There are not as many foreclosures in Georgia as there has been in the past 10 years, But there are still people that have to fight foreclosure every month. Learning what to do and how foreclosure works will help.
So what is a pre-foreclosure in Warner Robins anyway?
Many homeowners across America and Warner Robins are facing difficulties making their monthly mortgage payments. It happens. Car repairs, medical bills, job downsizing all cause people to stumble on their payments.
When a homeowner misses 3-6 months of mortgage payments, the lending institution will issue a warning, notifying the homeowner to pay or lose their home. In Georgia, It’s called a “notice of default”. This period is known as “pre-foreclosure.”
Banks and mortgage lenders typically provide three months for the homeowner to become current. Of course this number can vary by bank and situation sometimes. In Georgia, Once a notice is sent, the home can be foreclosed on in four weeks. That’s why it is hard to fight foreclosure in Georgia, because our process time is one of the shortest in the country.
If a homeowner fails to make the necessary payments, the bank will foreclose on the home, assuming ownership, and evict the homeowner. Thankfully, during this stage of the foreclosure process, a mortgage holder has the opportunity to fight the foreclosure and take advantage of several options to prevent losing their home.
Pre-foreclosure Options for Borrowers
If you’re behind on mortgage payments, you’re likely to receive a “notice of default” from your mortgage lender.
This document will state that you have not made mortgage payments for the last 90-180 days. It’s important not to panic.
You have options that can delay or even prevent losing your home:
- If your mortgage is “above water,” (meaning you have equity in your house) you may be able to refinance your mortgage, receiving lower monthly payments. Check with your local Warner Robins mortgage broker… or contact us and we can connect you with a reputable one.
- You may be able to quickly sell your home to a real estate investor that’s reputable in Warner Robins like us at Real Estate Problem Solver, using the cash acquired to pay the months of back-payments owed (or we *may* be able to work out something with the lender that relieves all or part of your back payments.We can buy your Warner Robins Georgia area home quickly, often in just a week or two, will pay in cash, and takes the stress out of trying to find a buyer. We are home buyers.
- You can contact the bank and ask them to permit a short sale. In a short sale, you’ll sell your home for less than what you owe, and the bank will take the loss as a tax write-off. If you are not careful and negotiate it in writing, the bank may hold you accountable for the difference of what is owed to the bank if the house doesn’t sell for what is owed on the loan. This has gotten many people in trouble when trying to fight a foreclosure.
- You may be able to declare bankruptcy, which can buy you time to pay your debt. BUT, Bankruptcy and a foreclosure will remain on your credit report for up to seven years, and can cause significant damage. This will prevent you from buying another house for at least 4-5 years. That’s why saving your credit, even if you can’t afford to keep the house, is a good option. It allows you to buy another house sooner than if you file bankruptcy or let a foreclosure win.
Lenders are very much aware of the financial troubles still going on across the country and they’re willing to work with borrowers a lot of the time.
If you’re honest and communicate with your lender, you’ll often find that there are options that will allow you to remain in your home, or at least salvage your credit rating.
A foreclosure can often negatively affect your credit score by 200-400 points and can prevent you from obtaining a loan of any sort for 5-7 years, so be very dutiful if you’ve received a Notice of Default from your lender.
But if you’re not able to find a solution with your lender working directly with them… connect with us. We may be able to help.
Ways We Can Help If You’re In Pre-Foreclosure
- We can potentially help with a short sale – Submit your info on this website so we can evaluate your situation to see if we can help.
- We can buy your Warner Robins area house – We buy houses in Warner Robins and would love to make you an all-cash offer on your house too. Even ugly houses. Just fill out the form here to get started >>
- You can ask us questions and we can provide you FREE guidance and resources so you can make a well educated decision. This costs you nothing, there’s absolutely no pressure, no obligation… just free guidance without a catch.
If you’re in the pre-foreclosure stage… you’ve still got about a month to fix this situation. Don’t sit around hoping avoid foreclosure on your own.
Just connect with your bank to see if they’re willing to work with you… or contact us if you’d like to see what we can buy your house for or to tap into our free foreclosure foreclosure resources.
