don’t buy your house we’ll still use our years of experience to help out in any way we can.
We work with homeowners in Norman, Oklahoma to find solutions to foreclosure problems.
We’ll let you know how we can help.