You do not need all of this to talk to us, or to anyone. But every box you can check makes every conversation about your home faster, calmer, and harder for anyone to spin. Print it and work through it at the kitchen table.
Your most recent mortgage statementIt shows the balance, the payment, and who actually services the loan, which is who everyone will need to call.
Every notice or legal letter, unopened ones includedDo not throw anything away, even the scary ones. The dates printed inside them are the whole game.
Last property tax billUnpaid taxes change the math on several options, so it is better to know now.
Homeowner's insurance declaration pageA lapse matters, and fixing one is usually cheap compared to what it protects.
Recent pay stubs or income records, if you want to keep the homeReinstatement plans and loan modifications both live and die on documented income.
Photos or honest notes about the home's conditionThe roof, the furnace, the things you have been meaning to fix. Honest condition means honest numbers.
The published sale (auction) date, if a notice names oneIt is printed on the foreclosure notice. Then see exactly where you stand at our timeline tool.
The date of your last mortgage paymentIt sets how far behind the loan really is, which is often less than the pressure suggests.
Do not sign anything at your doorNo deed, no purchase agreement, no "authorization." Anything legitimate survives 48 hours and a second opinion.
Do not sign a quitclaim deed to anyoneSigning away title without resolving the mortgage can leave you owing on a house you no longer own.
Do not move out because a letter scared youIn Michigan you usually keep the right to live in your home well past the auction, and leaving early can shorten your rights.
Do not stop opening mailEvery deadline arrives by mail. The envelope is never worse than not knowing what is in it.
Do not assume it is overAuction scheduled, auction happened, months gone by: at every one of those points, real options usually remain.
A folder, a date, and one calm conversation. That is a genuinely strong starting position.