Don't worry if you are facing foreclosure.
Thanks to the number of free or low cost housing counseling funded by the U.
S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) you can get help to get a better understanding of the prevailing law in your state.
With a housing counselor's assistance, you can review your options, plan your finances and even get them to represent you to negotiate with your lender.
All you need to do is dial 1-800-659-4287; TTY 1-800-877-8339 to get in touch with an HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency.
Another valuable resource is the "Hope Now Alliance" comprising of a group of banks and major lenders.
The objective of this group is to provide additional help to prevent the plethora of impending foreclosures so that homeowners can keep their homes.
You can access this group at 1-888-995-HOPE.
There has been a spate of foreclosures recently and responding to this, the government has come up with laws to address this.
Effective December 31, 2009, The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 'excludes discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income".
In simple language, it implies that you are not liable for income taxes when the debt has been forgiven on short sales, deed-in-lieu, foreclosure and bankruptcy.
But remember, this excludes homeowners in California who are liable for income tax, no matter what.
Finally, you may want to ask for court protection if you don't have a job or have one that does not pay you well.
Depending on the prevailing law in your state, you can delay foreclosure for as long as six months.
What you should do during these six months is save enough money, and finds another place to live.
Who knows, your 'hardship' might even blow over during this time.