How to Delay Foreclosure & Trustee Sales

Delaying foreclosure and trustee sales can help you save your home.

When your home is in danger of foreclosure and trustee sales, you can delay and try to get your mortgage out of default so that you can keep your home. Foreclosure means that your lender is in the process of repossessing your home because you've defaulted on your mortgage. A trustee sale is an auction in which people can bid on your home to help recoup the bank's losses, though if the bidding fails to meet the bank's price, it may choose to keep the property and auction it at another time.

Instructions

1. Set up a meeting with your lender to discuss getting your mortgage out of default. You might be able to extend the life of your loan to make up missed payments, refinance your loan so that you can meet your monthly obligations, or make a deal where you give them higher payments until the amount you defaulted on is paid back. Trying to pull your loan out of default is a good option for a lender, if you're willing, and they're often willing to put off foreclosure while you broker a deal.

2. File a chapter 7 bankruptcy by meeting with a bankruptcy lawyer as soon as possible. Initiating a chapter 7 bankruptcy puts a stop to any civil actions against you, including foreclosures and trustee sales. A lender will have to go through the bankruptcy court to continue with the trustee sale.

3. Take out a new loan to cover the cost of your old loan. By paying off your old loan and transferring your mortgage to another lender, you'll delay your bankruptcy and foreclosure until you miss a mortgage payment with your new lender. You'll likely have to pay a higher rate of interest since you've defaulted on a previous loan.

4. Get a lawyer and have them contest the foreclosure. Battling your lender in court will delay the entire process of them foreclosing on your home, as well as the eventual trustee sale, as they defend their right to foreclose in court. You can delay by years if your lawyer can find enough things wrong with the lender's case. There are thousands of banking laws and regulations they can use to fight the foreclosure.

5. Contact your local housing authority to find out if you qualify for any homeowner's debt relief or mortgage default programs. These vary by state and county, but some can help you repay your lender for missed mortgage payments, delaying the foreclosure and trustee sale indefinitely, as long as you don't default on your loan later.

References

• Law Office of D.L. Drain: Articles on Arizona's Trustee Sale and Bankruptcy
• ForeclosureFish.com: How to Delay Foreclosure for as Long as Possible?
• University of California, San Diego; Mortgage Default, Foreclosures, and Bankruptcy; Wenli Li, et al.; Oct. 15, 2009