Like every agent, I've had my share of clients this year who owe more than what their homes are worth. In these situations, it seems the first assumption by real estate agents is that a short sale might be the answer. But, not everybody qualifies for a short sale. Surprisingly, some people DO have the income and CAN afford to make two house payments. Or, perhaps they don't have an official hardship to qualify for a short sale.
One common example that comes to mind is the seller who moves to another state to take a job with a new company and was not provided a relocation package. Many people have careers goals that they have not wanted to put on hold. Consequently, they end up assuming they can sell their house. What happens when they can't? What happens when they are not even able to break even and have ended up with two housing payments?
Many of my clients are honorable people who won't consider walking away from their financial obligations and letting their home just go to foreclosure. Some people do take pride in their credit scores. One such client has paid out $60,000 in mortgage payments on a vacant home since his property first went on the market. We rented it out for several months to stop the bleeding in hopes that the market would improve, but that resulted in an eviction and more headaches.
So, what's a seller to do when they owe more and don't qualify for a short sale?
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