We Buy Houses!

In trouble with your mortgage?  Feeling a bit desperate?  What to do, what to do?

Don’t fall for a scam that offers you quick and ready help.  Instead, call a counselor.

Counselors work, according to a recent study by the Urban Institute.  Since 2007, when the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program was founded to help distressed homeowners, $410 million has gone into the program.  Over 750,000 were helped through the end of 2008.  These borrowers were 60% more likely to keep their homes if they received counseling.  Their monthly payments were decreased to an average of $454.

Part of the counselor’s job is to help homeowners evaluate whether they can afford to keep their homes and then to help them gather the loan documents the lender needs to consider a modification.

This is an interesting finding in view of recently released statistics that 51% of loan modifications in the last year were in default by the end of 2009.  Did something change in the finances of those counseled?  Did counseling standards change as new federal programs encouraged more people to seek a counselor?  Were counselors too optimistic and those served so anxious to keep their homes that they agreed to a payment schedule that was still too high for their income?  Further studies into why re-defaults occurred in 2009 will undoubtedly reveal some needed insights.

The newest federal program announced that March 26 attacks the double-headed monster of negative equity and unemployment.  Most analysts of past housing remedies blame the failure of lenders to reduce principal and bring housing values and loan values more in sync.  The new program offers lenders incentives to offer principle reduction and provides temporary help to people who are unemployed.  Even though the program is only hours old at this writing, no one expects that this is the silver bullet that will “fix housing” either.

Counselors are constrained by available programs to offer their clients.  Regardless of the program, counselors link those who can be helped to ways to get help even if the help is not the final answer to their problems.  This stark reality does not undermine the findings from 2008: Counseling works!

Want to sell your house fast?  Your house worries can be behind you in two weeks by calling Express Homebuyers.  We buy homes for cash and can have $2,500 in your hands even before your deal closes.

If the terms of the new Home Buyer Tax Credit made your ears perk up, maybe this is the time you should think of moving.  You can sell your home and assuming you have lived there as your primary residence for the past five of the last eight years, claim a $6,500 tax credit when you buy a new home.

You know, though, that preparing your home for sale will be a challenge.  The house needs a face lift to make it appealing to buyers.  To get the place looking as good as you’d like in time to get it on the market, sell it, and find yourself the replacement home you want will just take too much time. What do you do?

Maybe you inherited a home that would give you a chance to be a homeowner but it just isn’t what you want.  Even if you fixed it up, it is still too far from your job or maybe the schools aren’t what you want for your children.  You could list and sell the place on your own, but that’s seems like a lot of aggravation.  What do you do?

When you’ve been out looking at houses, you have found your new, perfect home.  The problem is, the house is so fine and in such a good location that other competing buyers are coming to the same conclusion.  The Realtor® mentions that there are other interested buyers so you have to move fast.  Maybe your existing home hasn’t sold yet or maybe you fear having enough cash up front to make your move on the new home you want.  The Bank of Mom and Dad is closed for big withdrawals and you need the cash quickly. What do you do?

You’ve just been transferred or maybe you’ve been offered a great job out of state.  You may want to buy in the new location, but in any case, you need to go!  Selling your home long distance is not want you have in mind. What do you do?

You may be in circumstances where buying another home is the last thing you want to do right now.  You know that your home is very salable but you’re on the verge of foreclosure, you’ve lost your job, you’re at the midst of a divorce, and you want or need to move on quickly.  What do you do?

Express Homebuyers can help you. We specialize in buying houses directly from home sellers like you who need a fast and reliable home-selling solution.  When you call us, you will receive an immediate offer, and you will be able to save time and money.  How do we do this?  Well, we’ve been doing this since 2003 and since then we have purchased 600+ properties in the DC metro area.  We have bought houses that needed repairs, houses that had tenants in them, houses that had been on the market for months and no one else wanted to buy, houses from people that were facing different situations (bankruptcy, foreclosure, divorce, relocation, job loss, death in the family) and needed to sell their house fast. We’ll buy your home as-is, without closing costs, commissions, or paperwork!

If you want to learn more about us or would like to get an offer for your house call us 1-877-804-5252 or check out our Express Homebuyers website for more details.  If you are looking for an affordable home, we can help you too.  Since our business is buying homes, refurbishing them into tip-top condition, and then reselling them, we have a number of refurbished homes we offer for sale. Check out the many other affordable new-home values we have to offer.

P.S. – Tell us you saw our free report Secrets to Selling your House in Seven Days or Less and if we buy your house we will give you a $100 gift card to Home Depot to help you get a few things for your new place.

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.