• Some remedies could help you avoid foreclosure.Home sweet home image by civos from Fotolia.com
  
  Some Americans struggle with home mortgage financing. Others are duped by predatory and unethical lenders and end up with highly disadvantageous mortgages. Others still simply lose a source of income and are forced to choose between the house payment and other expenses. In cases such as these, there are some ways to navigate to safe financial ground.
  
  

Mortgage Modification

• All mortgage mediation programs involve some sort of negotiation with the mortgage lender. Mortgage originators are not unsympathetic or hardhearted--they simply are in the business of profit generation. Therefore, borrowers must always have some discussion with their lenders prior to adjusting their home loan. This is no different in the case of mortgage modifications. Borrowers must first demonstrate some form of financial difficulty--that must be corroborated with paperwork--and then offer a suggested modification. Many modified mortgage balances are reduced. Sometimes payments are reduced. In rare cases, interest rates are dropped.
  
  

Hardship Program

• Hardship programs are not national or federally recognized mortgage programs. Instead, these are proprietary processes offered by individual, private lenders. These are sometimes called foreclosure avoidance programs. It is usually in the best interest of all parties for borrowers to continue making house payments--even if they are reduced. Hardship mediation sessions involve lengthy discussions regarding reduced income, disability, injury, unemployment or medical disasters. Lenders also usually ask for documentation to verify the hardship. In addition, these programs are temporary--usually no longer than one year.
  
  

Short Sales

• A short sale is another foreclosure avoidance program. In this scenario, a borrower, lender and prospective homeowner get together to negotiate a purchase price on the home. In all cases, this resulting price is less than the balance due on the mortgage. Most mortgage companies will not accept a short sale agreement unless a borrower finds a suitable (and creditworthy) borrower. Negotiations for short-sale arrangements can be tricky--some customers end up with large personal loan balances after the house is sold. These balances are the partial or full remainder of a short-sold mortgage loan.