Persistence Pays When Avoiding Foreclosure
Adamaitis of Direct Mortgage Services said that in the long run persistence and perseverance pays when trying to avoid foreclosure. Adamaitis has most of his dealings in foreclosure-riddled Florida. Of all the innumerable cases he handled a particular one has remained etched in his memory. One day a woman from Manchester contacted him saying that the lender who had issued her a sub-prime mortgage had downed shutters. But her interest rate had jumped by 10% – something well beyond her affordability limits. Ultimately she was able to coax it down to 5%. Her monthly payment dropped by $, 1000 but not without a lot of running from pillar to post to make somebody listen to her. For full nine months she made phone calls, sent written pleas to congressmen and penned a formal complaint to the New Hampshire Banking Department before catching the ear of somebody that mattered. If she had not persisted and given up after the failure of the first phone call, her house would have been gobbled by foreclosures. Half the battle is won when somebody starts listening.
Whether one has fallen behind in mortgage payments or is about to do so there are steps that can be taken to avoid foreclosure. Foreclosure is not inevitable. Avoiding it may be difficult but not impossible. The resources available and its application are individual specific. The worst thing to do is not to do anything at all!
The very first thing to do is to contact the lender at the very initial stage when warning lights about impending financial trouble is blinking. It is not advisable to avoid creditors considering the present scenario. Today they are crushed by the sheer weight of foreclosure numbers and are as eager to avoid foreclosure as the borrower. Nothing can be said for sure but in all probability interest rates will be reduced and the mortgage changed to a long term fixed rate. This will make the contract viable and realistic.
Another point to remember that the ‘lender’ to contact is not usually the bank but the loan-servicing agency that collects the mortgages. Admaitis admits that in reality the first, second or even third person contacted turns out to be downright rude. Lenders turn a deaf ear to borrowers who are overdue for 90 days or more. Nevertheless one by one the clerks have to be side stepped to reach the proper person.
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