Have I Entered the Foreclosure Process Now that I’ve Received a Foreclosure Letter?

Yes you have!   Let me tell you about Danny and Sofia.  They had received a foreclosure letter but neither of them were lawyers and they had no knowledge of either the banking or mortgage industry.

Now needless to say, they had never been in this situation before.  With the recent rise in foreclosures, thousands of people across America are asking this question…

What do I do now? 

I’ve received a foreclosure letter from the bank and it sounds like a bunch of legal mumble jumble.  What am I supposed to do? 

Well, it is a great question and I am glad you are asking it.  I am going to give you in a nutshell 5 powerful steps you need to take if you receive a forclosure letter from your bank or lender.

The intention of these 5 steps is to help you get as much time as possible and take advantage of any options available so you save your home.

1) You will need to call the bank or lawyer and find out exactly how much money they want in order to stop the foreclosure and how much time you have left before it is just too late.

2) Secure a coach – somebody who has knowledge about the foreclosure procedure to help you navigate these unchartered waters. I am available to be your coach. Simply by entering in your number on this site, you can speak to me directly and I will offer you a free consultation.

3) Make sure you have a good family budget and have identified financial money leaks and areas where you can save

4) Write a hardship letter that details the situation that got you into foreclosure and caused you to be behind on your payments. Also tell what plan or strategy you have for getting caught up on your arrears

5) This should really be first … if you are a believer in God, then pray. Prayer is a powerful action that can actually align your mind in the direction that God can work on your behalf.

Now let me just give you a brief overview of exactly how to do all these five steps.

1) When you call the bank, you have to be direct and forthright. You can’t speak in maybe’s and should be’s and wishes. You have to call with a plan and a detailed question and know what you want to propose to the bank.

In order to accomplish this, I suggest you research and find the right department to speak to. Many people call their bank and get no response, get a run-a-round and get passed from department to department.

If you are in the foreclosure process, and you have received a foreclosure letter, then the person to talk to is not the one answering the phone. Ask to speak directly to the Loss Mitigation Department or sometimes it is called the Debt Workout Dept.

You have to have your mortgage number ready. Refer to your house by the mortgage number. Ask to speak to the individual who is handling your file. Ask the bank to fax you a copy of the arrears statement. That is a document that tells you clearly how many months and how many dollars you are behind. It includes interest and fees.

I cannot stress this any more without sounding overbearing but I want you to know how important this is. Many people call the bank and never get the bank to send them anything.

By getting the bank to send you a copy of the arrears statement, you now have a document that you can work with. You have in writing the amount, timings, and specific calendar dates.

2) Getting a Coach is crucial to navigating any foreclosure process and to finding a solution to stopping it. 

When I say it is crucial, I am not meaning that it is “maybe I need a coach” or “it would be a good idea to get a coach.” I am saying that the foreclosure process is such an intense and taxing process, there are so many innuendoes and diversions and legal issues that must be dealt with, that for you to attempt to go through the foreclosure process by yourself would be equivalent to your saying “OK I want to lose my house.”

Now don’t get me wrong – you may think you have enough knowledge and understanding of the foreclosure process to go through this yourself.  Fine let me assure you the majority of the people who end up losing their homes never sought out and found a qualified and experienced coach to help them navigate through the foreclosure process.

No doubt you are wondering what should I look for in a coach. I suggest you find someone who

Understands you and your situation.
Cares enough to really help and is not going to just take your money.
Understands the foreclosure process and knows how to talk to lenders or coach you into talking to lenders.
Will tell you the truth.

I offer all my clients tremendous insight into the foreclosure process along with a wealth of experience that they could not get elsewhere. How am I able to do that? I have been working for people who are in foreclosure, helping them stop the forclosure process for over 5 years now.

Furthermore, I work with an organization that understands the needs of people who are in foreclosure. I am poised and prepared to help many who are seeking assistance to stopping foreclosure and start building wealth.

3) Now let me share something about the Family Budget. We all go through difficult financial times. If you are in foreclosure, I don’t have to ask – I know you are struggling with a balancing act.

But take heart, you can use the foreclosure process as a springboard to a stronger financial future.  If you received a foreclosure letter, this means that your personal finances have reached a breaking point.

Now, certainly, we can have a great conversation about whose fault it is - the economy is bad, the bank or lender gave you a bad mortgage, the realtor or the broker didn’t do their job. We can blame it on high taxes, President Bush and the Republican government or the Democratic Congress.

However, the only person you have control over is you. Ask yourself, “Am I blaming others when I should be looking at myself?” The best place to start is your very own family budget. How much money are you making? What are you spending it on? What are the bills you have to pay? What are the things you have to buy? How much are you saving? What can you do to save more? What can you do to make more? What can you do to reduce your bills?

There is a lot you can do. Be wiling to do what you have to do. You know there is a lot you can do to solve this problem. Yes, there may have been a lot you should have done to prevent yourself from getting into this situation but my scolding you or you scolding yourself doesn’t help.

What you need to do is begin with the family budget.  Get out a piece of paper right now and write down your monthly expenses, sources of incomes.

Talk with your family – include everyone involved. Make this a time to talk truthfully through about your finances and goals. It won’t take long to get on track. It only takes willingness, determination, and discipline. Make this a team effort.

Don’t’ wait another day, hour or minute. Begin right now! Let this foreclosure letter that you have received and the foreclosure process be a catalyst that causes you to take action and start moving in the right direction.

4) If you want to write a hardship letter to your financial institution, this is certainly a good place to start negotiations with your lender for a loan modification.

This is only possible and meaningful if you are in a situation where a loan modification will help you. If you have no job and no income, forget writing a hardship letter unless you are asking for a few months to find a job but even that approach doesn’t put you in a very powerful position.

If you broke you leg and have been off work for a few weeks but you’re expecting to go back to work in another week or so and you are quite sure you job is secure, then a hardship letter might be the way to go.

Include 3 fundamentals. State what your legitimate hardship.  Mind you telling the bank that we took a trip to Hawaii instead of making a payment to them is not going to cut it.  You have to demonstrate a hardship such as a death in the family, illness, loss of work – show that something was incidental and unforeseen in order for your hardship letter to have meaning and value.

Your hardship letter must be addressed to the right contact person at the bank. Don’t just send it to the bank and expect that they will get it to the right person – that’s a waste of time. In order to find the right person at the bank, you might have to do some research. This is an area where a coach can offer great help. Coaches know the way to contact the right person in the right department.

The hardship letter must include a plan of action – you are making a proposal to the bank. You acknowledge you are behind, you have a legitimate hardship, and now you want to put forward your plan or strategy that you are asking them to accept.

The proposal should indicate that you are able to catch up on your arrears within 3 to 6 months and not more than one year.

5) Now let me say something about prayer. I don’t know about your convictions when it comes to spirituality but I do believe in prayer because I have seen it work.  Many others have also seen and experienced tremendous positive.  Just check out this article in Time Magazine on Prayer

I am not here to push my spiritual beliefs on anybody. If you are not interested in prayer or you do not have a level of spirituality, then believe me you don’t have to read the rest of this. I have given you enough information.

I do say that for those who believe in prayer, that prayer is a powerful solution that helps make all the other actions and steps and plans you do more effective. What prayer does is tune your mind to the frequency of God or, if you wish, the higher power that is in control of all things.

Millions have gone through hardships and can testify that it was not until they prayed with earnestness, conviction and faith that they saw the tables turn in their behalf.

If you are including prayer as part of your solution to help you make it through the foreclosure process, let me suggest a simple formula …

• First, begin your payer with statements of adoration and gratitude to a mighty God.
• Second, continue with confession – if there is anything that is blocking or hindering your spiritual connection, engage in a conversation of confession.
• Third, express thanks – be thankful – not only for what God has already done in your life and for what you do have, but also in advance that God is going to help you solve your financial problems and find a solution to the foreclosure process.
• Fourth, ask frankly for what you want – make it specific. Ask in a positive context. Ask for a solution to help you solve the problem or for wisdom to find the right person at the bank or whatever step you are at. Be specific. And watch for answers – record them if you want.

I have given you a plan of action and some practical strategies. Take it and implement it and you will begin to see results.  Click on the link that says Loan Negotiator Group at the top right of this bog or enter in your phone number and you will be placed in immediate contact with me.

I am more than happy to give you a free consultation. Together we can solve the problem of this financial hardship and survive the foreclosure process.  

The Foreclosure Doctor (Online)