The housing problem in America today is not a beautiful balloon that will pop anytime soon. The Analysts are predicting the problem of foreclosure to worsen even more, with no end in sight. An end will come; we just have to ride the horrendous wave until then.

The tsunami of foreclosures are leaving lenders, home owners, and some real estate investors scrambling for some type of amicable solution, a salvation of sorts.

There are definite dos and don'ts to avoid foreclosure. The first tip, don't suffer from a failure to do nothing, ignoring the problem, as if it will go away. It will but not necessarily the way you would like it to. Don't avoid your lender. Many homeowners fall behind in payments, receive the lender letters, place the letters to the side, unopened. The imitation of an ostrich, burying ones head in the sand, is not a solution.

When a person falls behind in payments whether it be one month or more, this is the preforeclosure stage, Lis Pendens, Notice of Default. The lender letters start as a reminder of the payment schedule, as time continues the letters become more aggressive for payment.

Tip, open the lender letters, they are not mail bombs, nor do they contain Anthrax. The lender may already have a workable solution to avoid foreclosure.

Don't give up. Find a solution that can work for you. Understand everything is a process. It was a process to find the home, a process to fund your dream, and a process to maintain it. After all the processes you would give up and abandon the property? Why?!

Exhaust all of your options first, thereby you would have never given up, but you would have tried, and may succeed in avoiding foreclosure.

Don't think the problem is uniquely you. Yes you are unique but there are many, many, many others sharing this same type of issue of an impending foreclosure, and a need to avoid it.

As to the issue of filing bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure, depending on your situation, it may not be a good tip. I attended an auction on the steps of the county recorders office in Norwalk, CA. I had never been before and man was I enlightened. The auctioneer went through a laundry list of properties that were not going to be auctioned before commencing the auction.

Each property had a reason for not being auctioned. The auctioneer would say the property address and description, then you guessed it "BK", bankruptcy. Then he would give a future auction date, which was from 15-45 days away. I use to think bankruptcy gave you a year to avoid foreclosure, but that is not the case. Bankruptcy is a very bad slow waltz where you need a very fast two step of foreclosure avoidance, and it also stays on your credit for 7-10 years. Bankruptcy's can also prevent you from getting into a nice apartment if necessary. Whereas, a foreclosure is only 3 years of a credit issue but you may still be able to find alternate living quarters. Depending on your exact issues, bankruptcy's can make the problem worse.

Tip, bankruptcy does not stop foreclosure.

Loss mitigators move on to homeowners looking for viable solutions to stop foreclosure. The auctioneer did mention a few times 'mutual', as a reason the foreclosure was stopped. Albeit he did have far more bankruptcy's with future foreclosure auction dates, than mutual's which avoids/ stops foreclosure.

Another tip, don't fall victim to a scam. These stop foreclosure scams have become some former homeowners' horrible nightmare. The scam starts with we can help you avoid foreclosure, then progresses into some type of fee, and payments going to them not your current lender. Payments are supposed to go to the holder of the note for your property. Not to the pocket of the scam artist.

This is possibly the worst confidence game around, guaranteeing the avoiding or stopping of foreclosure. There are no guarantees. No one can predict what the lender will ultimately do. Many homeowners have paid scam artists only to still have the Sheriff show up at the door. With foreclosure being imminent, many feel even more abused and hopeless.

The problem is so bad; Freddie Mac posted a video on YouTube, "Foreclosure Scams 101". They also have more information on their website for dealing with foreclosures, and how to avoid it. Tip, to be informed is to be forewarned.

All in all, taking quick action is the best tip for anyone facing foreclosure. Once the process begins, time is not on your side. Day one begins with Notice of Default then transitions to Notice of Trustee's Sale, goes to Trustee's Sale, and then the homeowner's nightmare transfers to the lenders nightmare, REO.

During the period between Notice of Default and Notice of Trustee's Sale is time to act. Even a last ditch effort can be made during the redemption period, which is the last five days before the Trustee's Sale.

If you feel you have tried with the lender to no avail, seeking outside help such as an investor or investor groups is also a viable solution. Real estate investors, investor groups, such as Immaculate Enterprises, LLC, maybe able to negotiate with the lender and/or loss mitigator, better than the average homeowner. Knowing the current value of homes in an area and how to present this information is right up the alley of investors.

If you are upside down on your loan, owe more than its worth, then the investor or investor group can negotiate a short sale or note purchase.

The process of a short sale is very lengthy, and a negotiation to not have a deficiency notice or a 1099 is also a consideration. On a short sale it is illegal for the defaulting property owner to purchase the property back.

If the homeowner has positive equity in the property then the investor(s) could make your back payments bringing your loan current assuming your loan, in exchange for your deed. Normally, people only do this if they already have a second mortgage or other liens on the property. If you do this option, you will not be the owner of the home. You may lease or rent the home. Donald Trump is doing something similar to this for Ed McMahon. But, you have avoided or stopped your foreclosure. This option should only be considered if all other options have been exhausted and you do not have an income to support your payments.

A tip to remember, once your property goes into foreclosure you are not given a refund of your equity.

About one third of the time a note purchase can be successfully negotiated with the lender in an act of avoidance. If this happens then you could stay in the home and have time to either regroup or sell the property. A note purchase is actually a win-win situation for lender and property owner.

The lender can move the note from the non-producing asset side of the books to the producing side. The property owner can have their payments reduced to an easier payment. This method is especially good for people with the interest only loans that have now reset to a much higher payment, coupled with being upside down on the property.

The new payment plan would be for a period of 3-5 years, giving enough time to get finances in order and apply for a new loan. You would not be starting at square zero, but would be in a better position whereby avoiding foreclosure, and the stopping of making payments too high for your income.

For more information and or help on stopping foreclosure, please visit http://www.ImmaculateEnterprises.info/stopforeclosure.php

Immaculate Enterprises, LLC formed in January 2008 in the state of California. The original goal of the company was to offer creative financing to those with less than stellar credit.

Immaculate Enterprises, LLC would also employ the buy and hold technique to build its asset portfolio. The company has formed partnerships with The Notebuyer, Inc. and RealEstate Webprofits, LLC. With the formation of these alliances Immaculate Enterprises, LLC has now added the goal of purchasing distressed mortgages to help people facing foreclosure. These mortgages are secured by the real estate.

Andrea A. Allen, Manager

http://www.Immaculateenterprises.info - 1-888-IMMAC68