As house prices decrease and with interest-only mortgages diminishing, more homeowners in reality owe more on their mortgages than what their house is truly worth. It obviously has occurred to many homeowners that this makes sense, as many are defaulting on mortgage payments as we speak.

Quick breakdown to explain the situation: you purchase a house for $400,000 that is now worth only $300,000. Thanks to an interest-only mortgage, you still owe $400,000. If you erased this off of your balance sheet, your net worth will increase by $100,000. Granted, you’d still need a place to live, but from this point you could purchase a more affordable house or rent for a bit of time.

One huge drawback to walking away from your house. If you do, you will destroy your credit rating, which makes it hard or even impossible to rent an apartment, get a new mortgage, and even a job. There is a giant drawback to abandoning your responsibilities. If you walk away, you will trash your credit rating, making it more difficult or impossible to rent an apartment, qualify for a new mortgage, and perhaps get a job.

Luckily, new legislation is out now to help families that are facing foreclosure, which will encourage people to pick alternative routes other than abandonment.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. She also composes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

Collecting the debt by yourself: If the debt is new or small, you’ll most likely start by trying to collect the debt yourself before hiring a collection agency or a lawyer. The most efficient way to start the process of collecting an unsettled debt is by calling the debtor. Many nonpaying customers can talk a great talk on the phone, but then never deliver. If the business is local, aspire to make an appointment with their finance manager to talk face to face.

Another useful way to motivate consumers to make a payment is by using a 10 day demand letter. Some collection agencies offer a free 10 day demand letter service that includes postage and mailing of a demand letter sent on official collection agency letterhead. Many times, this is enough to get your customer to part with their payment.

Hire a Collection Agency: Many small enterprises at the beginning dont think of hiring a collection agency to collect oustanding debt, but of the outsourced solutions, a collection agency is usually the most cost effective and gets the best results. With a collection agency, you don’t pay until they collect the debt, meaning that the collection agency is highly inclined to find a way to get the customer to pay. Because they don’t get paid unless you do, a collection agency tends to work fast and much more efficient when working on a contingency basis.

Today’s new collection agencies don’t use scare tactics or bully customers. Besides, not all clients who are behind on payments are deadbeats. When you choose a collection agency, make sure one of its goals is to maintain extreme professionalism and one that fallows the FDCPA diligently.

Taking the legal road: Another idea to collecting a debt is to take legal action whether by taking the debtor to small claims court or by hiring a lawyer to pursue the debtor.

Mallory Megan is employed by a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. She also does stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies.

After a certain length of time creditors can no longer collect from those in debt. The length of the Statute of Limitations varies. Important factors include what state the debt has been incurred in, the type of debt, if there is a signed contract or not among many other factors.

One example is the state of New Hampshire, where the time alloted to collect a debt is 3 years. If it was a foreign judgement, the Statute of Limitations is as high as 20 years; on a domestic one it is also 20 years. For goods the Statute of Limitations is four years but with a written and signed contract is is three years.

Debtors that do not believe that they owe the money, they can fight the creditors claim may actually withold information regarding invoices or balances due and request proof demonstrating the validity of the debt.At this point, collection agencies must present backup documentation to support their claim.

For more information about the length of the Statute of Limitations, you should consult a legal expert in your own state.While there are many collections agencies out there that use unreputable practices, there is also a number of legitimate agencies who are willing to help out. Agencies such as Rapid Recovery Solution are always willing to help out. For more information, consult rapidrecoverysolution.com. In this trying time of economic hardship don’t be bullied by illegal tactics by illegitimate collection agencies. There are laws out there to protect debtors and everyone should know their rights.

Mallory is a representative for a Debt Collection company. Mallory is working to be being a professional Collection Agent