Homeowners that are facing a foreclosure have a number of options available to stop the foreclosure process. One of the options available on is a “short sale”; this is where the lender will allow you to sell the home for less then what the current amount owed is. Many homeowners simply let their home go into foreclosure because they are not sure about the options, or just give up. Before giving up and letting your home go into foreclosure keep in mind that you do have options, and depending on which one you choose, there are a number of pros and cons for each.

Short sales can help lenders avoid the costly and sometimes lengthy process of a foreclosure. One of the key benefits to a short sales is the long term affect on your credit score, a foreclosure is much worse then a short sale with regards to your credit score and ability to recover from your hardship quickly.

Short sales are a simple concept; lenders agree to allow you to sell your home for less then what the current mortgage is on the property. Many lenders will accept a short sale and relief you of the balance of the mortgage, this is good news for homeowners facing foreclosure. Most states allow the lender to attempt to collect the shortfall after a foreclosure is processed; a short sale may relieve you of this additional burden.

Bear in mind that not all lenders will agree to short sales, if the circumstances are right, some lenders will not do short sales at all. If you are current on your mortgage payments, you have very little chance to have a short sale approved. In most cases, you will need to be several payments in the rears in order to have a lender consider a short sale.

Foreclosures will have a greater impact on your credit score. You can typically expect your credit score to sink at least 200-300 points. The long-term affect of a foreclosure on your credit may hinder your ability to make purchases with credit for up to 10 years. Lenders may not offer competitive rates on a new mortgage loan for three to five years, after a foreclosure.

Doing a short sell will have far less repercussions on your credit report; generally your score will fall between 75-100 points. With a short sale, lenders will typically offer reasonable interest rates on a new mortgage after about 18 months.

During a foreclosure you credit should be your primary concern. Repairing bad credit and getting back on your feet is much easier if with choices that offer the least amount of impact on your credit score. The savings on interest alone with credit cards, auto loan and mortgage loans in the future should be enough to convince you, if not think about the strength of your buying power in the future.

By: Thomas Bladecki

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Even homeowners with bad credit can get mortgage refinancing. Although many people talk about lending restrictions, and how hard getting help is these days, the reality of the situation is the opposite. Mortgage lenders and banks are eager to help homeowners avoid foreclosure or defaulting on their home loan, and are offering homeowners new bad credit refinancing or modification options.

Nearly 15% of all current homeowners are facing foreclosure. This does not even account for the massive amount of foreclosures which have already taken place. In order to stop this, mortgage lenders and banks have been quietly easing refinancing and home loan restrictions. Changes are being made because many homeowners are:

- Facing financial problems which are out of their control.

- Paying a lot for a home which has dropped in value.

- Stuck in an ARM loan which is costing them more every month.

- Paying a higher interest rate than their budgets can handle.

To assist homeowners in these common situations, many helpful changes have been made in the mortgage refinancing approval process. Homeowners can get approved with little or no equity, bad credit, a bad mortgage loan, and a whole list of other circumstances which they would have been denied for in the past.

The bottom line is that with mortgage rates so low, and refinancing easier to get than ever before, millions of homeowners can benefit. Do a good check of your mortgage, financial situation, and options for refinancing and see if you could be saving money too. Odds are, with the market the way it is now, you can save hundreds of dollars per month on your mortgage.

By: Michael Petrone

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