FHA

If you have an underwater mortgage and are at a loss for how to save your home, you should know there are options out there for you. Some options are designed for specific homeowners, but if you're persistent in your decision to avoid foreclosure, you will find something that works for you.


To help you better understand on how you can help handle your underwater mortgage, here are some options that you should consider taking advantage of.

Talk to Your Lender

The first thing anyone would suggest you do is contact your lender to see if you can come up with ideas together for how to save your home.

If you have an underwater mortgage, you may be able to ask for some options to at least help you get you caught back up. The lending company's first resort is not to kick you out of your home, so if you at least show your interest in wanting to rectify the situation, you might be surprised by the results you get.

Take Advantage of Programs

In addition to the proposed housing plan that will help "at-risk" homeowners modify their mortgages through refinancing options, as well as loan modifications, there are programs presented by the FHA and Congress that may be able to help your underwater mortgage stay afloat.

FHA has two programs that can help homeowners: FHA Secure and Hope for Homeowners. FHA Secure offers subprime borrowers with non-FHA mortgages an opportunity to refinance into FHA-insured mortgages. Hope for Homeowners helps borrowers keep their houses by helping them to refinance into fixed-rate loans.

Congress' program is called the Streamlined Modification Program. It helps you reduce your interest rates and/or stretches out your loan terms so that your payments will be more affordable.

Sell Your Home

If you're at the point that you would rather not keep your house, you can try a short sale, which allows you to sell your property for less than the amount you owe. Also, you can sign your deed back over to the lending company in what's called a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. It relinquishes your responsibility to pay the mortgage; however, it carries the same credit repercussions as a regular foreclosure.

If you're truly interested in how to save your home if you're in danger of foreclosure due to an underwater mortgage, these suggestions should be able to give you a great start.

Due to the Subprime Mortgage Crisis that reared its angry head in 2007, thousands have already lost their homes to foreclosures. With the economic crisis worsening, more will surely follow. Concerned homeowners should know that President Obama is taking swift action to prevent more foreclosures.

Before President Obama even took office, lawmakers granted the President the second half of the original $700 Billion Asset Relief Program. A good portion of which must be earmarked towards preventing future foreclosures. Larry Summers, a leading economist, who will be aiding the new Administration, assured Democratic leaders in the House and Senate that $50 billion to $100 billion would be used to conduct, " a sweeping effort to address the foreclosure crisis."

No precise details on how that money will be allocated have emerged, the new administration wants to get individuals into new, lower-risk mortgages with a reduction in monthly payments very quickly. Industry insiders speculate that President Obama wants to change to a current loan-modification system so that it is a more time-efficient process, by drafting blanket rules for the procedure.

If you cannot wait for President Obama's revisions to take affect, last year the government launched the FHA Secure program introduced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that you could look into. If you are a delinquent homeowner who meets the HUD qualifications, you may be able to refinance your way out of an adjusted rate mortgage and into FHA-insured loans.

Now, if you are already facing foreclosure you should know that your first line of defense should be to call your lender to see if they are willing to renegotiate your terms. Additionally, calling a nonprofit counseling agency can point you in the right direction for mortgage salvation.

Have you made progress avoiding foreclosure? Please share your foreclosure prevention experiences in our comments section.

An underwater mortgage can be a nightmare for responsible homeowners.


There's nothing pretty about the prospect of owing your lender more than what your house is worth. According to a recent CNN report, nearly 8 million households are currently contending with an underwater mortgage ...

One thing that may help first time buyers overcome the obstacle of securing a loan is through a FHA Fixed Rate Loan , courtesy of the Homes and Communities - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Before applying for any type of mortgage, whether you are looking to find a loan...

A sense of security is a very important thing. Whether that sense is created from a home alarm system, a hug from your spouse or your favorite childhood stuffed animal, we all deserve that much needed sense of comfort. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Secure program provides homeowners with a...

Mortgage rates go up and down, and consumers have the right to take advantage of the more favorable conditions. If your credit report was a bit lackluster when you purchased, and your current 30-year fixed has a higher interest rate than the current market conditions, an FHA rRefinance mortgage...

Within all sectors of the government and their housing agencies, you may occasionally scratch your head and ponder a couple of questions. "How much house can I really afford?," "What federal funding do I qualify for?," and "What is an FHA Loan? may be questions are you're all considering.

But if...

"What goes up must come down!" That statement is true for helium balloons, airplanes, stock market trends, and the housing market. Sometimes when things go down, the United States government will come up with a rescue plan for the greater good and that is when the Federal Assistance Mortgage...