Maybe you are one of those millions of people who is facing foreclosure and wondering, “Can I stop the foreclosure on my house?”
Not only can you delay a foreclosure, but in some cases, you can stop foreclosure altogether.
As a homeowner, you have certain options available for you to stop foreclosure, even if you have already received a Notice of Intent (NOI). Knowing what options you have could be the difference between keeping or losing your home.
We understand the stress that this process can put on someone, which is why we recommend working with an attorney. Josh Denbeaux is an experienced foreclosure attorney familiar with the New Jersey foreclosure process. He works with his clients to keep their homes or stay as long as possible.
No one should have to deal with the stress of potentially losing their home. Keep reading to learn more about how to stop foreclosure immediately, or contact us today for a free phone consultation and to see what the lawyers at Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law can do for you.
How to Avoid Foreclosure in NJ
When trying to avoid foreclosure, it’s important to act as soon as possible. The faster you start working to avoid foreclosure, the more options you’ll have. If you think you are going to struggle to make your mortgage bills, you should consider applying for a loan modification to lower your monthly mortgage payments.
Defaulting on a mortgage is when you are more than 30 days late on a mortgage payment. When you are more than 90 days late, the lender can send you a notice of default or an NOI. If you’ve already received an NOI, you may still have options to stop the foreclosure on your home.
The easiest way to avoid foreclosure is to reinstate your mortgage. We understand this may not be an option for everyone, but it’s highly recommended for homeowners who are financially able to unless you believe there has been a mistake in processing payments. Paying the amount you owe on your mortgage can stop the foreclosure proceedings at any point up until the home is sold.
Applying for a loan modification is another reliable option to avoid foreclosure. A loan modification is a change to the terms of your mortgage. If you are wondering if a loan modification is a good idea for you, consulting an experienced foreclosure attorney may help you decide the best course of action.
As soon as an application for a loan modification is submitted and while the application is being reviewed, a lender cannot take any steps toward foreclosure. A lender moving forward with the foreclosure process while a loan modification process is under review is referred to as dual tracking and violates federal law. Dual tracking is one of many mortgage servicer violations that can void foreclosure claims by lenders.
Forbearance is another option that can help avoid foreclosure. A forbearance is an agreement made with a lender to temporarily lower or pause a mortgage payment. If you’re using forbearance to avoid foreclosure, you should be aware that you will still have to make your total mortgage payment when the period is over.
Similar to forbearance and loan modifications, repayment plans are another option that homeowners can pursue. Repayment plans are a great option if you’ve missed a couple of mortgage payments due to a short-term financial hardship. While it may offer some financial relief for a certain amount of time, it still requires that the borrower continues making mortgage payments on a consistent basis.
Finally, one of the best tips to avoid foreclosure is to consider working with a foreclosure defense attorney like those at Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law. Foreclosure is a complicated and time-sensitive process. Rather than dealing with it alone, you can have peace of mind knowing your house is in the hands of a trusted and experienced lawyer. Through our approach, we’ve helped clients obtain mortgage modifications, dismissals of foreclosure actions, cash for key settlement offers, and much more.
How To Stop Foreclosure
Although foreclosure can be a long and complicated process, it isn’t impossible to stop. That’s why knowing your options as a homeowner under foreclosure is so important. Here are 4 ways to stop foreclosure immediately:
1. Pay Off the Entire Loan
If you want to stop foreclosure on your home immediately, one of the fastest ways to do it is to pay off the entire loan. Paying off your entire mortgage loan will bring your loan current, meaning you don’t owe anything else on your home. This might not be possible for everyone, but this option is available for those who can afford it and want to stop foreclosure in its tracks.
2. Get Up-to-Date On Payments
If you are able to pay the sum of missed payments and late fees on your loan, do it. This will stop the foreclosure process as long as the homeowner is able to keep making payments. Banks care about their money, so as long as you stay and continue to stay up-to-date on payments, foreclosure on your house will stop.
That being said, if you end up in trouble again on payments, you could put your home further at risk so it may be time to explore the next option, a loan modification, in addition to paying your missed payments.
3. Get A Loan Modification
A loan modification allows you to modify the loan that you owe to your lender. This could mean splitting up the payments into smaller amounts or giving you more time to pay it off. Lenders are allowed to deny the modification, but usually, they will approve this option for you because, most of the time they’d rather have the money than go through the process of foreclosing on your house.
If you decide to go the route of trying to modify your loan, be aware that banks are notorious for trying all kinds of games to maximize their investments. While regulations have gotten a lot better for homeowners since the Great Recession, there’s so much room for improvement you should consider hiring a loan modification attorney to better protect your rights as a homeowner.
4. Sell Your Home In A Short Sale
Properties under foreclosure can still be sold prior to the sheriff’s sale. You’ll probably think of what’s called a short sale as a common solution to foreclosure. Selling your home at the right price and within the right time frame will pay off your loan and stop the foreclosure.
While it is possible to sell your house yourself, selling isn’t always the best solution to avoiding foreclosure. Not only will you likely miss out on some of the value of your home to sell it quickly, but you may also miss opportunities to keep your home through the foreclosure process.
What If Those Options Don’t Work To Stop Foreclosure?
Foreclosures can be a scary process, especially with the end of pandemic protections just around the corner. Knowing that there are options available for homeowners to stop mortgage foreclosures could make the difference between being able to keep your home or losing it.
We understand that even with these options available, they may not be the best choices for your particular situation. Maybe you can’t get current on payments, have already been denied a loan modification, or can’t get out from under your home for one reason or another.
Keep in mind, these options aren’t the only ones to stop a foreclosure on your home.
During the foreclosure process, you can start an investigation into what your mortgage servicer has done in the process. If there are violations, which are very common, you may be able to stop the foreclosure process and keep your home permanently.
As a homeowner you may be wondering if an attorney can stop a foreclosure. The short answer, an experienced foreclosure defense attorney can work with homeowners to find options that can help stop their foreclosure.
At Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law, our foreclosure defense attorneys are ready to answer all of your questions and work with you through the foreclosure process to help you make the right choices for your situation.
Start The Process to Stop Foreclosure Today
Although homeowners can handle the foreclosure process alone, it can be a long and difficult process especially for someone who doesn’t know all of the options to stop foreclosure.
Joshua Denbeaux is an experienced foreclosure defense attorney who is familiar with the process and works with homeowners to find a way to stop foreclosure. We have helped clients going through foreclosure figure out their options and navigate the foreclosure process with ease.
Wondering how you can stop foreclosure on your home? Contact Joshua Denbeaux for a free phone consultation today.
