Preventing Foreclosure: It’s Easier Than You Think

Published by julia | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Real Estate, Shout Outs

Is preventing foreclosure possible once the bank has filed a lis pendens on you? You bet it is! Lots of people save their homes after the lis pendens is filed. Those who don’t simply don’t understand what the lis pendens is and get scared that they must leave their homes when they get that paperwork. The fact is, you can often stay in your home for a year or even more after the lis pendens is filed. The lis pendens is simply the bank’s notice to you that it intends to foreclose. It is NOT a foreclosure and you still own your home up until the moment it is sold at auction. This gives you plenty of time to save it.

Preventing foreclosure is easier than you think. The first thing you should do if you are behind on your payments and have gotten the lis pendens notice is to answer it. Too many people ignore it, and this allows the bank to ask the court for an immediate judgment against you. You can actually lose your home more quickly if you don’t answer the legal paperwork. By answering, you’re delaying the foreclosure and giving yourself more time to find a way to keep your home.

Next, you should talk to your bank as soon as possible. Remember, banks are in the business of lending money, not maintaining houses, and they don’t like to have the added expense of a house on their books. Keeping a house means maintaining the lawn and the interior, showing it to prospective buyers, and paying taxes on it. Banks want YOU to do all of that, so they are very willing to work out payment arrangements with you, even up to putting your missed payments on the end of your loan and allowing you to resume payments without paying anything back right away. Your options are almost endless these days.

If you want to go about preventing foreclosure, it really just takes a few simple steps. Determine if you can afford to stay in your home, then answer that lis pendens and talk to the bank. It really can be that simple.

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