EmmasMom asked:


My husband and I are in such a jam. We had a beautiful home that we rented out to a woman who was to do a lease option. Well, she ended up dragging it out for so long, that we gave her a 30 day notice. To make a long story short, she is behind 4 months of rent, did not move out, we had to take her to court…and she trashed our home. The amount of money it would take to fix it would be about $50-75K.
My husband and I are looking into doing a short sale on it. We probably would have to take a negative hit on it, and maybe owe $50-75 on it. So, it seems like a wash to me.
a. we have a house that has been remodeled but we owe $50-75 in debt to Lowes, Home Depot, credit cards for fixing it up.
b. we do a short sale, get rid of the house, but still have some sort of loan unless the bank agrees to eat the money.

Our question is. Should we do the short sale and buy something that we will stay in for a long time, not knowing how the short sale will effect our credit?

Deedee

3 Responses to “Does this seem logical? Do a short sale on one home we own, and buy something that we will stay in for years?”

1. redwine on March 24th, 2009 1:30 pm

   How do you do a short sale on a house? Are you going to sell it outright? Bank will not let you off the hook if you owe them money, you will need to satisfy the loan in orer to be able to sell the house. Your situation sounds complicated, but if you can sell the bad house and have equity to buy a house you will stay in, that sounds like a good idea. However, your description does not sound like you can afford to sell the old house and buy a new one.

2. sprintcardrvr on March 26th, 2009 11:38 am

   I see two options which would keep your credit.
   Re market the home with an Iron clad lease option enough money down or other collateral so you are reasonably sure the buyer will exercise the option.
   Or owner finance with a land contract the buyer doesn’t get a clear deed until he pays you off; in the interim you are using his money to pay your obligations.
   above all protect your credit

3. Workfortoday on March 26th, 2009 10:12 pm

   Hi you guys, Yeah don’t feel bad, right now I see (I am an agent) a lot of hard working, honest good hearted folks that have the same problem.

   I also see a lot of short sales. What I would do is contact a real estate agent there and over the phone tell them it would have to be a short sale transaction.

   They can still get paid to help you and you wouldn’t have to take money out of your pocket to do so.

   I have done this many times. But you should tell your agent you need a quick quick sale.

   See it will sell fast if you price it for quick sale BUT the thing that takes time to get approved is the short sale. The bank, your loan holder, will have to approve it.

   However right now I haven’t seen them turn a short sale down. I am sure they do sometimes but I haven’t seen it yet as they know how the market is.

   Get an agent that specializes in your area. You can get this problem out from under you without having to put any money in.

   It could save your credit too.

   Go to site below and click on PROPERTY RESEARCH and it will show you what you should price it at based on scientific data and facts in your neighborhood.