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Did you see the Dr. Phil Show the other day?  A guest recalled how devastated she was to find the sheriff on her front steps, with an eviction order in hand.  Her home had been foreclosed after months of notices and legal actions.  All this time, her husband had hidden the mail from her that warned how dire the situation was.  She knew the finances were bad as her husband had lost his job and both of them had hocked their rings to prevent their car from being repossessed, but she never realized how grave things were.  Now, she and their kids live with her parents, in view of the foreclosed family home.  He sleeps on his mother’s couch and is trying to repair his fractured marriage.

The saddest thing is in this situation is that the husband’s denial and deception turned a financial difficulty into a financial nightmare for the whole family.  The family may not have been able to keep the home, but failure to confront the problem closed the door to any alternative. (For the full story, see Is Charlie ready to deal with reality?)

According to investment broker Marilyn Logan, these unhappy former homeowners could have altered the course of events by following a few simple rules:

1. Admitted they needed help – and done it early.
2. Contacted their lender at the first sign of trouble
3. Resisted the temptation to deplete retirement savings
4. Sold their possessions

This is good advice.

Most people have not faced foreclosure, so have no experience in dealing with it.  Lenders, on the other hand, while not thrilled to hear of borrowers’ problems that will affect their ability to pay, have heard it all.  They are in the business of lending money, not managing property, so they would prefer to work with a delinquent borrower than take back the house.  Notifying the lender at the first sign of trouble, (and certainly by the time the man in the story recounted above lost his job) may have changed the outcome.  Ignoring the bills and not opening the mail doesn’t relieve the problem.

You Can Get Reliable, Honest Help

If you are in this situation and find your lender is not too sympathetic, there are many non-profit organizations set up to help.  Many times, they will deal with your lender.  Of course, not every organization that says it will help homeowners has your best interests at heart, so make sure to find a HUD-approved counselor, not someone you saw advertised on a telephone pole or late night TV.

When people are desperate, they look for any money they can make liquid, including their retirement.  Tempting as it is to tap the 401K, Logan says, distressed homeowners should leave it alone.  Her thinking?  It is easier to get another home than rebuild retirement savings.  Lenders might not be sympathetic to your not paying the back mortgage while you have money sitting in the 401K, but Logan’s advice is thought provoking:  sell off other assets you have, maybe even your possessions.  Or maybe it’s time to unload the house and start over.

The thinking here is clear.  You bought your home for your family (even if your family is just you and your cat.)  It’s more important to keep your family intact than save the home.  As much as you love your house, it’s your family that makes it a home.  If you are in troubled circumstances, choose your family even if it means moving.

Looking for a quick and trouble free solution from a reputable company?  Express Homebuyers can buy your home for cash.  We assess your home’s value in a phone call and make you an offer on the spot.  We will even give you a $2,500 cash advantage to help you move.  Within a couple weeks of accepting our offer, you are free and clear of any obligation to the property.

Wondering how this works?  Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for an overview of program, and then call us at 1-(877) 907-3232.

Where Did All This Stuff Come From…?

Whether or not you’re planning to sell your house any time soon, it never hurts to get things in order.  Even the tidiest homeowners are amazed by how quickly houses can become inundated by the clutter and items they accumulate.
Here are some easy tips toward consistently maintaining order and balance in your home, and ensuring that come sale time you don’t find yourself waging the war against disorder for the first time.

You Need Discipline and a Game Plan

• Instead of dabbling and making gradual improvements here and there throughout the home, focus your efforts on one room at a time.  Don’t move onto another room until the task at hand has been thoroughly completed.
• Force yourself to stay disciplined, and adopt the “in and out” approach.  For every new item you add to a room, remove an older one.
• If you have kids, make the cleaning process fun for them (yes, it is possible).  Whether it’s by giving them incentives to keep their rooms tidy and their personal belongings out of public spaces, or showing them how rewarding the result can be give them a tangible reason(reward, privilege, bribe)  to observe these rules even when they haven’t been reminded to.
• Have a vision of what the room SHOULD look like before you tackle it.
• Use hangers to sort the clothes you wear the most from the ones you break out only on special occasions.  Needless to say, garments that are out of season should be kept separately (a sealed, moth-proof rack for your hangers can be a crucial investment for your basement/attic space).
• When considering whether or not to retire an item, force yourself to decide whether you really, REALLY need it.  If you have a hard time deciding, you know what to do.
• Treat your kitchen as a sacred area: the real estate that includes your stove, sink, refrigerator and countertops should be occupied by useful items only.

When it comes time to sell your house fast, you will be more than rewarded for the work you have done on the front end. Of course, if you do decide to sell your house in the Maryland, Washington DC or Virginia area, give us a call. We can help.

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about short sales in the past few months- chances are you know someone who’s been through the process. And if you’ve been hit as hard by the current recession as many have been and have a home you’re having trouble affording, you may be considering a short sale as a viable option.

What’s a Short Sale?

Let’s assume you understand the basics of the concept, and are familiar with the broad strokes: basically, a short sale is what occurs when a lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed against a home because there is no longer enough equity to sell and pay all costs of sale.  Put simply, if your payments are in arrears and it’s looking more and more like the lender won’t be able to recoup the full cost of the home, a short sale may be their best way of their getting something rather than nothing.

It Isn’t Perfect, But…

There’s no question that a short sale is far from an ideal outcome for anyone who owns a home.  If you find yourself in dire straits with either foreclosure or a short sale looming as your only two options, which do you choose?  Consider which does more damage to your credit?  Opinions on this topic vary, but the bottom line is, they both do a lot of harm.  Foreclosure typically knocks between 200 and 300 points off your score, while short sales have been known to trim your credit rating by anywhere from 100 to 300 points.  Bottom line: your credit will suffer either way, although you have a slightly better chance of losing less money and credit rating if you work with a real estate agent and negotiate a short sale.

It’s a Way to Protect Your Credit Rating.

We understand how hard it is for anyone to be facing these possibilities; if you’d like to know more about this process or have any other real estate questions answered, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Express Realty Services has a fully-staffed short sale department; we can help you work through every facet of your short-sale negotiation.