“I’m behind in my mortgage payments in Ventura County and need help!”
When you fall behind in your mortgage payments on your Ventura County home, it can create a stressful situation. Even if you can afford to make the monthly payments, it can be extremely difficult to catch up on the past due balance.
If you’re looking to avoid foreclosure in Ventura County and maybe even keep your house, there are a few options you can pursue, even if you’re seriously behind in payments. Some Ventura County residents just give up and lose their house to foreclosure, but you can take steps to avoid that.
1. Communicate with your bank:
Believe it or not, most lenders do not want to foreclose on your home. Not only are they not in the business of owning homes, the foreclosure process costs them a lot of time and money. Most lenders will offer some level of assistance by either reducing your interest rate or granting a temporary reduction in your payment.
Although your lender may be willing to negotiate with you, it still takes a lot of hard work and patience to get this done. There will normally be a lot of paperwork and phone calls back and forth. During the first phone call with them, you should explain your situation and let them know that you want to try and work something out. If they are favorable to this, they will probably ask you to provide them a lot of documentation so that they can have a good picture of your financial situation.
Just remember, negotiating with your bank will probably be your best solution. If they are willing to negotiate, you should make every effort possible to see the process through.
2. Borrow money from a private investor:
Many people don’t know this, but there are actually private investors out there who loan money to homeowners. So instead of paying a mortgage to a bank, you would be making your monthly payment to the investor. In this case, the investor will most likely pay off your remaining balance to the bank and then you would start making your monthly payment to the investor. Although this will save you from foreclosure, the downside is you will most likely be paying a higher interest rate than you would be paying a bank. You also normally need a good chunk of equity in order for a private investor to feel comfortable enough providing the loan.
3. Making Home Affordable (MFA):
Although the Making Home Affordable program stopped accepting new applications on December 30th, 2016, they can still help you find a housing counselor to help you with your situation. You can click here to find out more about how a counselor may be able to help you or you can call them at 888-995-HOPE (4673).
4. Bankruptcy:
Bankruptcy is another option you can pursue, but you might want to consider this as your last resort. If you have other debt besides your mortgage, this could be a good option for you. We are not bankruptcy experts, so unfortunately we cannot provide much advice on bankruptcy other than to inform you that this is an option.
Ventura County Real Estate Solutions
At Dream Home Property Solutions, LLC, we help Ventura County residents with any and all of their real estate needs. If you need to sell your house fast, we can buy your house for cash in as little as 10 days. We have helped Ventura County residents with short sales and also preventing foreclosure. Everyone’s situation is unique, so we’ll let you know how we can help.