All around the country many homes are in foreclosure or one payment away from being there. This is a fact of life for thousands of people due to financial hardship caused by job loss, injury or relational problems. Many will just give up on their dreams without knowing there is information and programs available to help you save your home.



Here are a few ways you may be able to keep your home:

1. Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!: Believe it or not! Something as simple as communicating with your lender the unfortunate circumstances which have caused you to get behind, could help save your home. Most lenders would rather work with the homeowners to help them keep their home then foreclose on the home. Lenders are in business to make money and they earn there money by collecting interest on the loans they have made not foreclosing on properties.

2. Special Forbearance Agreement: This when a lender agrees to postpone or delay starting the foreclosure process to give you (the borrower) a chance to catch up on late or missed payments. If you are sure that the reason you fell behind on your payments are over this may be a good option for you.

3. Partial Claim (for FHA Loans ONLY): This is an agreement between you and your lender (working along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) stating they will agree to help you with a one-time payment, from the FHA Insurance fund to bring you current on your loan. You may qualify if your loan is at least 4 months delinquent but not to exceed 12 months. You must be able to begin making your full mortgage payment on time.

4. Loan modification: A loan modification is a change in any of the terms of the original note. Generally, a lender will consider a loan modification when foreclosure is eminent and the borrower's income has been decreased or he is unable to make the mortgage payments, but will be able to keep the loan current after the loan modification.

5. Investor: Sell your home to an investor and lease it back with an option. This will allow you immediate access to cash while continuing to stay in the property. This will also keep your credit history in good standing. This is a decision to consider when you need cash in a hurry and you do not have time to refinance. Please understand you must be in the position to begin making your new payments on time.

6. Private Party Lenders: This is something to consider when need to refinance to pull cash out but your credit score is low and you do not qualify with other lenders and banks. Keep in mind the interest rate will be higher than other lending institutions. However, if you are temporarily in a bind and you need some cash to put you back on track. This may be the way to go.

7. Repayment Plan: This is an agreement with the lender which adds a portion of the unpaid payments to your regular monthly payments to allow you to catch up and become current. This option is best for someone who recently recovered from a short term financial problem and is now capable of making the regular monthly payments.

Before you give up think long and hard about if you really want to keep your home. Then consider if any of these options would work for you.