“Dear Steve,
I am one month behind on mortgage. two months behind on two car payments. and am falling behind on other payments. I make enough money to pay my bills per month now but not enough to catch up. If I could just start over. I cant lose my home or my vehicles. Im scared and emarrased!!! My credit is bad. Will I lose everything or is there a program that can assist me on getting a clean start. I just need a chance.
Is there any hope for me in my situation or am going to lose everything? I had some last minute problems that drained my account. Please advise.
Dan”
Dear Dan,
The situation sucks but there is a solution. You need to go see a local bankruptcy lawyer and talk about a possible chapter 13 bankruptcy. It will stop collection action, you won’t lose anything, it will allow you to get caught up and let you keep your home and car.
I think that is the most expedient solution based on what you’ve shared that will give you the most legal protection and let you regroup with a fresh start.
I know the situation feels really bad and is personally embarrassing. I lived through it myself. I also know you probably feel like a loser, you’re depressed and stressed. But this is a technical problem about dollars and cents and not a public personal reflection of the man you are. Implement the solution and move forward.
Steve
One of the best ways to keep from going into foreclosure is to get a loan modification. You should however be careful when picking the process in which you would like to go about getting the modification as each lender may have a different procedure or set of protocols that must be met first. The quickest most effecient way of getting a lender to accept the modification, however, is to hire a lawyer, as the banks will be more willing to give the best possible modification if legal action is taken.