Stop Hawaii Foreclosure

Hawaii foreclosures are properties re-possessed by banks because of the owner’s failure to fulfill mortgage obligations. According to reliable Hawaii real estate experts, in January 2007, about 90 homes entered some stage of foreclosure. This number is actually a 100% increase to the number of foreclosures filed in 2006 of the same month. Although it may sound bad, Hawaii foreclosure rates are very low compared to the other states in the nation.

If you are a homeowner, having a Hawaii foreclosure record on your credit history can mean a lot of inconvenience. For starters, you will have difficulty getting approved for loans or credit cards that require a good credit score. In order to avoid these dilemmas, you should try at all cost to avoid Hawaii foreclosure; and in case you still find your self facing foreclosure, here are some helpful tips to avoid Hawaii foreclosure.

• Know your finances: the biggest mistake homeowners make when taking out a loan is not really knowing what shape their finances are in. You must make sure that you can afford your Hawaii home because if you purchase one that you can not pay for, you are just asking for trouble.
• Curb your spending habits: if you do not want to lose your Hawaii home then you should try to be more responsible when it comes to spending your money. List down all your needs and wants and make sure that you only spend within reasonable budget.
• Save: All extra income should be saved in cases of medical emergencies, unemployment or even a death in the family. All these situations might require a considerable amount of money and if you do not have any savings, you might end up using the money allocated for your mortgage payments.
• Prioritize your bills payment: if worse comes to worst, you should pay your mortgage dues first thing. You can afford to delay payment of other bills and in some instances; you would not even be penalized for the delay.

If you still found yourself facing a Hawaii foreclosure, then you must stop it at all cost. Depending on whether your financial troubles are temporary or permanent, you can always talk to your lender as soon as you missed a single payment. Your lender can help stop Hawaii home foreclosure by offering you forbearance, loan re-structuring or re-financing. Forbearance is simply asking for a payment delay while a loan re-structuring would change the terms of your existing loan. A refinancing, however, would mean taking out a new loan to cover both your existing loan, amount past due, interest and penalties.

Any of these options can stop Hawaii foreclosure immediately as long as you make sure that you will fulfill all your obligations and you meet the requirements set by your lender to qualify for these options. In case you do not meet minimum requirements, do not lose hope. There are still several options to stop Hawaii home foreclosure. All you need to do is determine which option suits your circumstances best.

Hawaii Foreclosure Bailout Loan

There are private lenders that do not require you to have a high credit. But, of course, this comes at a high price. Most foreclosure bailout loans would have higher than average mortgage interests and you should only avail of these loans if your financial troubles are only temporary. Also, it is important to know that you need not sign over the property’s title. This is only done when you are selling your home and not when you are taking out a loan.

Sell Your Hawaii Home

In Hawaii, you are given 20 days to reply to a “Notice of Foreclosure”. If you do not respond to the notice, you would be declared in mortgage default. You will again be given another 30 days to file a notice of appeal. Depending on the sale clause, foreclosure proceedings can take from 6 to 11 months.  

During this period, you have the option to sell your home to stop Hawaii foreclosure. This option is perfect for homeowners who have enough equity on their property to cover the mortgage debt. In Hawaii, the low foreclosure rate actually provides home owners with the advantage of having a good home value appreciation rate. Together with an active real estate market, sellers do not experience much difficulty selling their homes even without a real estate broker.

Deed in lieu of Foreclosure

If your financial troubles are permanent, you can stop Hawaii foreclosure by voluntarily offering a deed in lieu of foreclosure to your lender. This option erases all your debt, although it is still reflected in your credit history. Still, it is better than a foreclosure record. on the other hand, lenders usually accept this offer because it saves them considerable time and money on completing foreclosure proceedings which can be quite costly.  

File for Bankruptcy

As a last resort, you can always file for bankruptcy to stop Hawaii foreclosure. If you do not want to lose your home and assets, you should file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You will only be required to settle all your debt in a period of 3 to 5 years. The bankruptcy court will actually monitor whether you are following the conditions of the settlement agreement. On the other hand, if you think you can not pay any of your debt, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may automatically strip you of all assets plus your home but will leave you with a clean credit slate.

Since all these options could mean keeping or losing your home, you should first determine whether you can really afford to keep your home or if losing your home could actually put you in a much better financial situation. You should also remember that facing foreclosure may be difficult but acknowledging your problem actually makes everything easier for you. Being too emotional about your situation can cloud your judgment and it would be hard for you to decide which is best for you and your home.