Jacksonville Real Estate Ramblings: Foreclosure in Jacksonville & Orange Park Florida Part 3

In our first blog Foreclosure in Jacksonville & Orange Park Florida we talked about some of the reasons you find your self in foreclosure and in Foreclosure in Jacksonville & Orange Park Florida part 2, we talked more about the time line.

Today, I'm going to discuss some options available to you.  Let's start with the first option and the one you don't want to do:

Do Nothing-  When you're faced with the possibility of losing your home and your stress level has hit an all time high, you might want to throw in the towel, move out and let your house go into foreclosure. Then it's over, done with, a chapter in the book written and time for the new chapter to begin (unless your house is sold for less than the loan amount at the auction and you receive a deficiency notice saying you still owe the difference) However, you're faced with a foreclosure on your credit for about 7 years. It will be difficult to purchase a home again with foreclosure on your credit. You may decide not to buy a house, but having a foreclosure can affect other things, for example car insurance. You will pay more with poor credit then you would if you had good credit.

Refinance- You may be able to refinance your existing loan, however with the subprime lending in it's current state, that may be difficult or nearly impossible.

Reinstatement- You pay the entire default amount including attorney fees, late fees, before your house goes to auction.

Loan Modification- Your mortgage company may be able to extend the terms of your loan. 

Forbearance- The lender may agree to provide a temporary payment reduction or suspension of payments.

Partial Claim- A loan from the lender for a second loan to include back payments, costs and fees. 

Deed in lieu of foreclosure- You give the property back to your lender without going to foreclosure. This option could be as damaging to your credit as a foreclosure.

Bankruptcy- This could aloow you more time and get rid of some of your debt. This may affect your credit for 7-10 years.

Sale- You can sell your home before your house goes to auction, it's possible to sell it even if you don't have enough equity. Your agent may be able to negotiate a short sale (when the bank accepts less than what you owe on your mortgage) with your lender.

I hope that you walk away with some knowledge to help you decide which path you need to take. If you would like more information you can find additional free reports detailing some of the options above at www.pamgraham.com, under our avoid foreclosure section.