Hiring a Chicago Foreclosure Attorney to Save Your Home May Not Be The Best Choice

23-Feb-2011 Illinois provides its residents with ample opportunity to save their homes after the foreclosure process has begun. Hiring a great Chicago foreclosure attorney will help make this possible. However even with the law on your side and the best attorney in Chicago saving your home might not be the right choice for you.

It is likely that you have already missed as many as 5 mortgage payments by the time your lender notices and gets the foreclosure process rolling. Depending on your mortgage amount your monthly payments could be rather large. If you pay $1,000 a month for your mortgage you will already be $5,000 behind when you are considered to have defaulted. When you add in late fees it will be even more.

Hiring a qualified foreclosure attorney early in the process is likely to provide you with a possible solution to save your home. It is imperative that when you sit down with your Chicago foreclosure attorney you also discuss the probability that you can continue to pay your mortgage. You may be able to make the large payment towards your debt allowing you to keep your home, but what happens next.

Make sure you ask yourself, why you defaulted on your mortgage in the first place. If the answer is that you cannot afford your mortgage it might be time to consider giving your home back to the bank. If you find yourself facing this question there are three possible solutions:

Proceed with foreclosure - If you've accepted that you are unable to make your mortgage payments and that you won't be able to in the near future you may decide to let the foreclosure process run its course. This will hand the ownership of the property back over to the lender. Foreclosure is hard to accept but it could be the key to a fresh start. Foreclosure takes several months and until the process is complete you can stay in the home. You won't pay anything towards your mortgage at this time so you can take the opportunity to save up for a down payment on a rental.

Pay off debt and keep your home - For some this is a great solution. It is important that you are confident that your income is adequate to continue making the payments due on the loan.

Take time to decide - Illinois law gives you as long as 7 months to decide what you are able to do regarding your home. If you are unsure if you can keep up with payments then don't hand all your money over to your lender. Don't make any payments to your lender but instead put the money you would have sent them into a savings account. Then when you decide you can either use the money to save your home or use it to help you move into a rental.

Consider your options and utilize the expertise of your Chicago foreclosure attorney. Keeping your home or giving it up, either solution can provide you with a fresh start.

Chang and Carlin
The content found on the Chang & Carlin site is not legal advice and is purely for informational purposes. The information contained herein is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are interested in obtaining information about chapter 7 bankruptcy, chapter 13 bankruptcy, foreclosure services, real estate legal services, you are encouraged to call our law firm at 866-790-8601 or Request a Free Legal Evaluation. Chang and Carlin serves clients in Chicago, Schaumburg, Joliet, Warrenville, Waukegan, Illinois.