We Buy Houses!

This is the fourth Express Homebuyers Blog in a series on how you can avoid foreclosure. Some of these options are more drastic than others, and they all come with unique advantages and disadvantages. We buy houses to help people out of foreclosure, so you know where we stand. But honestly, if you are facing a foreclosure situation, we believe you should be as informed as possible on the alternatives available.

Should You Sell Your House to a Homebuying Company?

Okay, so you’ve investigated all your options, and foreclosure looks imminent. Unfortunately, today that’s not an uncommon occurrence. But knowing you are part of an increasing group isn’t really helpful. Neither are signs hung all over the neighborhood offering to buy your house in a hurry – like this:

Ugly House Buyers

If you are like most homeowners facing foreclosure, you need to make a decision quickly after having reviewed all your options. And selling your home to a company may be the best option for you. Here are some of the advantages:

• Quick closing: A good homebuying company can buy your house in just a few days. They’re experts at it, and know exactly what to expect.
• Cash: Often, these companies have the cash on hand to buy your house outright. Having the cash on hand is a huge advantage, particularly if you need to pay off many of the debts associated with your house or present financial condition.
• Few, if any, closing costs: Or hidden fees and commissions. Most reputable homebuying companies will handle, and pay for, all the closing costs; note, they can not pay mandatory local transfer taxes and fees. Those will still be your responsibilities at the point of sale. However, a good homebuying company will help you with those by making sure you have enough cash on hand at closing to cover these.
• A Positive Ending:If you are like a lot of people in your position, you may have reconciled yourself to a negative – if not ruinous – end to your housing issue. It doesn’t have to be that way. Working with a good homebuying company can turn what appears to be a major financial problem into a positive position.

Let’s be honest, though: you can’t sell your house and expect to avoid the expenses you have on that house. The real advantage here is to get quick cash for the equity you have in the house so you can pay off the mortgage, back taxes, liens, and any other debt associated with the property. You may not get rich, but you’ll have a better chance to get back on your feet with your credit rating intact.

Be Careful. They’re Everywhere!

Wow. We’ve gone from real estate management to selling your house to an unknown company in just four blog posts. That can be pretty scary. How do you know if you’re getting a good deal? If the company is reputable?  What can go wrong?

As you can tell from the number of signs you see on the highway, there are homebuyers everywhere. In our next blog, we’re going to share some tips on what to look for in a homebuying company, and how to find out and avoid some of the major pitfalls if you want to sell your house fast, or sell your house for cash.

But here’s a hint: Check if they’re Better Business Bureau accredited. If not, caveat emptor; buyer beware! You might be tempted to say: “Buy my house, now.” But proceed with caution; not all homebuyers are the same.

Unabashed Advertising

We buy houses fast. And, we’re Better Business Bureau accredited. Since 2003, Express Homebuyers has been buying, refurbishing and selling properties in the Washington DC metro area. If you want to have us buy your house, or know of someone who could benefit from our services, contact us at 1-(877) 907-3232.

This is the third Express Homebuyers Blog in a series on how you can avoid foreclosure. Some of these options are more drastic than others, and they all come with unique advantages and disadvantages. We buy houses to help people out of foreclosure, so you know where we stand. But honestly, if you are facing a foreclosure situation, we believe you should be as informed as possible on the alternatives available.

Sell Your House Fast…Through a Realtor?

After Bankruptcy or Making Up Your Payments in a Lump Sum, another alternative to avoiding foreclosure is to contact a Realtor to help sell your home conventionally. It’s the most solid alternative for selling your house, but you have to take your special circumstances into consideration.

As you are all too well aware in the present financial crisis, there are many homes on the market. Maybe even on your street! These may have been on the market for months, and these homeowners are going to face the taxes, fees and commissions that go along with selling your home through a Realtor. If you have the luxury of that kind of time and expense – say you have very high equity to regain – then a Realtor-assisted sale may be the option for you.

Realtors may have the best of intentions for you. However, bear in mind that they don’t control the sale -  like being able to assure you that their buyer actually has the ability to complete the sale. Well over half of home closings are delayed due to various reasons, such as financing issues on the buyer’s side. For example, if your closing is scheduled for October 31st and your home is set to be foreclosed on November 5th, but the closing is delayed for two weeks due to issues beyond your or your Realtor’s control, you will be forced to wait.

Normally, you can wait it out and finish the deal later. But facing foreclosure, you may risk losing your home.

Next time, we’re going to discuss our own value proposition, selling your home for cash to a Better Business Bureau-certified company like Express Homebuyers. You can sell your house fast.

This is the second Express Homebuyers Blog in a series on how you can avoid foreclosure. Some of these options are more drastic than others, and they all come with unique advantages and disadvantages. We buy houses to help people out of foreclosure, so you know where we stand. But honestly, if you are facing a foreclosure situation, we believe you should be as informed as possible on the alternatives available.

Happy New Year!

It may not seem the best time to continue our discussion about avoiding foreclosure, but let’s face it, more of us than ever before are reaching what seems to be the point of no return. However, as we mentioned last time, you can take very positive steps to avoid foreclosure without sacrificing your credit or, finally, your ability to buy a home.

We discussed bankruptcy as your first option in our last blog. Now let’s look at another option that just might work for you as well.

Option 2: Make Up Your Payments in a Lump Sum or Installments.

You might be surprised at how much your lender wants to work with you to avoid foreclosure. You see, they stand to lose as much, if not more than you if they have to sell your property at auction. For them, it’s not a very good roll of the dice.

The truth is, they are very willing to work with you. The most common reason lenders don’t work with homeowners facing foreclosure is that the homeowner never asks before it’s too late.

Let’s look at some options.

If you are able to prove to the lender that you can make the payments you have missed plus make your current payments over a period of time (up to 24 months), it may be possible to keep your home. This option requires significant negotiation and discussions with your lender, but look on the up side. You get to keep your home. It’s worth it, don’t you think?

Keep in mind that you will be charged late fees, modification fees and other fees once an agreement is reached. Also, you may be subject to new, higher payments once you’ve renegotiated the terms of your loan. But if you are in the middle of a short-term cash crunch – layoff, hospital bills, emergency – this might be your best option.

If the cash crunch you are in is long term, this option simply may not be possible. the only way you can find out is by contacting your lender. Before you seek this option, be sure you have the cash on hand to pay the up-front fees as well as the patience and persistence to work with the lender.

The upside, you may be able to keep your house. The downside is that this option can be expensive, not to mention time consuming.

Obviously, we’re in the home buying business where we buy houses, fast. We’ll discuss that option in a later post. What is important today is to understand that you can work with your lender to avoid foreclosure. A counter-intuitive statistic is that most financially-pressed families pay off their credit card payments and let their mortgage payments lapse. Yet, when you think about it, what’s more important, your home or your credit rating?

Talk to your lender, today. See if this option works for you. If not, stay tuned.