Since mortgages are the most secured of any loan type (a lender can foreclose on a house if the loan defaults), collection agencies generally don’t get much mortgage collection work. But there is one large exception: deficiency balances. If a lender approves the sale of a house for less than what is owed by the borrower, the difference is a deficiency balance. In the ongoing morass of the housing market, short sales are commonplace. Lenders will typically forgive deficiency balances. If they do not, that amount enters the ARM process and can find its way to debt collectors.

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