Preventing foreclosures
There was a scene in Bonnie and Clyde that I found interesting; a family came by to see the house they lost to the bank during the Great Depression, a house in which the two robbers were squatting, thinking it was abandoned. After telling them their story about the foreclosure, the father was given a gun by Clyde to shoot at the house to get back at the bank...and he did. Foreclosures are not just one family’s problem; it’s the community’s problem. The good news is that banks today don’t want empty houses, so they are willing to talk. If you know that you won’t be able to make your mortgage payment in a couple of months, don’t wait, call me, call your lender, or even call the Piedmont Housing Alliance, but let someone know ASAP.In Virginia foreclosure can take place in as little as 30 days, so if you are already late on your payments, you should call the Piedmont Housing Alliance immediately. The staff at PHA will be able to help you evaluate your situation. They will work with you, your real estate agent, the lender and its reps. Everybody involved will help you work out a plan with the lender to hopefully avoid foreclosure or/and buy you more time to prepare for your next step.
There are also government-sponsored programs, such as Hope Now and Hope for Homeowners, that can help qualified consumers.
Please call/e-mail me if you need more information. Foreclosures are a community problem and we need to deal with them together.
