If the foundations of your financial world are crumbling inwardly, and the black words ‘foreclosure’ and ‘short sale’ are hanging heavy in your heart, you are not alone. There are local organizations that can help. Seek Help!
Foreclosure feels like financial ruin, and even though you are out of energy, you must try everything you can to avoid it. This way, if foreclosure comes, you can at least know that it was inevitable.
Before you start down this dark track, have you tried to approach your Lender? He probably has no idea that you may be floundering. The Lender who paid for your property, be it a regular bank or a private Lender, will not want to take your house back. If there is a way for him to work out a deal with you, he may be glad of the opportunity.
The Lender does not want to take your house away; he wants to make his interest on your loan. He also knows that we now have a seller’s market, which makes it easy for you to sell your property.
The Lender would like you to keep the property and carry on with your part of the deal – which was to make monthly payments to him. If you go into a foreclosure or sell by a short sale, the Lender stands to lose money.
Therefore, whether you are financed through a bank or a mortgage company, your first move is to make an appointment with your Lender to talk things over. Perhaps you can negotiate for some extra help.
For instance, do you think that if you were allowed to miss three months mortgage payments (and tack them onto the end of the amortization period), then you would be able to keep up the current payments? Sometimes just being in arrears is a vicious circle and if once caught up to date, is easier to manage.
In some cases, the Lender may offer to help you to re-finance your mortgage, and make the payments smaller for a time. There is also a government backed organization out there that is offering to help people on the verge of foreclosure.
Your Lender may be willing to help you to community and government organizations for help; he may know the procedures better than you. Refinanced mortgages with fixed rates are available now for homeowners struggling with sub-prime mortgages.
In some cases the help from these organizations can come in the form of an interest rate freeze, rather than a complete change in mortgage plan, but this freeze will serve to tide mortgage holders over until they can re-finance without the panic of foreclosure over their heads.
This help is a blessing for the nation as well as the individual people in distress; once the foreclosure problem is faced and dealt with by a system that has government backing, the property market will not have a glut and prices will be re-established and sales will continue at a more normal pace.
If you feel that foreclosure is inevitable, then think about selling quickly to an investor or negotiating for a short sale for an investor or owner occupant to buy your house. This will at least save your credit rating some. A short sale will still damage your credit but it will not have the same effects of a foreclosure. Not all Lenders will agree to it and not all properties qualify for it. It also leaves you with a tax bill, but that is not an immediate concern.
You will need to send a hardship letter to the Lender, or more specifically, the person who can make the decision. Do not hold back on this letter. You also need to send a list of assets and proof of income. The list must show that you have no money, savings or anything that can be liquidated.
If this list of assets indicates that you ‘stretched the truth’ when applying for the mortgage, you will have to be extra humble! Remember, this Lender is going to lose his money too; you need him to be on your side, so try to understand his point of view.
Most important thing is that you don’t procrastinate. Act fast and act soon. Don’t wait until the last minute to get help or to seek a solution.
We are Fair House Offer we buy houses fast, but we understand that selling your house to us may not be your best option. We want to help people and put them in the best possible position to better their situation. If another option is better for you we are Fair House Offer will be sure to share that with you.
For information about selling your house contact us at www.FairHouseOffer.net or call/text 888-277-2711.