Don't let your house Foreclose!!!

If you are having a hard time keeping up with your house payment, please don't just sit around and do nothing.

A friend of mine here in Crofton Maryland had her mortgage reset, husband moved out, and she couldn't afford the mortgage anymore. She bought her home back in 2003 and had about $60,000 in equity in it. It was very well kept up, a nice home. She also ended up having surgery and was out for work for awhile. Instead of talking with someone, she holed up in her house for months, didn't open her mail and didn't pay her mortgage.

When she finally came out, she told me her dilema. What she didn't realize was she waited so long that the mortgage company had sent her a foreclosure notice on August 1st and by August 22nd, the house was SOLD AT AUCTION!

They sold the house with the buyer never seeing the inside and her still living in the house!

In Maryland a home can go from foreclosure notice to being sold in as little as 3 weeks. Now this won't happen until you are behind on your payment. Don't let it get to this point. Make an appointment to meet with a financial advisor, attorney, CPA, to get an idea of your options so you can decide what you need to do.

Many times you can work with your lender and have them modify your loan for the short-term until you can make other arrangements, get a new job, bring in a roommate, etc. Other times they might modify your loan for the length of the term. Be PROACTIVE! As soon as you are in danger, call your lender and start talking with them. Your lender does not want to foreclose on your house - they just want the loan to be paid as they have to answer to their stockholders.

If you bought your house recently, say 2005 or 2006, you may owe the bank more than the market value of your house. Especially if you borrowed 100% of the money. Remember you have settlement costs to pay as well. In this situation, a Realtor who is versed in short sales may be able to negotiate with your lender to get them to accept less than the amount that you owe. Basically you would have your Realtor put your house on the market, find a buyer, present the offer to your lender along with a package including your pay stubs, bank statements, reason you cannot continue to pay for your loan, and several other pieces of information. Banks many times will accept a short sale to avoid the cost of foreclosure.

If you bought your house several years ago like my friend did, you may have EQUITY in your home. This means you owe the bank less than the value of your house. In this case if you think you can't hold on to your house and your lender won't work with you, or isn't able to come up with something that is satisfactory for you, meet with a Realtor and have them do a Comparable Market Analysis or CMA for you. This will give you an idea of what your house will probably sell for. Have them be realistic with you, show you the houses they are using for comparison and have them tell you how much they think your house will sell for quickly. Then ask for a "net sheet" so you can see what the settlement costs will be and how much you can expect to "net."

Once you have this information, you can decide what your best option will be.

If you're in Maryland, give Dave or Lisa Webber a call and we can work up a FREE Comparable Market Analysis for you, along with a net sheet, so you can see where you stand financially when it comes to your house. Whether you are in trouble or just thinking you may want to move, we'll consult with you on a CONFIDENTIAL basis. No one will know your personal business when you work with us. Call us at 410-320-0230, 410-320-0242, or 410-451-1900.