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On August 22nd, 2008, the Foreclosures Help resource website conducted a survey of U.S. residents who are either now in foreclosure or at least three months delinquent on their mortgage. The purpose of the study was to get a better understanding of the needs of people who are facing foreclosure. Below are the survey results, ranked in order of popularity from most to least.

1) How exactly do I protect my home from foreclosure?

The most frequent question that owners of homes consider regarding foreclosure was, of course, by what method they could stop said foreclosure. Commonly, the question was stated more precisely than this, for example, some respondents asked what actions they could perform in order to shield their house from the foreclosure. Others asked how they could keep their property, and still others simply didn't want the embarrassment of being evicted.

Whatever the reason they got behind on their mortgage payments, (including medical bills, loss of job, gambling problems, divorce, etc.) the lender's Notice of Default letter always comes as a jolting surprise to the homeowner. Perhaps they have allowed themselves to lose all hope, or live in a state of denial, but very, very few people in that situation are prepared and ready to fight to protect their homes. Declaring Bankruptcy or selling the house to an investor seems too extreme to them each and every time, and 100% of those surveyed were expecting somehow, justified or not, to be able to pay off their bills and get caught up soon. In fact, most claim that they could afford any one payment at the time of the survey, but none could afford to pay them all off at once, naturally.

2) How to protect my credit rating?

It shouldn't be too surprising that the 2nd concern was about how to keep their credit score high despite a foreclosure. It appears that almost every respondent knew very well that a foreclosure would leave a 7-10 year scar on their credit record severe enough to ensure that they wouldn't be getting a new home or car in that time, no matter how much money they make. While the foreclosure itself is long and scary enough, some people clearly felt that this blank mark on their credit record was the worst part of the damage to their financial future.

3) What would happen if I filed bankruptcy?

When a homeowner is threatened with foreclosure and has no way to pay the back payments or even current mortgage payments and everything looks bleak, he or she sometimes seriously considers filing bankruptcy. However, there are many questions about filing bankruptcy as a way out of foreclosure. Bankruptcy laws have changed and it is harder to file bankruptcy nowadays. So, homeowners have questions such as what will happen to the home that is in foreclosure, do I have to declare the home in foreclosure, will I be able to delay foreclosure with bankruptcy, what if the home is in both my name and my spouse's name then who needs to file for foreclosure and declare it? There are many foreclosure questions that come up when bankruptcy is concerned.

4) How do I make the bank make a deal with me?

The final, most popular issue that often arises with foreclosure is how to ensure cooperation on the part of the bank. These institutions are very difficult to interact with while you are in foreclosure. As often as they can understand your difficult financial situation and attempt a compromise, they are just as likely to simply file foreclosure on your property without notice. What follows is eviction by the authorities. Once the notice of default appears, property owners particularly would like to know how to get a bank's attention and negotiate a settlement.

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