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Foreclosure assistance is available for homeowners in Eugene. Federal and local programs can help homeowners like you before you lose your home.
Before you contact any agency or program, you should contact your lender. Often the hardest step, contacting your mortgage company allows your lender to offer foreclosure assistance and let you know what, if any, loss mitigation options are available. Loss mitigation allows the lender to offer loan modification and other options that will prevent foreclosure on your home.
Prepare to provide the following information when you contact your bank:
- Why you can’t pay your mortgage.
- Whether your problem is temporary or permanent.
- Income, expense, and other assets that you have.
- If you’ve received permanent change of station status as a service member.
There are many forms of foreclosure assistance. Once your lender has collected your information, they will review your circumstance against their available programs. Your bank may offer you one of the following options:
Loan Modification
A loan modification is the permanent restructuring of your home loan. The bank modifies your loan to provide a more affordable payment. They may lower the interest rate, convert the interest rate from variable to fixed, extend the length of the loan, or any combination those terms.
Contact a housing counselor to guide you through the loan modification process, if one if offered. A counselor will represent you through the loan modification process and will help you challenge any denials with a counteroffer, if appropriate.
Short Sale
A short sale is a sale approved by your lender for less money than what is owed for the mortgage. If your lender approves the short sale, you attempt to sell your property as in any other property sale. Normally, you will reach out to a Realtor who specializes in short sales and the house is marketed as a short sale.
Short sales may protect the seller’s credit, but it’s important to know that it is notoriously difficult to achieve all the components that make the sale successful.
Forbearance
Sometime a lender will allow a homeowner to make up delinquent payments. The lender may opt to suspend the mortgage temporarily to allow the homeowner time to make up the delinquency or they could allow additional payments on the loan.
Forbearance may help you if you believe that your financial hardship is a temporary one. It is also less damaging to your credit while you get back on your feet.
You Have Options
The state of Oregon has specific requirements for mortgage loan modification. Likewise, there are federal guidelines meant to help homeowners with foreclosure assistance.
Mitigation options can help keep you in your home. You have other options, too. The U.S. government has information to help you if you’re facing foreclosure.
There’s foreclosure assistance available to you. We’ve previously discussed them here, here, and here. Explore your options, and then make a plan to keep your home.
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