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Home Retention Works

Families facing foreclosure have real options that can really save their homes.

If you’re financially distressed right now and worried about foreclosure, a new report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency has some good news about the future of your home. According to their 2016 Foreclosure Prevention Report released this month, you’re more likely to find a way to save your home than you are to actually lose it through forfeiture.

How so?

Since the start of the real estate crisis in September 2008 through February 2016, for every one home lost to forfeiture, five homeowners were able to find a home retention solution that allowed them to keep their homes and regain control of the runaway mortgages.

During the time period stated:

  • 03 million homeowners worked with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to find home retention solution that allowed them to keep their home. These solutions include loan modification, forbearance plans and repayment plans.
  • By contrast, only 664,846 homeowners used a solution that required the owner to forfeit their home. These solutions include short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.

So for every one homes forfeited to avoid foreclosure, five were saved from foreclosure and the homeowner was able to stay put – in other words, most people ended up with the best case scenario.

“It’s fabulous to see so many homeowners finding retention solutions that give them the best result possible to avoid foreclosure and keep their family in the home,” says Maria Gaitan, Housing Director for Consolidated Credit. “And this shows how beneficial it can be to work with a HUD-certified housing counselor when you’re facing a period of financial distress that puts your home at risk of foreclosure.

Housing counseling is a service provided by HUD-authorized counselors who are certified to work with homeowners in your state. Counselors provide everything from homebuyer education to home retention counseling.  In home retention, they’re specifically trained to help homeowners understand and explore options for home retention that the owner may have struggled to find on their own.

“As a lay person, you may not be aware of all of the options available for home retention when you get into a period of financial distress, particularly all of the federal and state programs available these days to help homeowners save their homes,” Gaitan explains. “So a HUD-certified housing counselor can be invaluable to help you explore options and identify the right solution to use in your circumstances.”

If you’re currently struggling to save your home from foreclosure, don’t do it alone. Call 1-800-435-2261 to get a free, confidential consultation with a HUD-certified housing counselor today.

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