Foreclosure is "not" inevitable

Read: Any option is better than foreclosure.

I've watched Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" last night. And I found out through the credits that every second, 7 1/2 homes are being foreclosed in America - not a good thing. Luckily, there are other routes you can take to avoid foreclosure process. But first, you have to talk to your lender to find out if you are eligible for any of the following alternatives:

Partial Claim. You may get assistance from your lender to acquire a one-time payment from the Federal Housing Authority Insurance Fund to get your mortgage current. You may be eligible if you are able to start making full-mortgage payments.

Pre-foreclosure Sale. This alternative will let you keep off from selling your property for a value less than the amount required to pay off your loan.

Special Forbearance. You may be assisted  by your lender to set up a repayment scheme based on your financial position and may even help you provide for a temporary  reduction or abatement of your payments. You may be eligible for this if you just experienced a decrease in income or an increase in living disbursals. You must disclose information to your lender to prove that you would be able to meet the requisites of the new payment scheme.

Mortgage Modification. You may possibly refinance the debt or prolong the term of your mortgage loan. This alternative may help you catch up by decreading the monthly fees to more affordable level. You may be eligible if you have already come out of a financial trouble, and can afford the new payment amount.

Deed-in-lieu of Foreclosure.  As the fallback, you may willingly "give back" your home to the lender. Note: This won't relieve your property, but this is still better than foreclosure because it doesn't do as much damage to your credit rating. You may be eligible if you are in default, and come out short for any other options or if your attempts at selling the property before foreclosure were not successful.

Your lender or a housing counseling agency can help you find out if you are eligible for these alternatives.