The short sale occurs when the lenders agrees to sell the house for a much lower value than the outstanding amount on the mortgage loan. The lender will agree to a short sale once the homeowner has met all the conditions for the short sale and has financial trouble in making the mortgage payments that can be proved. It isn’t a good idea to stop the mortgage payment till the time that the short sale actually happens as it can put a bad mark on the credit report. For those that can’t make a mortgage payment, they have no other choice.
Before starting the short sale process, the homeowner should tell the lender that they are unable to make the payments for the final mortgage payments. The lender can stop the collection agency from breathing down the homeowner for the payment of the outstanding dues on their mortgage loan. Otherwise, at this stage, there will a number of phone calls from the lenders collection agency for the payment of the outstanding due. It’s important that the homeowner should be prepared for it. This can be done by changing the number. The option for bankruptcy should be the last resort.
Contact charitable organizations that can partially or fully help you make the mortgage payments. But don’t get taken in by companies that perform scam and run off with the money.
Have the latest credit report and see where you stand. Stopping the payments altogether can directly affect the credit that is present in the report. The homeowner should decide whether short sale is really worth all the efforts that they are putting in the deal. For those that have stopped making the mortgage payment, some of the money in the savings account can be put aside for making payments on the rental deposit or meeting other financial and tax considerations.
The homeowner should also secure the buyer and ensure that the buyer meets all the terms and conditions of the lender, before the homeowner stops making payments on the mortgage loan. In cases, when the homeowner stops making the payments before the short sale considerations are agreed by both the lender and the buyer, the lender can foreclose the property. In this event, the homeowner is in bigger trouble than what they started with.
A hardship letter to the effect that makes it impossible for the homeowner to continue making payment should be addressed to the lender. Furthermore the letter should request for a short sale. This will help the homeowner in their short sale procedure. At this point, the homeowner could stop making the mortgage payments as well.
All other debts should be kept current. If the homeowner stops making payment on other loans in addition to the mortgage loan, then it can cause a lot of trouble and the credit score will reduce dramatically, impacting the financial future of the debtor as well.
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About the Author
Julie Thompson, has been working on ForeclosureDataOnline.com studying the foreclosures market, helping buyers on the finer points of Fort Worth foreclosed homes.