Take even a cursory perusal of the financial headlines lately and you'll be inundated with tales of the so called "mortgage crisis" and of people loosing their properties to foreclosure. The situation is actually quite dire in many parts of the country, as this recent ranking of the top states for foreclosure filings (RealtyTrac, Aug. 2007) reveals:

1. Nevada

2. California

3. Florida

4. Georgia

5. Ohio

6. Michigan

7. Arizona

8. Colorado

9. Texas

10. Indiana

As an active and successful real estate broker and author I am naturally interested in these market trends and how they might affect my clients and customers. In order to gain a better understanding of market conditions I personally conducted an internet survey targeted towards property owners from across the country who were facing foreclosure. In more than fifty responses to my survey, I was shocked at what I discovered.

I had assumed that the majority of respondents would be in the early stages of the process, trying to figure out how best to deal with a situation that was for them, looming on the horizon, but had not actually come yet. I figured that the responses would come from people about to miss their mortgage payments, who were trying to figure out how to minimize the damages of a situation they were about to face. In fact, all but one of the survey takers had already missed two payments and more than half had already missed four payments or more!

While it's true that fifty or so survey responses is a very small sample, it became apparent to me that most people were initially "hiding their head in the sand" rather than taking proactive steps to mitigate the negative effects of foreclosure, or possibly avoiding/stopping the process all together.

Understand that when it comes to the foreclosure process TIME IS YOUR WORST ENEMY! The worst thing that you can do is to do nothing! As soon as you even think that there might be a possibility that you'll not be able to meet your mortgage obligation, you should simultaneously take all of the following steps:

1. Call your lender and explain your situation - Do not hide from the lender! You do not want the lender to be against you, you want the lender to be working to help you.

2. Check into refinancing possibilities - See if you can refinance into a loan with more favorable terms that you'll be able to afford. This will not be possible if you are already missing payments, so take this step early.

3. Contact a real estate broker experienced in foreclosure loss mitigation and real estate short sales - Do not choose just any old broker! The broker should have formal foreclosure loss mitigation training and experience, and have extensive contacts with area lending institutions, attorneys, investors, and other brokers.

The bottom line to all of this is that time will not make the problem go away, but will only make the situation worse. Avoiding or stopping foreclosure is a very realistic possibility if you face the problem early and take proactive steps to correct it. The process can be complicated, so do not hesitate to enlist the help of a professional real estate broker who is trained and experienced in foreclosure loss mitigation and real estate short sale techniques and procedures.

Finally, BEWARE OF SCAMMERS! Never agree to pay a so called "foreclosure rescue company" a large up-front fee! Don't do it -- it's more than likely a scam (not 100% of the time, but 98% of the time). A genuine foreclosure assistance expert might reasonably ask for a nominal up-front servicing fee to offset such legitimate costs as document preparation, phone charges, postage, etc. Such fees should rarely exceed $100.00, or so. A reputable foreclosure expert will negotiate to have their compensation covered by the lender. Beware of anyone asking for $500, $1,000, $2,500, or more up-front in order to help you with your foreclosure. Don't do it!

More info on your stop foreclosure information search:

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