Sell Your House For Cash
What Happens in a Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the process a bank takes to collect on a loan once it is in default. A loan goes into default once you stop making payments on it, or fall too far behind and are unable to catch up. The foreclosure process takes time — anywhere from 6 months to a year — so if you want to avoid foreclosure and keep your home, you may still be able to catch up on missed payments or pay off your mortgage.
However, if you cannot pay the loan anymore due to financial hardship or other extenuating circumstances, eventually your home will be sold by the bank and you will have to move out. When you complete the foreclosure process, your mortgage will be gone, as will your home, but you still don’t get away scot-free. A foreclosure leaves its mark on your credit report. This mark takes 7 years to fade. It can make it difficult to get another home loan and can seriously set back your credit score.
How to Avoid Foreclosure
If you want to avoid foreclosure and the credit drop that comes with it, you have options to resolve your debt and move forward with your life.
Pay Your Debt to Avoid Foreclosure
If you’ve missed a few mortgage payments, you may be able to pay back that amount plus a little extra in interest and get current with your mortgage. However, if the housing loan is already in default, catching up with payments won’t be enough. Instead, you’ll need to satisfy the entirety of the loan to avoid forfeiting your home. It’s your legal right to have the chance to pay off your mortgage completely and keep your home. You’ll have six months to do this, a window known as the redemption period.
If you can’t afford to pay your debt and keep your home, the best option you have is to sell your home and start over in a new house you can securely afford.
Sell Your Home to Avoid Foreclosure
If you sell your home, you can satisfy your mortgage obligations and maybe have enough left over for a down payment on your next residence. The biggest positive is that you save your credit, so you’ll be in a better position to get back on your feet once your debt is settled.
When it comes to selling your home, you have a few options here, too. You can either go the traditional sale route of working with a realtor and preparing your home for the market, or you can sell to a real estate investor for a quick cash sale.
Sell Your Home With a Realtor
If you list your home for sale on the traditional real estate market, understand that the process requires patience. Once you’ve hired a realtor, prepared the home for sale, and hosted an open house, it could still take a few months to find a buyer and negotiate a good offer. If your home needs a lot of repairs, that could add extra time to the sale process — time you don’t necessarily have if you’re facing foreclosure.
Let’s face it — selling a home this way is stressful. Spending time and money to prepare your home for the market, not to mention showing it to potential buyers and negotiating offers, all takes time and energy. If you’re on a strict timeline or can’t afford to fix up your home for sale, you might be looking for an easier way.
Sell to a Real Estate Investor
If you sell your home to a real estate investor, you can skip the stress, the realtor, and the time and money spent on preparing your home for sale. A real estate investor will make you a fair offer for your home in its current condition — meaning no repairs or changes are necessary. Although they prefer to sell on a quick timeline — sometimes in less than a week — a good investor will work with you to find a creative solution that works for your unique situation. Best of all, when you sell your home to a real estate investor, you can get rid of your debt and successfully avoid foreclosure. This will salvage your credit, making it that much easier for you to move on to your next home and the next chapter of your life.
Renewed Homes is here to help homeowners like you get out from troublesome situations. If you’re facing foreclosure, we can help you avoid it and build back your credit. Contact us today for more information.
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