When facing foreclosure, the very first concern of most homeowners is the effect it will have on their credit score. Well, there’s no doubt in the fact that your credit score will be negatively influenced by foreclosure. But, this in no way means that you’ll never be able to qualify for a mortgage. Of course, you can buy some other property, though it’ll take at least two years or more before availing that opportunity.

Basically, there are two factors that determine how long it may take for you to purchase a new home after foreclosure i.e. bankruptcy and eviction. If the two aren’t prevented, your credit is likely to suffer more.

For those of you, who have no idea about the two processes, here’s the explanation. An eviction is actually a legal way of expelling someone from occupying the property owing to the nonpayment of rent. Now, as they say, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, by preventing eviction, you may eventually avoid a worse credit score. And the easiest way of doing so, is leaving the property before it gets to the limit when the bank has no option other than filing an eviction notice against you.

When talking about bankruptcy, this is a more complicated process as compared to eviction. Sometimes, the bank looks forward to a deficiency judgment if the house isn’t sold for an amount worth covering what is owed on it. In such a case, the person could not only become homeless but at the same time be indebted to the bank. For most people, bankruptcy seems to be the only option in such circumstances, though in real they are ignoring the fact that filing for bankruptcy will do nothing more than making their credit record worse. Some people don’t even understand that bankruptcy can stay on their credit record for ten years, while a foreclosure stays on the record for around seven years.

Now that it’s apparent that foreclosure badly affects your credit score, the main concern of the day is how to repair the damage. Many homeowners don’t even know that by taking some necessary steps, they improve their credit report to a great extent. For instance making the bill payments on time indicates that you have changed your mind and are now serious about the financial concerns. Keep in mind that on-time payments boost credit scores and consequently increase the chances of getting a new mortgage.

Mortgage foreclosure is presently one of the most serious issues faced by the American homeowners. From the Obama administration to realtors, just about every one associated with the real estate world is busy in devising new strategies for survival in this crisis. Of course, the best advice is to avoid foreclosure at all costs which can be done by making on-time mortgage payments. Running behind on mortgage payments should be avoided at all costs, even if you’ve to make other sacrifices like not paying for the car or even the insurance premium.

Now, this is what can be done to prevent foreclosure but what to do when foreclosure knocks your door when you aren’t even ready or mentally prepared to leave your property. This is the time when you wonder if it’s possible to postpone the foreclosure. Well, if that’s the case, here’s the good news. YES, there are certain effective methods and strategies that could actually help you delay the problematic process of mortgage foreclosure.

The first step that you could take is writing the hardship letter. So, what is this hardship letter about? Basically, it is a letter that you write to your financial lender, detailing your personal circumstances that have caused the problem. A well-written letter states that the affected homeowner needs to apply for a mortgage refinancing loan or needs extra time to catch up with the payments. If this is done in a proper manner, the person will not have to leave the home for further 3-6 months.

Another possible option could be closing contract errors. This could possibly delay the foreclosure process for more than a year. Most people are unaware of the fact that a majority of house closing contracts are likely to have several errors in them. If you’re wise enough to understand where to find these errors and you eventually discover one, the foreclosure process can even be stopped, giving you the opportunity to command up against your financial lender.

Now, a third method could be demanding a foreclosure hearing. Remember, if this goes smooth, this can be kept going for over a year. The trick here is to cause a delay in the process, not to win the hearing.

Lastly, keep in mind that a foreclosure follows a complete process and there are tricks and methods that can be applied to postpone the procedure and avoid leaving your home for a few years.