This post brought to you by Fannie Mae. All opinions are 100% mine.
It seems like every time there is a crisis of any kind, people will find ways to exploit the crisis for their own gain. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard stories about people who have gotten into financial trouble and thought that they were getting legitimate help when really they were being taken advantage of even more. That’s why I really appreciate sites like KnowYourOptions.com, owned by Fannie Mae. It presents real advice to homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage payments.
People tend to think that the easiest way to deal with mortgage payments is to just vacate the home and let the bank take it over. In actuality, that might help you in the short term (assuming you have somewhere else to go), but it is not going to help you in the long term. Know Your Options by Fannie Mae will walk you through both options to stay in your home as well as options to leave your home. These options range from refinancing to forbearance to short sales. You need to investigate thoroughly how each of these would affect you before you make a decision.
One of the tabs at the top of the screen is “Beware of Scams.” As I mentioned before, there are a lot of shady characters out there just waiting to take advantage of people who have financial problems. Not all “counseling services” are the same, and you need to find out which ones are HUD-approved before you sign up with one. The best advice on the site is “If you receive an offer, information or advice that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.“
One of the scariest things about being in debt and worried about how to make ends meet is that you will lose your house. The key is to get educated and make a plan of action. The longer that you wait (thinking that things will get better on their own), the harder it is going to be to get back on the right track again.
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