4 ways to stop your foreclosure
Going through foreclosure in St Louis can be a very stressful and painful process, especially if you have no idea what to do about it and how to stop it. But before you can understand how to stop a pending foreclosure, you must understand how the foreclosure process works in Missouri.
How does a foreclosure work?
Missouri uses the non-judicial method of foreclosure of a property. What is a non-judicial foreclosure? A non-judicial foreclosure does not involve the courts, but it does require a notice of when they are going to foreclose. When you first signed the loan agreement for your mortgage, one of the things you signed is the deed of trust. The deed of trust gives the lender the right to foreclose on the property should a default occur. One of the elements of the deed of trust is what is known as a power of sale clause.
The power of sale clause allows the lender to sell the property to satisfy the remaining debt on the property. The sale is usually done in the form of an auction. Because Missouri is a non-judicial state, there are very strict rules on service requirements and legal documents must contain the language of the power of sale to execute this type of foreclosure method.
Mandatory items for the notice of power of sale
1. There must be an ad in the local newspaper publication at least twenty times in a row every day before the auction day in a city of 50,000 people or more. In other parts of the state, the notice must run 4 consecutive weeks no earlier than one week before the auction. Notification requirements are referenced in Chapter 443.320, Missouri Revised Statutes.
2. The lender must give you 20 days’ notice before the auction takes place. They must notify you of the date, time and place where the auction will take place. The sales requirements are mentioned in Missouri Revised Statutes, Chapter 443.227.
How to stop foreclosure
Now that you have a better idea of how the foreclosure process works in Missouri and more specifically in the St Louis and St Charles area, you now have a better understanding of how to stop it. These are the four fastest ways you can stop your pending foreclosure.
1. Refinance. Refinancing is always in your best interest if you can qualify. Make sure you apply for refinancing before you fall behind on your mortgage. Once you are 30 days late in paying on your home, the damage may have already been done and your credit score may have dropped too low for you to qualify.
two. Do not publish your house yourself. List it with a real estate agent. Too many times I see homeowners who are about to lose their home trying to list the property themselves. If you decide to list your home, be sure to hire a professional agent. Agents will sell your home 50% faster and often within 90% of the sales price. Make sure you have enough equity in the home to be able to pay your agent. Remember, agents are NOT free.
3. Sell your home quickly with an investor. He’s seen the guys from “We Buy Houses” all over town. However, beware of some of these people. They advertise that they have cash and often make offers on a property and never close. Make sure they give you an advance deposit and set a quick closing date. If they get stuck on the closing date, they probably don’t have cash to buy. Be careful!
On the other hand, we have the cash to close your property in five days. We are seasoned homebuyers who will give you a CASH OFFER within 24 hours. We can close on your schedule and will often pay closing costs.
Four. Sale Shorts. This has become a very popular exit strategy in recent years for hundreds of thousands of homeowners across the country. To keep things simple, a short sale is when the bank allows the owner to sell the property for less than what is owed. This can be a very long process, but nonetheless, once the short sale process has begun, the foreclosure process will immediately freeze. You may be wondering how to start a short sale.
In Review:
Foreclosure process
1. The owner is 120 days late in payments
2. The bank notifies the homeowner of the auction: 20 days before the sale date.
3. The house is sold at auction and if the property does not sell …
4. The bank repossesses the property and trades with an REO broker
How to stop foreclosure
1. Refinancing
2. List with professional broker
3. Sell to the investor
4. Short sale