Introduction

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you take charge and address your foreclosure situation immediately.  Your lender operates on specific time schedules, and you must understand that this situation WILL move forward unless YOU do something to stop it. They will not delay without reason to do so – you must be the one to give them a good reason.

 Before you go any further in this process, you need to spend a few minutes seriously considering what the best course of action is at this point. In other words, do you REALLY need to keep this house?  If you are a parent or caretaker who is responsible for keeping a roof over the head of someone who can’t provide one for themselves, then the answer is probably yes.  (But even then, do you need the house you’re in now or could you get by with a less expensive one?)  On the other hand, if you have no dependents, would you be better getting out from under this house, moving into an apartment or perhaps living with friends or relatives temporarily while you get back on your feet?

We tend to get very emotionally attached to our homes, so it is important that you take the emotion out of this decision and try to use logic so you will know you are making the best long-term financial decision.  Pretend for a moment that you are somebody else, and a good friend of yours comes to you seeking your advice.  They are in foreclosure, bills are piling up, whatever your situation is.  If it were somebody else who you cared about facing these challenges, what advice would you give them?  Again, don’t make an emotional decision, make a logical decision.
 
Houses are THINGS and you can always get more THINGS.  Is this house really worth the constant stress you’ve been under lately?  Is that stress affecting the truly important things in life – your family and health? Only you can make that decision, but you need to decide NOW what your course of action is, and then move on to the next step – which is to take massive, focused action.

The tendency of many people in a new, uncomfortable, or unpleasant situation is to freeze.  The “deer in the headlights” analogy is accurate here.  The deer could save itself by taking immediate action, but instead it freezes with fear as the car grows closer and closer.
 
YOU need to take action now to work this out with your lender.  At the very least you can move out on YOUR terms rather than on THEIR terms.   There are many options available to you, and they are spelled out in the following chapters.  Some of them may make you uncomfortable or require you to pick up the phone and have a conversation that you may find unpleasant.  If you find yourself procrastinating, simply take a minute to visualize the outcome you want.  Close your eyes and see an image of you, a few days from now, with the problem solved.  Think about how you’ll feel knowing that you were able to take control of this situation and stop the foreclosure on your home.  Pat yourself on the back.  Now, back in the present — TAKE ACTION to make that vision a reality.  You can do it!

The path to success is to make massive, determined action.
– Anthony Robbins
Action is the real measure of intelligence.
– Napoleon Hill