When I started college in 2007-2008, real estate was a taboo topic due to the housing bubble crisis that led to millions of people losing their homes and life savings. This was the first moment when I started educating myself about the real estate industry. With millions of homes across the country going into foreclosure, it’s important for both buyers and mortgage holders to understand the process.
So what is a pre-foreclosure in Springfield anyway?
Many homeowners across America and Springfield are facing difficulties making their monthly mortgage payments. It’s a situation that homeowners do not know where to turn to if they want to keep their house, or evaluate options to sell.
When a homeowner misses 3-6 months of mortgage payments, the lending institution will issue a warning, notifying the homeowner to pay or lose their home. This period is known as “pre-foreclosure.” During this period, I’m sure your phone is ringing off the hook from “We buy houses” company that are more worried about lowballing you with a cash offer, than actually helping you out. Sound familiar?
Banks and mortgage lenders typically provide three months for the homeowner to become current. Of course this number can vary by bank and situation sometimes.
If a homeowner fails to make the necessary payments, the bank will foreclose on the home, assuming ownership, and evict the homeowner. Thankfully, during this stage of the foreclosure process, a mortgage holder has the opportunity to take advantage of several options to prevent losing their home.
Pre-foreclosure Options for Borrowers
If you’re behind on mortgage payments, you’re likely to receive a “notice of default” from your mortgage lender.
This document will state that you have not made mortgage payments for the last 90-180 days. It’s important not to panic.
You have options that can delay or even prevent losing your home:
- If your mortgage is “above water,” (meaning you have equity in your house) you may be able to refinance your mortgage, receiving lower monthly payments. Check with your local Springfield mortgage broker… or contact us and we can connect you with a reputable one.
- You may be able to quickly sell your home to a real estate investor like The Property Warehouse, that’s reputable in Springfield like us at The Property Warehouse.
- We can structure scenarios to make payments moving forward on behalf of you that will actually build your Credit month after month when we purchase the property. We specialize in buying houses and making payments on behalf of the sellers, getting the debt “seasoned” which provides transparency that the payments moving forward are being paid and ontime. We can buy your Springfield CT area home quickly, often in just a couple weeks, will pay in cash / or take over the payments moving forward.
- You may be able to declare bankruptcy, which can buy you time to pay your debt. Bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for years, and can cause significant damage.
Lenders are very much aware of the widespread financial troubles across the country and they’re willing to work with borrowers a lot of the time.
If you’re honest and communicate with your lender, you’ll often find that there are options that will allow you to remain in your home, or at least salvage your credit rating.
A foreclosure can often negatively affect your credit score by 200-400 points and can prevent you from obtaining a loan of any sort for 5-7 years, so be very dutiful if you’ve received a Notice of Default from your lender.
But if you’re not able to find a solution with your lender working directly with them… connect with us. We may be able to help.
Ways We Can Help If You’re In Pre-Foreclosure
- We can potentially take over your bad debt and make the payments moving forward – This would actually avoid a short sale and improve your credit moving forward. Submit your info on this website so we can evaluate your situation to see if we can help.
- We can buy your Springfield area house – We buy houses in Springfield and would love to make you an all-cash offer on your house too. Just fill out the form here to get started >>
- You can ask us questions and we can provide you FREE guidance and resources so you can make a well educated decision. This costs you nothing, there’s absolutely no pressure, no obligation… just free guidance without a catch.
If you’re in the pre-foreclosure stage… you’ve still got time to fix this situation.
I learned how to underwrite and structure several different ways to buy and make offers on houses when homeowners were ready to sell. What I take pride in is educating homeowners on several different ways they can sell their house that typical realtors wouldn’t be able to comprehend or offer. My thesis was that if I could present multiple options to a homeowner, then I could structure agreements that best fit what the homeowner is looking for, even if they didn’t know about these options before.
When we first meet, I tell people that I might not be their best option, and I encourage them to explore other options besides me as well. At the end of the day, it’s up to them to choose the right people to work with. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my time, it’s that people do business with those they trust and who are transparent in communication and expectations. I’m an open book when it comes to communication, which is why I decided to document and blog/vlog about my journey and share it with you.
My name is Nick Devine, and my company is The Property Warehouse.