Before calling your mortgage company, familiarize yourself with these various options.

Repayment Plan - Past due amounts are divided and added onto the regular monthly payments for an extended amount of time to bring the loan current. Plans may be from 6 to 24 months in duration.

Forbearance - A period of suspended or reduced payments that prevents delinquent reporting of the loan to the credit bureaus, and prevents late charges and fees accumulation, and referral to a Foreclosure attorney, as long as the contract is being honored by the homeowner.

Loan Modification - Loan is brought to a current status by adjusting one or more of three terms of the mortgage i.e. reducing the interest rate, extending the term of the loan. Example: Increasing principal balance by adding the past due amount (interest, taxes and insurance) to the existing principal balance or extending the term of the mortgage to 30 – 40 amortization.

Pre-Foreclosure Sale - An approved sale of the property to an unrelated third-party for less than is owed on the mortgage preventing a Foreclosure on the borrower’s credit report

Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure - This procedure allows the homeowner to transfer your property voluntarily to their lender or Mortgage Company and the debt or deficiency is often forgiven.

Foreclosure - Georgia Foreclosure Law Pre-foreclosure Process – is approximately a 45 day procedure.

· Notice of Default to Homeowner giving 15 days to cure the default
· Publish Foreclosure Sale 4 consecutive weeks in local newspaper
· Sale is conducted between 10:00am and 4:00pm first Tuesday of each month.

Negotiating With the Mortgage Company

· Contact your mortgage company regarding hardship with supporting documentation
· Prepare a budget
· Have bank statements & pay stubs ready
· Suggest a remedy
· Communicate with the mortgage company regularly