You must use every means to try to stop foreclosure of your home. Once the process of foreclosure starts, it is increasingly difficult to stop the juggernaut. The best way is to take positive steps to stop foreclosure before it starts. As a matter of fact, you can start to stem the process, even before you realize that missing your mortgage payment is imminent. One of the simplest ways to avoid foreclosure is to ensure that you pay your mortgage installments in time. However, for some reason this does not happen. 

Let us look at the steps you can take to stop foreclosure, before the mortgage lenders, or the banks, start the foreclosure process.

Ways To Prevent Foreclosure
You can actually start to take precautions to stop foreclosure from happening. Here is how you can go about it. 

• Never Miss A Mortgage Payment – Actually, this is the best way to stop foreclosure proceedings. Missing a mortgage payment is far more serious than missing a credit card payment. Once you miss a single mortgage payment, your credit rating suffers, and it becomes difficult for you to obtain any loan to save your home. Once a foreclosure process starts, you may be able to take a ‘foreclosure prevention loan,’ but the amount you can borrow depends on your credit score, and may not be enough to save your home. 

• Have A Nest Egg – Many people do not save for a rainy day. It is always advisable to save for unforeseen emergencies. Remember, they do happen. It is best if you have a minimum of three months of mortgage payments reserved that will help stop foreclosure proceedings. Some people have six months of mortgage payments accrued in savings. 

• Have A Home Equity Line Of Credit Open – To stop foreclosure, you may need money fast. One great option is to have an active home equity line of credit. As long as you do not use the line of credit, you pay no interest. However, in sudden emergencies, such as the impending missing of your mortgage payment, all you need is to write yourself a check. With an active home equity line of credit, you will always have money when you need it the most. Care needs be taken that you do not use this line of credit for frivolous purchases.

• Interact With The Lender – If you miss a payment on your mortgage, do not get into a cocoon. Arrange an appointment with your lender immediately, and lay all your cards on the table. Mortgage lenders are always ready to listen to your financial problems and help you sort out your repayment plans. Treat any notice you receive from your mortgage lender as a first step towards the foreclosure process, and take immediate steps to stem the process. 

• You have a problem and so spell it out. The mortgage lenders want the money you owe them, not your house. Face them and let them help you find a solution, before the whole process gets out of hand. 

• Explore All Available Options – You have many options to stop foreclosure from happening to you. Do not let anyone, including your mortgage lender, tell you that the only way to save your home from foreclosure is to pay the arrears all at once. Far from it. Learn about the various options you can exercise, and the earlier you act on them, the better it is for you. Options exist that may reduce what you owe by tens of thousands of dollars. As the foreclosure gets closer, your options reduce, until you either have to pay in full or file in for bankruptcy. 
  
• One other option is to seek help from your family and friends. With losing your home to foreclosure imminent, overcome your embarrassment and approach your parents, siblings and friends. They are the people most likely to stand by you in such a difficult time.

• Avoid Other Bills To Save your Home – A time may come when the mortgage company is no longer interested in your single payments, but demands the payment in full. One mistake many people make, while negotiating with the mortgage lenders not to pay all the arrears at once, is to allocate their meager savings to other smaller debts, such as credit card debts. The logic being that it is better to payoff the smaller 4 or 5 debtors to get them off your back. This could be a critical mistake, as you will need every cent to try to stop foreclosure to save your home. It is better to lose your credit card than to lose your home.

Take the aforementioned steps in time to avoid the foreclosure and save your home.

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