ASC, also known as America's Servicing Company, is owned by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. If you are behind on your loan payments with ASC, you already know how hard they are to work with. I was so shocked at the number of complaints I found online when I started researching this article that the slant of the article took a whole new direction. After reviewing the complaints, it is my recommendation that you avoid dealing with ASC if at all possible. If your loan is with ASC or Wells Fargo, I encourage you to try to refinance your loan before you fall behind on your payments if at all possible, just to get away from this company.

If you are already behind on your payments, it may be difficult to refinance. It is unlikely that you will be able to reach a workout agreement with ASC, so be prepared to consider other options. If you can borrow enough money from friends and family members to get the loan caught up, don't hesitate to do so. Or perhaps there is something you could sell (not the house -- that usually takes too long) to earn enough to bring the loan current. Getting a second job may be what it takes to save your house. The main thing is to get the loan caught up as quickly as possible, no matter what it takes.

Once the loan has been brought current, try to keep it current until you can get the home refinanced. At this point, if your home is worth enough to cover the loan balance when it sells, you may want to consider listing the home. I know it is a hard decision to make, but if you need to downsize and live in a less expensive home for awhile to save your credit rating, it will be worth it in the end.

If you are behind on your payments and ASC has already started the mortgage foreclosure process, it may already be too late to save your home. I hope for your sake that you will be able to do so, but I don't want to lie to you and say it's going to be all right. There is still hope, but there is ample evidence that ASC is a very difficult company to work with. Even if you find an investor who is willing to do a short sale, ASC has been known to drag their feet until either your time runs out or the investor gives up and walks away from the deal. However, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of saving your home.

Once the foreclosure process begins, make sure you respond to any documents you receive from the court and show up for any court dates that are set. If you are talking to someone at ASC, they may tell you that it is not necessary for you to appear at court. This is only true if you are OK with your home being foreclosed. Whenever something goes to court, if one side doesn't show up, the other side usually wins by default. If you want to save your home, always show up at every court date so you will have an opportunity to tell your side of the story.

Whenever you talk to someone from ASC, get their name and take notes about what was said. Better yet, record the conversations if you can. I have seen many complaints claiming that ASC representatives lied to the homeowner on the phone, telling them there was nothing to worry about, that they would get something worked out to save the person's home. However, the foreclosure process continued in the background and once an auction date was set, the representatives would no longer talk to the homeowner. It could be helpful to have conversations like this recorded to be able to prove that you were misled by the company in case such evidence is needed.

I highly recommend that you talk to a lawyer as soon as the foreclosure process begins. The lawyer may be able to give you some strategies to at least buy you more time while you try to refinance or sell the home to come up with enough money to pay off the mortgage. At this point, just catching up on the payments will probably not be enough. Many times, once the foreclosure process has begun, you have to pay off the entire mortgage balance in order to keep the home from being foreclosed. This makes it extremely difficult for a person who is facing foreclosure to save their home.

Don't dismiss the idea of working with a real estate investor. You can find real estate investors in every part of the country. Look for ads and signs that say "I buy houses." Call a few of them and see if they can help.

If you are behind on your payments but not yet in foreclosure, the investor may offer to catch up your loan and take over making the payments on it. This can be a good deal, but you should always do your due diligence. Ask the real estate investor for proof that he is able to make the payments even if he can't find a buyer for your house right away. If the investor is not willing to show proof of his financial ability to pay, look for another investor. Many beginning real estate investors get in over their heads taking over payments on houses they cannot afford to pay the payments on. If this happens to you, it is likely that your home will end up going through the foreclosure process after all, even though you thought it was saved.

Once your home has started through the foreclosure process, it may be necessary for you to get a cash sale in order to save your home. Many experienced real estate investors have the cash to do such deals, but keep in mind that they are in business to make a profit. If your home is worth less than the mortgage amount, your only hope is that you can get ASC to accept a short sale to the real estate investor.

If your home is auctioned, you will be given a certain amount of time to move out of the home. At this point, there may be a redemption period, during which time you can get the house back if you are able to pay off the loan balance. The length of the redemption period varies depending on which state you live in, and some have no redemption period at all. You'll have to check the foreclosure laws for your state for more information.

If you are looking for foreclosures to buy, you can find them easily enough. Regardless of which mortgage company is handling the foreclosure, the procedure for finding foreclosures is the same. First of all, check the legal section of your local newspapers. In most areas, the mortgage company is required to publish a notice in the newspaper prior to the foreclosure sale. If you are planning on buying properties at auction, this is the best way to find them.

Once the auction is over, the home becomes the property of the mortgage company if there are no bidders at the auction. These home are referred to as "REO" or "Real Estate Owned." Many banks and mortgage companies post listings of REO properties on their websites. However, the only information on ASC's website is a phone number, 866-674-1430. If you call ASC, don't ask for foreclosures. Ask for the department that handles REO's.

Another way to find foreclosures is through real estate agents. Most banks and mortgage companies do not handle the sales of their REO properties directly. They list them with a real estate agent. Find a local real estate agent who can keep an eye out for new foreclosure listings and notify you as properties become available.

Finally, you can locate pre-foreclosures by advertising. Pre-foreclosures are properties that are not yet in foreclosure. The owners have fallen behind on the payments, but the bank or finance company has not yet begun the foreclosure process. The only way to locate these properties is to get the owner to call you. You can do this by placing "I buy houses" ads in the local newspaper and putting out signs. Many of the people who call you will be behind on their payments.

The phone number listed on ASC's website is 866-674-1430. If you have a mortgage with ASC or are an investor working with a homeowner who has an ASC mortgage, check the latest mortgage statement for more contact numbers.