WikiHow has a primer on saving your home from foreclosure. If you find yourself unable to make payments…

3. Contact your lender immediately… Lenders generally don’t want to foreclose on properties, and they’ll generally be willing to work with you if you make a good-faith effort to make payments and if your inability to do so is temporary. You will most likely need to provide the lender with bank statements and other financial documents so that they can review your financial situation. They may agree to extend your grace period for late payments or to allow you to skip anywhere from 1-6 payments over a 1-2 year period (a forbearance). They might also accept reduced payments for up to 18 months. Bear in mind that these remedies are all temporary, and you’ll need to “play catch-up” once you’re back on your feet.

The advice holds true for most lending situations. The worst thing to do is to try and duck the debt or ignore correspondence. Even if they can only get a dollar out of you per week, creditors just need to be paid and are willing to work it out with you if you’re up front about the situation. — BEN POPKEN

How to Save Your Home from Foreclosure [WikiHow]
(Photo: Casey Serin)

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