Legal Solutions for You,
Your Family & Your Business

Chapter Introduction

• The Emotional Part of Foreclosure
• Dealing With Fear
• Grieving for Your Loss
• Avoiding the “American Dream” Trap
• The Economics of Foreclosure: What You Need to Know
• Do You Have Equity in Your House?
• Can You Keep Making Your Monthly Payments?
• Could You Reduce Your Debt Load?
• When It Makes Sense to Keep Your House
• You Have at Least Some Equity in Your House
• You Can Afford Future Monthly Loan Payments
• When It Makes Sense to Give up Your House

If foreclosure looms because you’ve missed some payments, or you think you will soon, it’s time to face what’s probably the toughest question of the whole process: whether or not you should try to hang on to your house.

Of course, you must take a good look at whether it’s financially feasible to try to keep your house. But the decision isn’t always a simple matter of finances and cash flow. You’ll need to sort through emotional factors, too. Would the loss of your residence be so catastrophic that you would do anything to keep it, or might you be better off letting go and moving on? Could you accept it as an economic setback rather than a personal failing?

This chapter will help you figure these things out. Then you can move forward, either to take steps to keep your house, or to start planning how to give it up in the most emotionally and economically advantageous way. The next chapters discuss how to take these next steps after you decide what direction you want to go in.