How We Saved Our Home

from Foreclosure

- Easy Techniques You can Use Too -

by Travis and Katrina Belcher 1

Table of Contents

1 – My Story

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably feeling really bad about now. You’ve worked hard all your life, provided for yourself and your family, and now due to circumstances you may not be able to control, you may be losing your house. I say “may be” – because if you’re in the right position, and follow some of the suggestions in this book, there’s a chance you can save it! Now add to that feelings of depression, confusion and anxiety, and it’s no reason you’ve probably not taken any action yet. I know how you feel. Believe me, I’ve been there. In fact, let me tell you my story.

In 2005 I suffered from a series of medical problems that finally led to congestive heart failure. I was hospitalized for 10 days. The bill for the hospital alone was just over $24,000. Add to that the fees for in-house treatments, the cardiologist, x-rays, medications and more – and you can imagine the amount of the total bill. About caused another heart attack!

The doctor said I needed a heart transplant. Wanted me to quit working and go on permanent disability. Said my heart couldn’t take full-time work. Without medical insurance – none of that was going to happen. And I had to work, or my family would go under. I could lose everything. So I did my best. Even though I really wanted to go back to my previous schedule, there was no way I could continue working 10 hour days, 6 days a week. In fact, try as I could, I only manage about 2-3 hours a day, every other day. Starting back to work was a very slow process. As a result, our family income went down by two-thirds our previous income!

We immediately started cutting back. I had to take my kids out of private school, cut back on the cable bill, only went out to eat once a week, cut back to just one car (well, we didn’t have a choice in that matter really!), had meatloaf instead of steak – all the things that most people end up doing to conserve. It worked for a while, but the problem is that I am self-employed, and I had about 6 people who worked for me; all of them depending on the income I provided for their survival. Try as I could, I just could not work the hours required to make the income necessary to maintain my family’s lifestyle, and continue to pay the salaries of 6 other people. Eventually I had to let my staff go as well.

Within 6 months we were down to one car, and pretty much except for paying off debt we’d accumulated, all our income went to pure necessities. Period. Any savings we had was completely gone. And now we were no longer making enough monthly to pay our regular bills – including the mortgage. The air conditioner went out; the oven broke; the electrical elements on the stove broke and it was unusable; the microwave oven blew; and the sprinkler system got hosed (no pun intended). In the past, I would just call my handyman to come in and fix these things, and not worry about the expense. Not anymore. Now I had to just let them sit and wait to be fixed, because the priority was to try and catch up with our house payments. We were just barely holding on to the house.

Then the letters and phone calls started coming in. Not just from regular creditors, but from our mortgage company, from their attorneys, and from individuals who claimed they’d buy my home from me and keep me from having to experience that dreaded “F” word: Foreclosure. Even the mortgage company called several times, saying “please call us regarding your account!” Very ominous sounding.

I became depressed. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t sure what to do or how. I had this feeling of loss, loneliness and felt intimidated by all the phone calls and letters sent to me by lawyers, real estate agents and individuals from the community – all who wanted a payment from me…or they wanted my house. Instead of moving forward and taking action – something I’d always been able to do, I could barely function. Who could I talk to? Who could I trust? All those letters sounded great, but when they said “just pay us $2,500 and we’ll help keep you out of foreclosure” I was annoyed, ‘cause if I HAD $2,500, I would have paid my mortgage and wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place!

You know the ones I’m talking about – you’ve already started getting them. They’re usually from potential home buyers, investors, real estate agents and individuals. Usually they want to prey on your misfortune and suck the home from underneath you, or they want to charge you a fee for trying to help you through this unfortunate time. Yeah – those guys. They usually start out by saying something like “Hey – sorry to hear you’re losing your house and are in foreclosure; we’d like to help you out for a small fee of…”. Again – I was in the situation I was in because I didn’t have excess cash, so how they expected me to pay them was beyond me!

When the day came I got a letter from the mortgage company’s attorney, telling me that our home was IN foreclosure, and it was set to be sold on the steps of the County Courthouse – specifying the date, time and address of the pending sale, I realized if I didn’t take SOME sort of action, my house would be gone. That’s when I snapped out of it and decided to do a little research. Kick some booty. MOVE FORWARD!

I managed to save my house. No kidding. And in fact, I’ve done it more than once. I have periods of time when I can work hard, and times when I can’t. When I work, I get paid – when I don’t, no money. So my house has been to the foreclosure wolves about 4 (four) times now, and each time I’ve managed to turn the wolves away. The information found in this book will tell you what I did and how – and hopefully help your overcome the F-word!

So what’s my story? It’s the same as yours – no kidding. Ask my friends. Check with my neighbors, who’ve had my creditors call them to see if we’re still residing in this home. Talk about embarrassing. But I’m no one special. The only difference between me and you is that in my story – I took action. What’s your story going to look like?

2 – How I Saved My House!

As I mentioned earlier, I managed to save my house from foreclosure. I’m not some fancy banker or real estate developer or anything like that – just an ordinary guy who runs a modest business out of his house, with a wife, two kids and a dog. Probably a lot like you.

The day I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and start dealing with my situation – kick some booty and get myself in gear, is the day I asked myself this question about all those people sending me letters, offering to help me save my house: “What did those people know that I didn’t, and where can I find out that information?”

So I took the plunge. Called my mortgage company. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose! So I grabbed the last letter they mailed and dialed the phone number at the top. I was on hold for a LONG time. Some comfort there – probably meant I wasn’t the only one calling for help!

First I called the customer service department. I explained my situation: my house was in foreclosure; I’d had a medical condition that made it hard to work and reduced my income; I had a wife and two kids; and I didn’t want to lose my house. They directed me to what they called the “Home Retention Department.” Well THAT sounded good. “Retention” huh? Good sign.

After discussing my situation with the representative, he stated they had several programs available for which I would probably qualify – and be able to not only keep my house, but make up the payments as well. This gentleman said the company’s goal was to help me get back on track. They really DIDN’T want my house; didn’t want the hassle of foreclosing on me; didn’t want to go to the expense of handing it to their attorneys and then try to sell it if they couldn’t do it on the county courthouse steps. In fact, they would do whatever they could – within reason – to make sure I could keep the home for my family. I was numb! That’s not what I expected to hear.

So what did I do to save my house? I got up the nerve to call the mortgage company myself. I followed the customer service rep’s advice and got my payments back on track. I saved my house – and in fact I’m sitting in it right now, as I’m typing this book for you! Chances are can save your house too. I mean, I don’t know your circumstances, and certainly not every person will be able to stave off foreclosure, but depending on your situation – you might be a good prospect. So don’t wait – GET UP AND CALL YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY as soon as you’re through with this book. Take your life back. Keep your home.

3 – What To Expect

First, you need to call your mortgage company. Take the plunge and DON’T DELAY. The longer you delay, the worse your situation can get – and the more expenses. If you can catch your mortgage company and work out a deal with them BEFORE they’ve sent it to their attorney, then you’ll save a bundle in attorney’s fees. Trust me – I know. I wasn’t so lucky.

So finish reading this book. Go through the checklist I’ve included and get everything ready. Then call them. Call them right away! Truly – if you don’t ask, the answer’s always no. And I’m sure you’ll agree your family and their home – YOUR home – is worth a phone call.

After explaining your particular situation, listen to the service representative. Hear what s/he has to say or recommend. Write everything down they tell you to do, then go do it. They may want you to restructure your loan; they may take what payments you’ve missed and include them at the end of your mortgage; or they may suggest you begin a completely new loan – and yes, all these options are usually available even if your credit is now wiped out. Why? Again – because they REALLY don’t want your house. They don’t want to be the bad guy. They don’t want the hassle. They’ll ask you for proof of income, proof of current expenses, how many people in the family – stuff like that. Nothing fancy, really. They just want to get a handle on your situation.