If you lost your job or were temporarily furloughed because of COVID-19 (or for any reason), maintaining your housing payments can become a burden. Are you struggling to stay afloat? Before you accept your foreclosure fate, consider the places you can get foreclosure help in Sacramento. You may be able to avoid losing your home and getting a major ding on your credit.
Here are four places to turn when you’re under water with housing payments. Most help you stay, but one offers a way out of the property without hitting the point of foreclosure. Foreclosure help in Sacramento may be closer than you think.
1. Reach out for government support
You may be surprised at the amount of programs and resources available to you as a Sacramento homeowner facing financial difficulty. This may be the best first step when you’re seeking foreclosure help in Sacramento. The California Housing Finance Agency offers advice to both renters and homeowners. You may also want to find a HUD-approved housing counselor who can guide you toward the right assistance programs in your zip code.
2. Consider bankruptcy
As NOLO explains, filing for personal bankruptcy will cause an automatic stay to be placed on any ongoing foreclosure. This gives you a little bit of time to breathe and strategize for how you can get current on your mortgage payments. The bank may file in court to have the stay lifted, but you will still have one to two months of relief before the foreclosure is final. With your other debts erased, could you get up to date on your mortgage? If so, bankruptcy may be a viable option for avoiding foreclosure. Be sure to contact an attorney to see if this option is in your best interest before you file; your attorney will also facilitate the entire process if you move forward.
3. Apply for a loan modification
Were you up to date on your loan until recently? If you’ve built a positive history overall but recently hit hard times, reach out and try to negotiate the terms of your loan. A modified loan can extend the life of the loan, lowering payments, and/or give you a lower interest rate. This process is not guaranteed to be approved — but it’s always worth a shot if you want to avoid foreclosure and think your lender will work with you. In almost all successful loan modification processes, the homeowner is able to achieve a lower monthly payment that is easier to maintain. This gets you out of your current jam and reduces the chances that you’ll get behind again in the future.
4. Sell fast for an all-cash offer
Finally, if you are about to hit the point of foreclosure, you may want to reach out to an investor for help. A company like California Family Homebuyers will accept a Sacramento home in almost any condition. You don’t need to complete expensive repairs or worry about showing your home during an open house. We will give you a fair assessment of your home and set a closing date as soon as seven days in the future. We may even be able to work out a deal for you to stay in the home while you look for a new place. If other foreclosure help in Sacramento has failed, give us a call to see if we can buy your Sacramento home as-is for cash!