We Buy Houses!

On front porches and in bars, beauty shops, and office coffee rooms around America, people have come up with an unique solution to part of the housing problem: Let the people whose homes are foreclosed on pay rent to continue to live there.  This approach could keep the homes occupied, which would maintain neighborhood stability and housing resale value.  Banks would receive revenue instead of just another under-funded asset to put in inventory–one that might be severely damaged by the time they got ready to sell it.

Now! Common wisdom in a government program

On November 5, the FHA announced the Deed for Lease (D4L) program, which would allow qualifying owners on the brink of foreclosure to lease the property for a year or more after turning in the deed.  The program might even be available to tenants.  To qualify, the homeowner must be unable to have his loan modified and must be able to pay market value rent of no more than 31% of the household income.  Further, he must keep the property in good condition, have rental insurance if he has pets, and must live in the home as a primary residence.

A benefit for troubled homeowners

For many, it will reduce their payments to 31% of their income.  If they had other mortgages on the property, they would be released from those. The tradeoff is that they are no longer homeowners, but that financial position will disappear with less damage to the person’s credit report and less family and neighborhood disruption.  Although the program may offer only temporary relief–the lease is initially for one year–that time allows the former homeowner to get his finances back in order and perhaps plan for the future without the stress of foreclosure looming. (Read more facts about Deed for Lease here.)

For the lender, D4L eliminates many of the costs of foreclosure, provides rental income, and preserves the property’s condition.  Banks may not want to be landlords any more than they want foreclosed properties, but D4L is a reasonable solution that will pay off for them if housing prices rebound and lenders are able to sell the homes for more than the original price.

Facing possible foreclosure?

Is Deed for Lease a good idea for you?  If you want to stay in your home and can afford the new payment, D4L might be ideal.  However if you are unemployed or are living in a home too expensive for you, you will probably fail the income test.

Express Homebuyers offers another solution that might work even better for you.  We buy houses for cash, clear the liens, and wrap up the transaction within a couple weeks.  We will even provide you with a cash advance to help you get settled in a new place.

Our motto is We Sell Your Home Fast. You can put this motto into action today by contacting Express Homebuyers at 1-877-804-5252.  Want more information on the process before you make the call? Read this list of frequently asked questions to prepare you to make the decision that gives you a fresh start.

You might think that after people have saved to buy a home and sacrificed to stay in it that they would remain protective of it until the end.  Some owners do not want to leave so they stay until they are evicted at additional cost to the bank.  However, as evidenced by the condition of bank owned homes, many former owners are all too willing to lash out at the bank by damaging the home so badly that it costs thousands to restore it to livable condition.  For banks, already on the losing end of many mortgages, the losses do not stop when the court returns the home to them.  In this age of TARP and rampant credit card interest rates, your initial reaction toward bank losses might be, “Oh, boo hoo,” but few would agree that its “right” that the bank assets are destroyed.

To prevent these types of losses, many banks throughout the country have started to offer owners or even tenants “cash for keys,” a cash payment in exchange for vacating the property within a certain number of days and leaving it in good condition.  Typically, the bank will offer $500 or more on the condition that the terms are met.  The idea is that the money will to be used for expenses such as security deposits, movers, rental trucks, utility deposits, and temporary living expenses.  This money, though hardly adequate to resettle a displaced family, at least offers some help and incentive to move out and move on without leaving the house in shambles.

Cash for keys was an unpublicized bank program for many years, available only to those who asked.  Now, banks are more forthright about offering it to people.  Banks have found this is cost-effective, compared to eviction court fees or repair costs.  Though cash for keys is intended to be a win-win proposition, the reaction of recipients is mixed.  Glad to get something, many people feel that the small amount offered is hardly enough to help them transition to a new home, much less dull their pain.  Without threatening, owner or tenants can certainly negotiate for a more helpful amount.

Recently, in the latest revision of the Making Home Affordable program, the Treasury Department offers $1,500 cash to homeowners to move on and $1,000 to loan servicers if they forgive mortgage debt.  This is basically a cash for keys approach to a problem, which should help homeowners and help banks to regain property is salable condition.

There is a simpler way to get help to move on without foreclosure.  Express Homebuyers will buy your home on the spot and offer you a cash advance of $2,500 to aid your moving and resettlement.  Rather than dragging out your situation, we will also get your deal done within two weeks through our simple five-step process.

Get closure, not foreclosure!  Sell your house fast. For Cash. Contact Express Homebuyers today at 1-877-804-5252 to get the ball rolling. We buy houses for cash, we’re Better Business Bureau accredited, and we’ve been doing it right since 2003.

Many people see foreclosure as a final chapter in an unpleasant series of financial events, but the aftermath of foreclosure isn’t what you may hope for. If you no longer have the property, you no longer have the high payments, but there are other consequences that may await you.

Your personal feelings… Foreclosure might be a business decision for your lender, but for you and your family, leaving your home usually means leaving your neighborhood and your lifestyle.  Adults tend to feel depressed, disappointed, and angry.  For kids, this often means being uprooted from school mid-year and having to make friends and catch up in a new academic environment.  If the financial strains leading up to foreclosure have broken up the marriage, both children and adults have an extra layer of hurt and disappointment to deal with.

Your new residence… Maybe your game plan is to move back home with mom and dad after you lose a home, but if you want to rent somewhere, you’ll need to find a place to live where the landlord is sympathetic to your situation.  If you are jobless, this poses an obvious impediment.  Assuming you have enough income to pay the rent, you may have to come up with a larger-than-normal deposit to put the landlord’s concerns to rest.  Getting the deposit together, often a challenge for people anyway, is more difficult when you are cash strapped after a foreclosure.

Credit score implications… You are probably aware that your credit score will take a hit with foreclosure on your record, but be forewarned that other creditors may raise you rates, even if you are up to date with them.  Many people tend to be behind in many accounts, especially if they have let other things go in an attempt to cover the mortgage.  The resulting low credit score may make it hard to buy a car or get reasonable credit down the line.

Future home buying… Buying a home in the future will be more difficult with a foreclosure on your record.  Even if you have an otherwise good credit record, you will probably have to wait five years to be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed loan or three years for an FHA backed one. In either case, you might be able to speed things up if you can prove that there were extenuating circumstances that lead to the foreclosure.  You will still have to prove that you have been on time with things since the foreclosure.

Job consequences… These days, many employers get credit checks on new employees. If you are applying for position where you will be handling money, you might be turned down for the job based on your credit history.  Even for a sales job, the employer might think you’ll be under too much pressure.  You should address the subject in an interview to negate employer concerns. There are laws that limit the types of checks employers can do, but if don’t get the job after you’ve had a foreclosure, it’s hard to prove that the credit report was the reason you didn’t get it.

You may still owe… Once your home has been foreclosed on (or you’ve walked away) the lender may bill you for taxes on the amount they couldn’t recover from the sale, while the IRS may hold you responsible for debt on the property that was forgiven.  Recent laws may give you some relief but make sure to check with a tax adviser to gauge your liability.

When foreclosure looms, the best bet is to assess the situation and determine how to gain control of it.  For some people, this may mean talking to the lender or a financial counselor to negotiate a loan modification. For others, it may mean a short sale, where leaving the property will be more on your terms. There is another way:  you can sell your home outright for cash to a reputable firm.

Express Homebuyers, which has operated in the DC area since 2003, can make you an offer, give you an advance so you can find a new home, and wrap up the sale within a couple weeks. To explore this exciting option, which can limit the impact of financial turmoil, call 1-(877) 907-3232 or email info@expresshomebuyers.com.  We can answer your questions about a way to leave your troubled financial past behind you and move on to a better life.