Fight Foreclosure!: How to Cope with a Mortgage You Can't Pay, Negotiate with Your Bank, and Save Your Home »

David M. Petrovich is Executive Director of the Society for the Preservation of Continued Homeownership, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Corporation that provides preforeclosure counseling to financially troubled homeowners. He has investigated allegations of predatory lending, mortgage loan servicing error, fraud, and untoward realty transactions for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and his career in real estate spans more than twenty years.

Fight Foreclosure! offers a practical, step-by-step system for taking action to prevent foreclosure on your home before it?s too late. If you?re having trouble keeping up with your payments, the worst thing you can do is nothing. This book explores all your options, weighs the pros and cons of each, and explains the pre-foreclosure process in detail. Plus, it points out the too-good-to-be-true credit repair offers you should avoid and gives you real, practical alternatives that help you help yourself before it?s too late.

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction: You Are Not Alone: America in Foreclosure     xi
Don't Ignore the Warning Signs: How to Get past Denial, Deal with the Stress and Embarrassment, and Take Action to Save Your Home and Family     1
The Foreclosure Time Clock: Why It's Much Better to Act Sooner than Later     17
How to Handle Collection Calls: Why You Should Talk to Your Lender First, What to Say, and What Questions to Ask     29
Too Much Month at the End of the Money: How to Prioritize Your Spending and Where to Cut Expenses     37
Negotiate with Your Lender to Win/Win: Walk Away, Sell, or Sacrifice to Save     47
Use the Law to Fight Foreclosure: Legal Defenses     55
Using Bankruptcy to Save Your Home     67
How to Sell to Avoid Foreclosure and Save Your Credit Even if You Owe More than Your Home Is Worth     79
How to Find Legitimate Help and Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams     97
Options for Real Estate Investors Facing Foreclosure     111
Life after Foreclosure: What I Learned When It Happened to Me     123
Questions and Answers from HUD     131
Mortgage Workout Notebook     137
Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007     141
News Release from www.hud.org     145
Glossary     151
StateForeclosure Procedures Chart     199
About the Author     209
Index     211