When the wolves are at the door, it can mean big problems for a cash-strapped homeowner. When there’s too much month left at the end of the money, what does a person do? The following are some tips to ease your pain.

Don’t procrastinate. If you are unable to pay the mortgage even just one month, contact your lender and try to work something out. They will typically need your account number, income tax return, list of household expenses and any benefit statements from disability or Social Security. Lenders want to help you. They don’t want to deal with marketing, fixing up and reselling your house.

Prioritize correctly. Seriously, don’t pay your credit cards before your home loan. While having credit cards may seem most immediate at the present time, it is a thousand times more difficult for a person to recover emotionally, mentally and financially after losing their home. Don’t let this happen to you.

Know your finances. Keep your checkbook balanced (or at least as close to balanced as possible). Stay on top of your bills, know which are current and which are late. Budget your money and plan your cash flows, based on expected future income. Those with unpredictable incomes from sales jobs or self-employment should pay the critical things first - house, food, utilities - and then work their way down the list of expenses from there. Knowing your finances is an essential part of knowing when to contact your lender.

Know your rights. This, along with step 3, is critical in understanding whether you are making a great deal or getting the short end of the stick, so to speak. Get a tax professional or attorney involved to advise you on your options.

Remain level-headed. Weigh all your options, with input from experts. Face up to your circumstances with an honest and realistic, yet solution-oriented, perspective. Be willing to fight for your investment, but also be willing to consider quick outs like a pre-foreclosure sale.

Lenders don’t like the hassle of foreclosures because it requires them to fix the property up, market it, sell it, pay closing costs, etc. On the other hand, they also don’t like losing money, and that is what a short sale amounts to. They must forgive the remaining debt not covered by the property sale. Short sales, also known as pre-foreclosure sales, are very popular. 731,244 short sales have been filed thus far this year. The following are some tips to help buyers close short sales.

Analyze the situation: What are the circumstances surrounding the pending foreclosure? What is the interest rate on the loan? What is the outstanding loan balance in relation to fair market value? Not every home facing foreclosure is a good opportunity for a short sale.

Develop a plan: Try to put yourself in the lender’s shoes and anticipate his moves. Decide what your initial offer will be and how you will justify it. Also consider what your counter-offer will be and any justifications for it as well.

Talk often with the lender: Keep in communication with the lender and share information you discover about the property itself and the surrounding market. This info may help you justify your initial offer or counter-offer.

Do research, be prepared: Research and preparation are part of gathering the aforementioned information that is so key to the negotiation process. Have all your ducks in a row, so to speak, to avoid embarrassment when talking with the lender.

Be persistent: Don’t roll over when your offer is rejected. It’s not personal, it’s business. Make a counter-offer and inquire as to why your offer was rejected. Typically it will be because the offer was not high enough. You may need to submit a higher offer, but you should also show the lender more documentation in an effort to justify a lower price than they may have had in mind.

Hire a negotiator: A paid negotiator can be good if you are continually striking out, hopelessly intimidated by the negotiation process or simply don’t know where to begin. You can either hire a successful professional who has been down this road before, or you can even hire a former bank employee who used to get paid to work against people like you. They will best understand the other side and how to win.