Every homeowner purchases a home with the intention of making their payments on time, possibly renovating parts of the home for greater equity, and sometimes with the intention of calling that house home for the next few decades. Almost no homeowner plans on falling behind on payments, and certainly not falling into foreclosure. Unfortunately, accidents, illness, and layoffs happen, and you can’t always predict just how tight money can get. When that happens, and it becomes difficult to make mortgage payments, foreclosure can start to loom closer and closer.

While it’s never easy to make the decision to sell a house you’ve called home for years, you do have options. Many people ask us if it’s possible to sell their home if it’s in foreclosure. The easy answer to that question is yes.

Sell Home for Cash As-Is

This is the easiest and quickest solution. Renewed Homes will close quickly so you can avoid foreclosure, pay the bank, and move on. A lot of time we will even be able to pay you more than what is owed to the bank so you can have enough cash to move on and move forward in life. Contact Renewed Homes today at (616) 208-3534 or contact us online for a free cash offer.

Selling a Home in Foreclosure

It’s good to know that you will still own your home until your lender puts it up for auction. That gives you a bit of time to find a buyer and pay back your mortgage before officially being foreclosed upon. If you’ve started to fall behind in payments, know that there are a few things you can do before you put the home up for sale:

• Ask to Restructure the Loan
  If you start missing payments, it’s good to be proactive. Before you do anything, talk to your lender. Some lenders will agree to restructure your loan so you can pay back those missed payments over time.
• Ask for Forbearance
  If you’ve been having some short-term difficulties, like losing your job, or were waiting for an insurance claim to come through, you can ask your lender for forbearance. If granted, the lender will agree to reduce or temporarily halt payments while you sort those short-term problems out.
• Liquidate Other Assets
  If you’ve had a struggle, but are confident you’ll be able to get back on your feet and make house payments in the future, it might be prudent to liquidate some of your other assets. Do you have a car you could sell and take public transportation for a while? Is there a family member who could offer you a loan to help with payments in the meantime? Make sure you’ve explored all of your options before deciding to sell your home.

Talk to Your Lender

If you’ve exhausted your other options, know that you can sell your home at any point until your lender puts the house up for auction. That makes it really important that you get ahead of the problem, rather than waiting for it to sort itself out. As soon as you receive notice from your lender that your home is in pre-foreclosure, you need to talk to them. Ask when they plan on putting the home up for auction, and tell them that you’re working to sell the home so you can pay back the money that you owe.

Put Your Home On the Market

After you’ve talked to the lender and have alerted them to the fact that you’re working to sell the home as quickly as possible, it’s time to put your home on the market. Know that you have two options for selling your home:

• Positive Equity 

  If you’ve done work on your home, kept it up, maybe replaced a few appliances or so, it’s likely that your home is worth more than you owe to your lender. In this case, you can sell your home for positive equity, which means you’ll get back as much money as you owe, if not a little more. In the case of a positive equity sale, once the house is sold, so long as it’s sold before the lender puts it up for auction, you’ll be able to pay your lender back in full, resolving the issue of foreclosure.If you can sell your home for more than what you owe your lender, you need to move quickly. It’s important to get your home listed as soon as possible so you can sell it before time runs out. You’ll have the best odds of beating foreclosure if you sell quickly to a cash buyer who will take the home as-is.

• Short Sale 

  If you’re running out of time to sell your home, or if you can’t sell your home for more than you owe your lender, it may be time to consider a short sale. We’ve written an entire blog containing everything you need to know about a short sale, so check that out for more in-depth information.The first thing you need to know if you’re considering making a short sale is to alert your lender. A short sale means that you’ll be selling the home for whatever you can get, which is usually less than what you owe your lender. However, many lenders will agree to a short sale, because it means a lot less work for them than going into foreclosure. Once you get approval from your lender to make a short sale, you’ll be able to put the house up for sale, take bids, and hopefully make a sale that releases you from foreclosure.

No matter your situation, know that you have options if your home is falling, or has fallen, into foreclosure. The most important thing is that you move quickly and do whatever you can to get out of foreclosure as soon as possible.

If you’re struggling to find a buyer for your foreclosed home, don’t hesitate to reach out to Renewed Homes. As a trusted West Michigan home buyer, we provide fair, cash offers to homeowners looking to sell quickly. We can help you get out from under a looming foreclosure. Call our office today at (616) 208-3534 or contact us online for a free cash offer.