Need help? Don’t know where to start?
There are various reasons why you might be behind on your mortgage payments in San Antonio, regardless of the cause of your delay, it’s a situation that can make you feel like you’re drowning in debt.
At times, you might manage to stay afloat by making monthly payments, but you face a real challenge if you’re looking to catch up on past due balances, and you may feel truly overwhelmed by this reality.
However, all is not lost; there are some options that can help you avoid foreclosure in San Antonio and maybe even keep your house, even if you’re severely behind on your payments. Many properties have been lost in San Antonio due to payment default, so let’s explore what options are available to you so you don’t become part of this statistic.
5 Things You Can Doin San Antonio!
1. Declare Bankruptcy
This should be seen as a last resort as it is a resource for extreme cases. While it may provide immediate and temporary relief, it has future consequences. However, if you are overwhelmed by many debts, bankruptcy can be a good way to negotiate with multiple lenders at once.
It’s important to consider that this requires a lot of work and won’t help you avoid the mortgage, but it can help you get different lenders to treat your circumstances uniquely. You would benefit from serious professional help, the best you can afford.
2. Reaffirm your loan:
Another option is to reaffirm a loan, which can be a good card to play, but some factors should be considered before doing so. Reaffirming a loan means that you are opting to continue paying the mortgage debt, despite being in bankruptcy.
This can be beneficial if you’re looking to maintain ownership of the property associated with the loan, in this case, your home. This is of great benefit when the property has significant value and you wish to keep it in the long term. However, this may result in an additional and potentially significant financial burden.
3. Making Home Affordable Program (MFA):
You may have already heard of MHA (Making Home Affordable), if not, here’s the simplest explanation. MHA is a government program designed to assist homeowners who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments.
If your mortgage qualifies, you might be able to participate in MHA. All loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must be considered for MHA, and other lenders choose to participate in MFA.
Among the benefits of this program, you’ll find that your payments and/or interest rates might be lowered, even the principal balance (if your home’s value is lower than what you owe). If you’re unemployed, you might be able to temporarily suspend or reduce your payments.
This program could be very helpful for you, just remember that MFA is a government program, so be prepared to deal with a lot of paperwork. It’s not free money; you have to 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.
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 all the above options are overwhelming, and more than you can handle right now, if you’re behind on your payments and need to sell fast, we can help. In certain circumstances, we may even be able to help you stay in your home. We work with homeowners in San Antonio to find solutions to foreclosure problems. Get in touch with us, and we’ll let you know how we can assist you.