A foreclosure is the legal process that a bank or other secured creditor goes through in order to seize the initial real property it has secured funds for and allows them to resell it on the real estate market in order to reclaim money owed them by the owner of the property. This happens when the owner fails to comply with an agreement between the lender and borrower (called a "mortgage" or "deed of trust"). When the process has been completed, typically it is said that the lender has foreclosed its mortgage or lien.
Foreclosure is an often lengthy process, with timeframes varying from state to state. There are, however, foreclosure avoidance options. Many websites offer guidance on foreclosures as well as foreclosure listings for those home buyers interested in purchasing a property below market value:
The Office of the Public Trustee is responsible for releasing deeds of trust and administering foreclosure proceedings on properties in El Paso County. The Public Trustee serves as a liaison between the lender and the homeowner during the foreclosure process.
Foreclosure.com provides the latest, most complete foreclosure property listings in an easy to follow format. They are America's largest provider of distressed properties, including foreclosures, preforeclosures, bankruptcy, FSBO and tax lien listings.
This company has made it their mission to provide investors and homebuyers with the best and most accurate foreclosure information nationwide. You can use this guide to find great deals on homes all across the United States in one easy-to-use site.
Foreclosuredeals.com helps homebuyers, investors and foreclosure professionals find the information and assistance they need for success in today's competitive market. Their database currently holds more than 500,000 foreclosed properties all over the United States and is updated daily with bank foreclosures, foreclosed homes, HUD foreclosures and all kinds of other real estate foreclosure properties.
Their foreclosure listings include HUD homes, bank foreclosures, government repo properties, mortgage lender REOs, repossessed VA homes and much more all over the United States. They provide detailed information on all their listings and they are updated daily.
HUD offers this guide on how to avoid foreclosures that is applicable to homeowners with FHA insured loans. They discuss what happens when you miss your mortgage payments, what you should do, what your alternatives are, how to know if you qualify for the alternatives and precautions you can take to avoid being scammed by an unscrupulous counseling agencies or equity skimming "buyers".
The NCRC offers an anti-predatory lending toolkit to provide you with a solid source of information about the state of fair housing law, how predatory lending manifests itself, case developments, the relationship between civil rights, CRA and predatory lending and proposed and enacted state and local law. They provide community groups and consumer advocates with tools to challenge lending practices contributing to the problem of predatory lending, including sub-prime and predatory lending defined, predatory lending scams, consensus building and the NCRC's Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act fact sheet.