Surviving Foreclosure
How can I financially recover from a foreclosure?
Once a homeowner has suffered the financial disaster of a foreclosure, they need to get back on their feet, credit-wise, again. The best way to do that is to be able to borrow, from credit card companies, or a new mortgage, and start making payments as agreed. But prior to that step, I recommend that a homeowner who has experienced foreclosure get the assistance of a financial advisor to sit down with them and discuss their financial situation. Let them know what their ability might be for future credit, so that they would be able to make payments as agreed.
How do I rebuild my credit score after a foreclosure?
Following foreclosure, to rebuild your credit score, you need to be able to borrow money from credit card companies, department stores, or buy a home and be able to prove that you can make payments as agreed. Prior to doing that, it is recommended that you contact a financial advisor to make sure that you have a forecast of future income sources that would be adequate to make payments as agreed on future obligations you owe.
After foreclosure, is the damage to my credit score permanent?
After filing foreclosure, the damage to a person's credit score is not permanent. No more is your damage to your credit score permanent after filing bankruptcy which is even worse than a foreclosure in many ways. The reason it's not permanent is because you have the opportunity following foreclosure to establish a subsequent credit record of making payments on credit cards, mortgage loans and other obligations as agreed. The longer you are able to go with making payments as agreed to the people you borrow money from, the better your credit.
After the foreclosure, can my mortgage company still come after me for money owed?
Once a foreclosure has occurred on someone's home, whether or not a lender can come after the homeowner for a deficiency judgment of any amount due in the mortgage beyond what the house has sold for depends primarily on the state they live in. In a trustee state, particularly like California, the opportunity to go after the homeowner for any balance owed on the mortgage beyond what is received for the sale of the house is severely limited and in many states totally forestalled. For example in the state of California, there is no possibility of a deficiency judgment on any residential properties from one to four units. However, in a mortgage state, part of the lawsuit environment does often involve the prospect of a deficiency judgment and the opportunity for a homeowner to get rid of that deficiency judgment threat is very much in their power, should they be willing to turn over the house sooner, rather than later.
Will my foreclosure problems attract scam artists?
When a homeowner is late in making mortgage entrusted payments and selling to foreclosure, the unfortunate situation, both financially and emotionally, that they are exposed to does attract opportunistic people, and some are scam artists, that try to take advantage systematically of people in that unfortunate situation. But fortunately for the homeowner, they don't have to deal with these people. They just have to be alert to the fact that people may come to them representing that they are going to solve their problems in some fashion that while on the surface may look good, down the road is not to their best interest. And so they should be very careful to investigate anybody that is offering to do business with them in any capacity in a situation where they are selling to foreclosure.
Can negotiating a short sale with my mortgage company still damage my credit?
Negotiating a short sale with your mortgage lender while possibly still result in some damage to your credits, is a good way to minimize the damage to your credit should you not be able to bring your mortgage payment as current and pay the mortgage as agreed.
