A lot of my clients have more than just house debt…usually they also have credit card and other debt to add to the mix. Once you start borrowing from one to pay the other, or keeping some up at the expense of the others, it’s time to start considering your options and fast.
If you’re falling behind on your home or not paying other creditors to pay for the home, it is only a matter of time before you start having collection problems. I cannot stress enough that when you see or even foresee this happening, please GET HELP RIGHT AWAY.
If you feel you will inevitably lose your house or are even considering a short sale, call a local experienced short sale agent right away. With the right agent, your short sale is likely to be successful.
However the less liens there are, the higher the chance of success. When you stop paying a creditor – say a credit card – the account will eventually go to collections. You will likely be sued for a judgment and if you own anything (including an over-leveraged home) the creditors will attach a lien to the home. This means that in order to sell your home, any and all liens will have to be dealt with.
As a short sale agent I deal with lienholders on a daily basis. First mortgage lienholders are generally the easiest to deal with. Second mortgages run right behind. The VERY WORST lienholders to deal with are non mortgage collectors. If anyone will block your short sale from happening, it will be collectors like this one. The good news is, they usually need some time to sue you and place their liens, but once they do your chances of successfully avoiding foreclosure by selling short decrease significantly.
Time is not your friend here. I have seen too many people bury their head in the sand and ignore the situation for so long they have missed their opportunity to get help, or waited so long that they faced almost certain foreclosure. The very best action you can take if you see a short sale in your future is to GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY.
Last Updated on September 10, 2017 by Minna Reid