I'm going to say something that's hard to hear right now if you're a struggling homeowner. You have choices, make sure it's the right one that will help you preserve your credit, because if it all ends up downhill, if you miss your payments it takes years to rebuild. You have options right now:
1: Be late and apply for mortgage assistance. It will affect your credit since the help comes with stringent guidelines including having fallen behind on one or more payments.
1: Be late and apply for mortgage assistance. It will affect your credit since the help comes with stringent guidelines including having fallen behind on one or more payments.
El Paso homeowners impacted by COVID-19 can apply for mortgage payment assistance.
2. Work out a payment plan with your mortgage company (usually increasing length of time and incurring fees).
Once you're on this path though and still can't make payments, you're heading towards foreclosure.
If you are in this situation, I know it's hard because you want to stay in your home, but if it has accrued a lot of equity, it might be better to sell at the height of the market, before you have to do a short sale or have the bank foreclose.
It will preserve your credit and you might be able to walk away with money even. Just a thought since I've been seeing a lot of distressed homeowners asking about mortgage assistance lately.
Unfortunately assistance comes with a lot of strings. Lenders won't want you to borrow more money so usually you have to become delinquent before help is given, and even then you'll always play catch up.
The borrower then gets stuck with bad credit (which gives you less options) and maybe the bank will start foreclosure proceedings if the assistance comes too late or you don't qualify. Be smarter, take advantage of the market now.
Sometimes it sucks to be the pragmatist, but I've helped a lot of friends overextended in the last real estate boom before it went bust.
