I Can’t Sell My House - Help!
I Can’t Sell My House - Help!
By Bill Young
This is a very common situation, these days; and it will become an epidemic.
There are millions of adjustable rate and Option Adjustable rate mortgages that will be “resetting” to a normal interest rate as their “teaser rates” expire over the next couple of years.
This will put severe financial pressure on families who were able to buy their homes only because of those artificially low payments in the first place.
Many will be unable to refinance or even sell their homes because of the looming glut of homes on the market and the stalling of price appreciation.
Many of these people have little or even negative equity in their homes, which compounds their difficulties as realtors will not list their homes, as they see no way the home owner can pay their commissions.
These people also have little to no flexibility to reduce the price of their properties because the mortgage payoff and the closing costs will require them to bring cash to the closing to buy their way out of their homes.
Also, these homeowners will have a diminished fervor to stick it out through the hard times just around the corner if they have no equity, abandoning their homes and adding to the greater problem.
The ultimate nightmare is for people in this situation to be forced to sell their homes for financial reasons. They are headed straight to financial ruin; bankruptcy, foreclosure or both.
Selling a house is a Marketing problem. If I recall from Marketing 101, a product will be successfully sold when you position it as the most competitive product in front of the largest possible market. Painting the porch is not going to make your house the most competitive; everyone else is painting their porch too.
What if you could offer your house for sale and the buyer did not have to qualify for a new mortgage, do you think that would make your house stand out from the rest of the competition? This one change would also double or triple the size of your potential market of buyers. There is a “shadow market” of people who would love to buy a house like yours only they will not or cannot go through the “inquisition” of being qualified for a bank mortgage. These people include small business owners, self employed professionals, including real estate investors; foreigners and, yes, those with stinky credit!
They have the cash to put down and the ability to carry the payments, they just don’t want to hassle getting a mortgage and they will be very grateful to be given the chance to buy a property with no bank involvement. How grateful? We have found that they will jump at the opportunity, pay 15-30% more than the appraised price of the property and will also pay a higher monthly payment as well, which can spell P R O F I T in addition to a quick sale at or above market value. There is only one way that will allow you to sell your home without paying off the mortgage and that is with a properly structured land trust. The trust will prevent the bank from foreclosing on your mortgage for violating the due on sale clause.
An added bonus is that when you sell the property in a land trust, there is no tax due on the gain; especially important if it is an investment property or a residence that has appreciated beyond the statutory exclusion of $250 or $500,000. Now, you can sell your property quickly, take a nice down payment, receive hassle free monthly payments; in excess of your mortgage payments for years and possibly another lump of cash when the buyer sells the property or refinances your mortgage. I say, “hassle free” payments because you will have no tenant, toilet or trash responsibilities to the new buyer. You don’t call the bank that holds the title to your car if your water pump fails, do you? This has been the way out for many of our clients who were trapped in their homes and can work for you as well. Discuss this option with your realtor or lawyer.
Copyright 2006 Bill Young. Bill has 20+ years as a real estate educator, investor, banker and personal financial consultant. He has seen good times and bad times in the real estate market. He brings his invaluable experience to those looking for guidance in their real estate and personal financial activities.
For more information, see http://MotivatedSellersOnline.Com and
http://HowtoSolveYourMoneyProblems.Com
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