Am I Eligible for an Option to Avoid Foreclosure?

Foreclosures are on the rise again in Chicago. While the numbers are not as high as they were during the foreclosure crisis that began nearly 15 years ago, the rates of foreclosure are creeping up, and they are attracting particular attention in major urban areas, including Chicago. Indeed, according to a recent report in Bloomberg, foreclosure starts rose by 22 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared with numbers from the first quarter of last year, and Chicago has the second-highest rate of new foreclosure starts in the country. In the first quarter alone, there were more than 3,500 foreclosure starts in the Chicago area, a number that makes Chicago second only to New York City in terms of foreclosure starts.

If you are at risk of foreclosure, or if you are already facing foreclosure, what are your options for avoiding it? And should you even be taking steps to avoid it, or should you merely allow the foreclosure to happen and then attempt to get your credit back on track later?

You Should Do Everything You Can to Prevent Foreclosure

Many people who are struggling with debt and are facing foreclosure make the decision to simply allow the foreclosure to happen, but it is almost always beneficial to take steps to avoid foreclosure, and an experienced foreclosure defense attorney can help you with your options.

Why should you try to avoid foreclosure if you can? Not only does foreclosure always result in the loss of your home, but it can also have a substantial impact on your credit — significantly more than some of the options that may be available to you to avoid foreclosure — and it can result in you facing a lawsuit for the bank to recover the money you owe and the loss of any equity in your property. In short, if you can avoid foreclosure, you should.

Ways to Avoid Foreclosure in Illinois

There are many potential ways to avoid foreclosure, and our Oak Park foreclosure defense attorneys routinely assist homeowners with a range of tools for preventing foreclosure in Illinois. The following are just some of the options that could be relevant to your situation:

• Showing that your mortgage servicer or lender violated the law or made an error, and you should not actually be in a situation where you are facing foreclosure;
• Doing a short sale, which requires getting permission from the lender to sell your home at a price below what you owe and asking the lender to forgive the remaining amount;
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure, which involves turning over the deed to your house or apartment to the bank to prevent the bank from foreclosing; or
• Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, if you are eligible, which can actually allow you to catch up on mortgage payments and keep your home.

Contact an Oak Park Foreclosure Defense Attorney

Are you struggling with your mortgage payments and at risk of foreclosure? Now is the time to get in touch with an experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense lawyer who can learn more about your specific circumstances and can discuss different types of foreclosure defense options with you. For many struggling homeowners, there are ways to avoid foreclosure, and our firm can help. Contact the Emerson Law Firm for more information and to speak with an attorney.



See Related Blog Posts:

Delinquent Mortgages Decline While Foreclosures Rise

Foreclosure Rates Continue Uptick