Of the more than seven million families in the U.S. who have mortgages, almost fifteen percent of them are going into foreclosure. Some localities have foreclosure rates as high as forty percent. In areas that homes are being foreclosed on, home values begin to diminish even further. How did this happen and how do you stop the foreclosure notice that is sitting on your kitchen table?

All of this began when the interest rates were really low. Borrowers were refinancing mortgages to either get a lower monthly payment or to pay off credit cards and other debts. Some started a cycle of refinancing their homes to pay off debts and ended up owing more than the home was worth.

In the meantime lenders were popping up everywhere to get people to take out loans to buy their first homes. They preyed on people who traditionally could not buy houses. The lenders, working with brokers, offered adjustable rate mortgages with teasing rates in the beginning that were astronomical after two to three years. After the deal the mortgage was divided into mortgage backed securities which were sold to investors and servicing rights.

The lenders would sell the servicing rights to servicing companies which would collect a fee. In some cases if the fee was paid your mortgage payment never got to the lender. Most of the time though, people just priced themselves out of their homes. In this economy with jobs being lost and prices going up, making ends meet is harder and harder each day. When you start missing payments, the lenders start coming.

If you have avoided your lender, or have been unable to make your payments for three months, the lender will declare you in default. Once that declaration has been made and the process started, your options become quite limited. Once this process has started you either must come up with the back payments plus any fees or the mortgage in full.

Selling your house is an option, but you need to sell it quickly. You can stop the foreclosure process, but you must act and have your home sold before the process is completed. The best and quickest way to accomplish this is through a real estate investor.

Putting your house on the market via traditional means will not help you at this point.

Save your sanity and what is left of your precious credit rating. Talk to a qualified professional real estate investor today and stop the foreclosure process. Take control of your finances and your life