If you’re living in the sunny state of California’s San Diego and are hopeful that the foreclosure deal is done, don’t count on it just yet.  I wish I could say it’s over.  We have seen enough people lose their jobs and subsequently their homes.  According to history, unemployment records can predict soon to follow foreclosure rates, and guess what just went up?  Unemployment.  Of course, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you couldn’t have avoided that bit of information.  Perhaps you’re worried about your job and home.  You’re not alone.  San Diego Foreclosure rates have not hit the bottom of the barrel.

There are countless homeowners out there in San Diego right now who are delinquent by ninety days or more, or who are already in the process of foreclosure.  They are saying that there are hundreds of thousands of homes at risk of foreclosure in the very immediate future.  There’s just too much gone wrong.  There are too many people who should not have gotten mortgages in the first place, or were given the wrong mortgage and the terms made it unaffordable.  In the meantime, people lost their jobs and struggled to pay down debts they incurred as a result of the ill fitted mortgage.  San Diego foreclosure statistics are only going to get worse.

If you are in the same boat as many San Diego residents and are struggling, contact your mortgage lender and talk to them about the efforts of the current administration and if there is anything you can do to prevent a foreclosure.  Initially in 2008, President Bush enacted some assistance to help people restructure their loans, but many of those loans are still in default – as high as thirty to forty percent of them!  I learned that President Obama is helping mortgage companies push to keep more mortgages out of the red by matching funds to lenders.  San Diego Foreclosure may have a light at the end of the tunnel.

With so many people finding themselves jobless, or their business tanking, it’s been tough for a lot of people to keep their heads above water.  I really hope this whole situation will be something we all grow and learn from.   I hope that, not only will many people in these tough situations come out on top, but that as a country we will learn to punish the greedy and stop allowing them to let the honest hang out to dry. I think there’s always hope, and San Diego foreclosure doesn’t have to be a reality for everyone.

There is nothing quite as devastating as losing a home to foreclosure.  There are ways to avoid it, though, that we should all be aware of.  San Diego foreclosures are growing more and more common, and now is the time to see what can be done to stop it.  If you can try to sell your home and move to another more affordable place to live that would be the best option.  This is not a failsafe way to stop foreclosure, however, because it is not uncommon that selling the home will not be able to result in enough profit to cover the remaining mortgage.  Lending institutions are not eager to foreclose on homes because it is a costly, time consuming and usually it is their last ditch effort to minimize their losses.

Next consider contacting a housing counseling agency.  The US Department of Housing and Urban Development keeps a current list of HUD-approved agencies that are here to help counsel us with issues concerning our San Diego foreclosures.  If our situation allows it, sometimes we can qualify for an FHA insurance fund.  With this qualification, HUD makes a one-time payment which brings the mortgage payments current again, a huge blessing for those of us who really need it.

Also, before you take the leap into foreclosure, see if you can refinance your home and get under a different mortgage payment program.  Loan officers can meet with us and discuss more affordable plans.  Another great option to look into concerning San Diego foreclosures is something called special forbearance.  Many of us may qualify for a new payment structure if we have increased out cost-of-living with something like unforeseen medical expenses or an income decrease.  This sets up a reasonable timeframe to get payments made because lenders understand that life happens to all of us, whether we expect it or not.

Sometimes foreclosure simply cannot be prevented.  In this case it is important for us to understand what happens next.  The process of San Diego foreclosures is dictated by California laws which result in about a four-month process that takes place out-of-court.   Since San Diego foreclosures can take place outside of court, lenders can sell a foreclosed property in Sand Diego immediately following the foreclosure process.  This is because the lenders are not required to get a deficiency judgment against the defaulting borrower.