When you start getting behind in your bills due to credit debt, particularly your car or house payments, you want to contact your creditors quickly to avoid trouble. This is especially true if you have secured debt, which means that the creditor can take the item that is offered as your security for the loan – usually either your car or your home.
Acording to the Findlaw Website, lenders can "repossess your car or foreclose on your house," once you fail to keep up with the payments. While there may be a little time before an action does take place, you can be sure that it will place a dent in your credit score if that happens. Technically, no notice has to be given that they are going to take it away.
Generally speaking, if you have a problem that is causing a financial hardship, you need to talk to the lender quickly in order to work out some kind of arrangement. Many times they are willing to do this, which is one way to get some kind of debt solution – at least temporarily. If not, the Findlaw Website suggests that you contact a housing counseling agency, especially if you are in a house with an FHA loan.