Many homeowners are facing unforeseen troubles right now. All across the country there are foreclosures in records numbers due to the troubled economy and lax lending standards in the past. Also many homeowners are unable to sell their home for enough to cover their mortgages if they do have to move.
However, many of the solutions that are being offered will still hurt your credit.
If you must sell and move and you cannot get a high enough price to cover your mortgage you can get a short sale, meaning that the mortgage company will agree to take less. For some reason this seems like a great solution and since not being able to sell at a high enough price isn?t really the sellers fault you would think that you should be able to get by with this without a credit penalty.
Nope. A short sale will damage your credit and reduce your score.
And what about a loan modification? Asking your bank for help? Taking advantage of the governments Home Affordable Modification Plan or HAMP?
Nope. That will also damage your credit. And many banks are not really being all that helpful.
So what is a homeowner to do?
Well you may not be able to avoid credit problems but you can do whatever is possible to get your finances back in order. Take care of yourself and your family first. When your finances are back in order there are steps you can take to improve and repair your credit.
And as with all things, ?This too, will pass.?