For those facing foreclosure, there are many avenues to take to save their home and their credit from this problem. There are many strategies used and many people willing to help you. What are your choices? How will you be able to determine which option is right for you?

It all depends on who you choose to work with. I have met with many people facing this nightmare, and many of them just didn't understand what they were entering into when they partnered an investor to solve there problem. I have met a few who are happy with the results. It is not my intention in this article to vilify the investors that these people were less than happy with. These investors did what they promised they would do. These home owners just did not fully comprehend what they were entering into.

Here are some examples of people who are willing to help you through this challenge. Realtors will try to sell your home for you. If there is enough equity in your home this could work for you. You must realized that you will need to sell the home for enough money to pay off the loan, any back payments or missed payments and late fees and agents commissions. If your home does not have enough equity in it to sell quickly and cover all these costs then time will march along and the day of the foreclosure option will arrive before you have gotten out from under the home. Remember also that you will have to wait an additional thirty days in most cases, from the day of the offer for the buyers to get their loan approved and funded.

There are excellent real estate agents out there. Some of them specialize in marketing homes that are in pre foreclosure or past that point. They are few and far between. Be sure to find one who has experience in and success with these situations.

There are all kinds of investors out there willing to assist you. Again, be careful who you choose. There are those who really want a win, win situation for all involved. There are also those that are only looking out for there own benefit. If you can get some references from the investor, that will give you some confidence in believing there offer of assistance. You can ask them for letters from pleased past clients or other success stories you can verify. Find out exactly what their strategy is. How do they plan to solve the problem? What do you have to do to commit to receive their assistance.

One woman whom I have met, signed over the deed to her house to an investor for a three thousand dollar loan to pay back her missed payments. The terms of this loan were outrageous. She had to pay the man back 5,000 dollars in 6 months or lose the home she had lived in for 20 years. We found her a different lender who was willing to offer her much more reasonable terms than that.

Another gentleman I recently spoke with claimed that he just didn't realize that the agreement he signed required him to move out. He was very anxious to find a new place to live. He did save his credit history from having a foreclosure on it. This will enable him to purchase a home again soon. I wasn't there when this particular strategy was explained to him. I can't say whether it was made clear to him at that time that he would not be able to remain in the home. When considering the offer for help that will be extended to you, make sure that you have it all in writing. Make sure you understand what is being offered before you enter into any agreement.

Many times people will assume that they have no options to avoid foreclosure. This is particularly true when as much as owed on their home as it is worth. Some times, because of falling market values or aggressive borrowing on the home owners part even more is owed on a home than it is worth. These are valid concerns when considering a foreclosure avoidance strategy. It does no need to be a road block to successfully changing a course out of foreclosure. There is a way to create equity in a home that to appear to have none.

This way is called a short sale. A short sale is when the lender will take less than what is owed on a property. Why would they do this? Because the cost of "taking a home back" is higher than the short sale offer is asking them to accept. The CBS evening news reported that the average cost of taking a home back was $50,000 to the bank. When a home goes to a foreclosure sale these days, the second mortgage will virtually always be left with no money at all from the sale. This is because the winning bid never goes high enough for the second to get any of the proceeds. This means that they are much more willing to accept a little money to release their lien on the property than to take nothing if it goes to auction.

A good negotiator/investor can get this to work out for all parties involved. The first mortgage gets most or all of what is owed. The second mortgage gets something where, if it went to auction, they would get nothing. The home owner avoids foreclosure on their credit report. Depending on their agreement with the investor, they may get to stay in their home and buy it back as well.

Short sales are without a doubt the best answer to the whole foreclosure nightmare. More good comes from a properly worked short sale that any other option in almost every other instance.

Download a copy of The Foreclosure Survival Handbook and learn many options available which you can use to stop foreclosure on your home.