Losing your home to foreclosure due to an inability to keep up with your monthly mortgage payments is one of life’s most unpleasant experiences. It is also an event that keeps on affecting you long after your home is history by devastating your credit score. Regrettably, most people cannot be 100% sure that they will remain safe from foreclosure because they can’t foresee the unexpected. Occurrences such as serious illness, a major accident, divorce or job loss can happen to anyone. So it’s a good idea to understand the available alternatives should the worst occur.
Of all available options, foreclosure is the worst
The inevitable result of a foreclosure is the lender taking your house. Not only will you lose your house, but the lender can get a judgment against you for the arrearages you owe plus his costs for the foreclosure action. If that isn’t enough, your credit report will be in terminal condition for many years to come, worsening an already bad financial situation and making it very difficult to obtain any other kind of credit. There is no upside to foreclosure. It should be avoided at all costs.
Consider a short sale when foreclosure seems inevitable
A short sale is a popular option for homeowners mired down with financial problems. In this case, you would sell your home for less than what you owe your lender; the biggest problem you will face is getting your lender to agree to a short sale. In many situations, they will not. Experts advise pursuing this option the minute you realize that you are falling behind in your payments and most likely won’t be able to catch up. The longer you wait and the greater the amount you are in arrears, the less likely it becomes that your lender will even be willing to discuss a short sale.
short sale has disadvantages too
While a short sale will save you from foreclosure, it will also have a negative effect on your credit score, frequently lowering it by as much as 200 points. This can be overcome more quickly than the black mark of a foreclosure, especially if you manage to retain one or two credit cards and keep them current. Perhaps equally distressing, the Internal Revenue Service frequently deemed the difference between the mortgage balance and the amount realized from the short sale to be taxable as income despite the fact that the debtor never saw a dime of it. There is new federal legislation called the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act 0f 2007 that just went into effect on January 1st, 2008. The new act essentially eliminates this problem.
Almost any option is better than foreclosure
Simply stated, do everything you can before foreclosure occurs and do it as quickly as humanly possible. Don’t sit back and keep thinking, “What can I do?” Instead, consider that short sale and check with your lender before your options become more limited.
The One Best Tip I Can Give You: Don’t Do This Alone
I successfully short sold my house, and the single biggest reason was my real estate agent. Having someone who could work on my behalf was incredible. Facing foreclosure is a scary thing, I know, I was about a month away from losing my home before I got my short sale done.
Don’t just get any real estate agent to help you! My agent had lots of short sale experience, and it made all the difference. He knew who to talk to, when to talk to them, and how to handle all the paperwork to get the deal done.
You Need An Experienced Short Sale Agent!
From my blog here I’ve developed an extensive network of real estate agents that have short sale experience. If you’d like a referral, fill out the form below and I’ll have someone available in your area to help with your short sale ASAP.
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If you are waiting on your clients to express their financial woes to you, about how they are on the verge of going into foreclosure, plan on waiting for a long time. It's not likely that those clients who you helped get a home, will call you when they are on the verge of foreclosure. It's nothing against the broker, it's just that many homeowners may not be necessarily thinking about the other possibilities and alternatives. They probably do not view you as a possible help to their problem. On the other hand, the question is, do you as a mortgage broker realize that you have the ability to help? Your clients who are on the verge of foreclosure may not need to foreclose.
I think this is a great article and one that I will share with clients that are on the verge of losing their home. This economy is affecting all of us one way or another and any help we can give the public is better than none. We are professionals in our field and we should be there to give good, sound advice during the good times as well as the tough. I would like to be on your referral list so please feel free to contact me if you need an agent from St. George, UT.
I agree wholeheartedly with Ellen’s comments. Clients need the clear facts as presented in this article and they need to know that, as realtors, we are on their side. As professionals, we should offer our expertise freely to those in need. Educating clients is our responsibility right now. Distressed property owners should not have to worry about being taken advantage of in their time of need. That’s why my team is reaching out to homeowners on the verge of foreclosure offering a free initial consultation, and, if we can help them, our follow-on services are absolutely free. If you or someone you know needs a dependable, honest real estate agent in Northern California, please contact us.
While the housing market is SLOWLY recovering here in South Florida, there are so many people that are “underwater” in terms of their home’s value vs. their mortgage balance. Foreclosure is certainly the worst option and should be avoided whenever possible. If you are in a position where you can not continue to stay in your home, consider offering it for sale using the Short Sale alternative. Our group has had much experience in helping owners who are in this position and we would be happy to offer a free consultation. If you are in the South Florida area, please feel free to contact us.
I am looking for someone good to help me with a short sale in Aurora, IL. We are moving to Minnesota, and it looks like we will be having to sell our home for 50,000 less than we paid for it 3 1/2 years ago. If you know of some one who can help us out let me know, Thanks, Shirley
Is foreclosure necessarily the worst option? From what I’ve read about it, a shortsale can impact your credit score just as badly as a foreclosure, plus you may be liable to reimburse the difference between the sale and the mortgage to the bank- something that won’t happen if the home is repossesed by the bank and sold by them.