Illinois Bankruptcy Lawyers Remind Homeowners to Get Help Before Mortgage Payments Get Too Expensive
Here's a riddle for you - what do homeowners and a certain large African bird have in common? Answer: They're both known to bury their head in the sand when scared. Unfortunately, instinctive behavior isn't always logical - and the bulk of an in-denial homeowner's problems, like the bulk of an ostrich's body, will still be glaringly visible.
So what homeowner problems am I speaking of? Mortgages. Since 2008 and continuing through next year, adjustable rate mortgages have been resetting from the lower "teaser" rates to much higher rates - meaning you might suddenly be required to pony up 30-50 percent more money a month. Not that it should come as a surprise when it happens. When you signed your mortgage agreement, you should have been made aware of when the higher rates would kick in (though lenders aren't always the clearest bunch - but that's another story).
Yet even though most homeowners know what's coming, many do nothing to prevent it.
Instead, they wait until the rates adjust, pay for a while and surrender when they can no longer afford it. And it's not just ARMs that can make a loan more expensive - if you lose your job, know you'll be facing a lot of high credit card bills or are otherwise going through tough times financially, you better believe your mortgage is going to get a lot harder to pay.
Rather than denying that knowledge because it's unpleasant, why not look at it as an advantage? You're not getting the rug pulled out from under your feet - you know exactly what's happening. Use that time to put together a plan of action.
There's a solution to every problem. Consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy, for instance. When you file, an automatic stay immediately stops foreclosure, whether you've missed your first payment or are a day away from the trustee sale, while you catch up on the bills with a new, affordable payment plan.
You want to know what else is affordable? Finding out if bankruptcy is right for you. Just sign up for our free one-on-one debt analysis, an hour-long personal finance session with one of our bankruptcy attorneys in Chicago or Atlanta. Our DebtStoppers pros can get your head out of the sand - and your finances back on track.