With a foreclosure on every corner, and many homes “underwater”, what is a homeowner to do in today’s real estate environment?
Real estate values have fallen 20-50 percent or more in many places from their highs set a few years ago and unemployment in California is getting into the double digits. Throughout the country, over one third of home owners owe more than their homes are worth. Better than one out of every eight home loans are delinquent in some respect, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
If you are aproaching the point of defaulting on your home loan, you basically have three options: a short sale, loan modification or a foreclosure. Many professionals these days are advising a a short sale, as they offer an upside for Realtors, agents, lenders and buyers. But that then begs the question, is a short sale best for you or for them?
A lot of the time, a short sale is not really the best solution, although others working with you in the process may lead you to think otherwise.
Why might this be? Let’s take a look. The first question is what to do when you realize you can no longer pay your home loan. If you should stop making payments, what will happen?
An immediate consequence is that your credit will be harmed. Your credit score is needed to show to lenders you may work with down the line who might decide at some later point whether they want to lend you money, and could require you to work with hard money lenders in the future. Also, your credit score is also being used by employers who may be making a decision on whether or not to hire you. Ruining your credit is not something to rush headlong into.
Your FICO, or credit score is figured using outdated and company owned methods that use information compiled over time from your credit files. The people in charge of these scoring systems say that they are supposed to be an indicator of how likely someone is to stop paying on a debt or loan during the first two years.
There are a number of companies other than the big three that have their own scoring models, most running numbers between 400 and 990. If you stop making payments on all of your loans, most of these formulas will drop your score below the 600 mark.
If you have a credit score of less than 600 in today’s market, putting together a loan for any purpose can be very difficult (except, of course, if you are talking about private hard money
). When sitting down to make your decision on which way to go, short selling your home will not save your credit, despite what many in various industries might tell you. So what is the benefit of short selling your home?
The largest benefit is getting out from under the debt you currently owe, and avoiding a foreclosure on your credit. A short sale can impact your score about the same as a foreclosure, but with a short sale, you will be eligible for another conventional type loan in about two years or so, as opposed to three or more that a foreclosure will require.
A potentially better option to consider is loan modification
. Oftentimes, this is a long process to work through, but if you would like to stay in your home and save your credit, a loan modification may be the best option to look at.
You need to be sure to do your own due dilligence before deciding on what direction or option you are going to pursue. Depending on what state you are in, there will be different ramifications for the various options. Seek out a good real estate professional and/or real estate lawyer, sit down, and look at all your options before you make a choice. When making this decision, make sure you are comfortable with the direction you choose, good luck!