What Are My Options If I Can't Afford My Home?

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READER QUESTION

What are my options if I can't afford my home?

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Bills.com Resident Expert
Dec 12, 2011
BILL'S ANSWER

To learn more about each of these options I am about to discuss below, I encourage you to start with the Bills.com resource I Can't Afford My Home, What Should I Do.

Short sale & deed in lieu of foreclosure

You have several options if you cannot afford the mortgage payments. You can do a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, foreclosure, or bankruptcy. A short sale is where the mortgage holder agrees to accept less than the balance owed on the mortgage at sale to prevent foreclosure. In a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the property owner surrenders the property to the lender voluntarily in exchange for the lender canceling the loan. You should pursue all available alternatives to foreclosure. To learn more about these two options, see A Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure vs. A Short Sale.

Foreclosure

Foreclosure is a serious situation that has serious repercussions. If you can, you want to avoid a foreclosure as much at all costs. Bills.com is here to help. We also offer helpful guides, foreclosure FAQs, glossary terms, and other helpful tools to help you keep your home and avoid a bank repossession.

Foreclosure is the legal process through which a lender (most typically a mortgage lender) claims an asset from the consumer borrower. See the Bills.com foreclosure page to learn more about this option and why you should try to avoid it.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a complicated process, including Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy options for consumers seeking to get debt relief, unfortunately, after the passage of the Bankruptcy Reform Act in 2005, it became harder to file for a liquidation bankruptcy, and there is now more complexity to an already intimidating process. See the Bills.com article Types of Bankruptcy to get started on these two options.

If you are considering foreclosure or bankruptcy I encourage you to consult with a licensed attorney in your state who has experience in bankruptcy matters.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.

Best,

Bill

www.bills.com/blog

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