It's actually quite simple.
When you've got a house on the market in Charlotte NC (here we go!), then it goes under contract (woo hoo!), it STILL isn't sold quite yet!
I like to remind my clients that we can get about 50-60% excited with the contract, but until we pass the inspection hurdle and get the buyers' loan commitment, it's not time to celebrate.
That's hard, isn't it? It's human nature to think ahead, past the closing, and on to the next steps in life.
So why do I bring this up? That mortgage payment you're committed to, on this house you're selling here in Charlotte NC or ANYWHERE, YOU STILL NEED TO MAKE IT. Just because we have a contract, it's not over yet and your bank still expects your payments-otherwise, you stand to do serious damage to your credit score (any lenders among us can feel free to chime in-isn't it true that a mortgage late dings you much worse than say a credit card late?)
The situation cropped up this week in talking with a seller client, who is under contract, about the buyer's need to move closing out 6 days. Shouldn't be a big deal (in fact, I was glad to hear from the other side about that delay instead of it cropping up at the last minute) to accomodate it. But my seller panicked.
Come to find out, this particular seller has quit making mortgage payments (the house is sold, why should we bother?).
I advised them to make that mortgage payment right now and get caught up (we're still 4 weeks out from our scheduled closing), even if it requires using a credit card to make it happen. Nobody likes credit card balances, but if you have it available, use it. Pay off that credit card when you do get to closing. My folks aren't purchasing a home right this minute, they're going to spend a year getting established in their new jobs before house-hunting again-but if they have some mortgage lates on their credit, we're going to be hearing a whole different song when they want to take on another mortgage.
Protect yourself-remember that it ain't over til it's over, and keep making those payments. If you must rob Peter to pay Paul, call a trusted lender and ask which payments are safer to skip. Trust me on this-it's not safe to skip a mortgage payment!
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