The prospect of losing your house to foreclosure can be downright terrifying. Especially if you've invested years into making payments, you'll probably want to fight the process. However, you might be unsure if that's even an option or how you'd do it. Speak with a foreclosure attorney as soon as you think there's even a possibility of trouble. A lawyer may point you to one of these three options for fighting foreclosure.

Prove the Payments Are Current or Close to Paid

The law protects all homeowners who are current on their payments. Likewise, most state laws protect folks who might be a couple of payments behind. After all, the government doesn't want banks kicking people out of houses when they could catch up on their payments with some effort.

Every state has different laws regarding what counts as being current on your payments or close to it. It is wise to contact a foreclosure lawyer who's licensed to practice in your state. They will give you an informed opinion about whether the bank even has the right to initiate foreclosure proceedings given your payment status under your state's laws.

Show the Mortgage Is Underwater

Another potential protection against foreclosure is an underwater mortgage. Federal laws that appeared after the last several housing crises may prevent a bank from foreclosing on a home that is considered underwater. In financial parlance, a loan is underwater if the outstanding mortgage principal is higher than the fair market value of the property.

Loans can go underwater during economic crashes, for example. If housing prices crash 50% of their last-sale value, a lot of people's mortgages end up exceeding their principals. The same problem can occur if you've paid on a mortgage for decades and the house's value has depreciated significantly. Local conditions, such as economic flight following busts, can put mortgages underwater too.

Depending on how much the bank wants to fight, you may have to file bankruptcy to assert an underwater claim. Also, most states only allow this claim for a primary residence.

Legal Violations

Lenders have to conform to a host of fair-housing laws. Any violations may be grounds for terminating a foreclosure proceeding. If a company misrepresented anything during the loan process, for example, a foreclosure attorney might tell a judge that provides a basis for nullifying the process. Fraud or undue influence, such as routing people toward mortgages they couldn't afford, may also provide an argument for halting foreclosure. Civil rights violations may fit this profile too.

Contact a local foreclosure lawyer to learn more.