Help Exists for Sellers in a Tough Market

Help exists…when you realize you missed your first mortgage payment and you are not sure if you can come up with money for future payments. This is a feeling many homeowners know too well…the stress of impending missed payments.

I hear many stories from homeowners… A man looses his job and can no longer afford his home.  With the surplus of homes on the market, his home would be difficult to sell.  We didn’t understand our loan program when we purchased our home a few years ago.   Our monthly payment doubled after the first year.  A homeowner refinances his home he has owned for many years and now cannot make the payments.  He can’t sell it; he owe’s more on his home than it’s worth.

So what do you do if you are in trouble?  Hurry and get a line of credit?  Stop making your car payment?  Max out your credit cards?  File bankruptcy?

Understanding your options is critical at this point.  If you think you might be in a challenging situation, give us a call and let us explain some options.

Many homeowners qualify for a process called a ‘short sale’.  This entails negotiating with your lender to get them to accept a lower payoff on the existing mortgage due to a hardship.  If the hardship is related to a lost job, bankruptcy, divorce, death, medical crisis, or some other financial difficulty, you may be a good candidate.

Many homeowners start to examine their options after the bank calls.  Immediate communication with your bank should be the first step.  Many banks prefer working with you rather than taking back the house, as a foreclosure almost always represents a loss to the lender.  Banks are in the business of lending and managing money, not home ownership.

Don’t be afraid to ‘think outside the box’ when contemplating your options.  First Federal Realty has a department that specializes in the ‘short sale’ process.  Call us for details on how it works…it may just be the answer you are looking for.