Foreclosure Isn't a Foregone Conclusion

Call your lender immediately. The sooner you contact the lender (look for the toll-free number on your monthly statement), the more options will be available to you. Ask for the loan mitigation department.

Talk with a reputable credit-counseling agency. You can call the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (888-995-HOPE) or find a local HUD-approved counseling agency (800-569-4287 or http://www.hud.gov).

Know your loan modification options. Depending on how quickly you call your lender, the following options may be available to you: forbearance (an agreement to temporarily let you pay less or nothing while you get back on your feet); reinstatement (pay the total amount you're behind in a lump sum by a certain date); repayment plan (you'll be given a fixed amount of time to repay the amount you're behind by combining a portion of what's past due with your current payment); and loan modification (a written agreement between you and the lender that permanently changes one or more of the original terms of your loan to make it more affordable, such as extending the loan term or lowering the interest rate).

If your financial circumstances have changed so much that you can no longer afford to keep your house, your mortgage company may offer you one of the following options to forestall the foreclosure process:

Loan assumption: Even if your mortgage isn't assumable, your lender may allow someone else to take over the payments and bring the loan current. This may allow you to sell your home.

Short sale: This option, which has been in the news lately, allows you to sell your house for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. Recent, but temporary, changes to the tax code mean that the difference between what you owe and the amount for which you're selling may no longer be taxable as income.

Deed in lieu of foreclosure: You may be able to transfer title to your property to the mortgage company in exchange for the complete cancellation of your mortgage debt. In most cases, your lender will require you to try to sell the house for 90 days before a deed-in-lieu will be considered.

If you find the possibility of foreclosure to be overwhelming and want more information, be wary of going to friends, family or the Internet for guidance, Stout Migala warned. "There could be a lot of misinformation going around."

You could also wind up being snared by Internet scam artists posing as credit counselors or in a foreclosure rescue scam. The best place to start your search for information on the foreclosure process is at http://www.hud.gov.

Q: Forty years ago, my parents were given land from my mother's cousin on which to build a summer home for their children, including me, my sister and my brother.

My parents told everyone for 30-plus years that this property was to be left to all of us. My brother moved to Florida 20 years ago and does not visit often. Actually, he has been in Connecticut only six times since his move to Florida.

I have been staying at or visiting the summer home continually since 1968. My sister and her husband and two daughters visit as frequently.