1 - Is this a temporary situation?
2 - Have you been laid off or lost your job?
3 - Has an illness caused this problem?
4 - Has your interest rate increased too much?

The answers to these questions can make the difference in your approach to this problem.

Let's start with the easy ones.  If an illness or job lay-off has put you behind in making payments, the most important thing you can do is communicate with your lender.

Many times, the lender will work with you.  They have a lot of foreclosures on their books right now....and they don't want another one!  If you have had a history of making your payments on time, the lender will most likely help you.  Did you know that they sometimes simply add your past due payments onto the back end of your mortgage.....allowing you to become current on your loan?

If you are lucky enough to live in the Nashville area, it's fairly easy to find a job if you need one.

What if there is no other option but foreclosure?

What options are available to you?

Always try to sell the home before it gets to foreclosure.  If you live in an area with high visibility, try to sell your home without involving an agent.  This can save quite a bit of money that might make the difference in whether or not you can break even.

If selling the home is not possible - perhaps you owe too much on the mortgage - or have already added a 2nd to your list of problems...then it's time to consider more drastic measures.

A short sale might be an option for you.  A short this occurs when the property is sold for less than the amount of money owed.  Sometimes the lender will decide that their interests are best served by accepting less than what is owed in mortgages on a property.  Remember that foreclosure is an expensive process for the lender.  A 2nd mortgage lender is usually the one that loses in this case.

Typically the lender will want a Realtor involved in a short sale because of the amount of work and legalities involved in the transaction.  You might contact your Realtor to discuss these options because you will have to have an offer actually in place to begin this process.

The short sale will still result in damage to your credit rating, but it's not as bad as foreclosure.  Nothing is quite as bad as foreclosure!