Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure.

So last week, I was making phone calls to see if people still wanted to sell their home and I had a couple  of families tell me that they have had enough and that the are going to give their home back by Deed in Lieu of foreclosure.  While this is a definite option, I worry that consumers are not getting the best.  Now I am not an attorney, an accountant, or a mortgagor, I am just a Realtor that wants to make sure Homeowners make the best decision for them and/or their family.    Now their are many options out their for homeowners that are struggling making their payments, such as loan modifications, Deed in lieu of foreclosure,  Walk away, Borrow money, or Foreclosure!

For the basis of this post I am just going after 2 options Short Sale and Deed in Leiu of Foreclosure.     The disadvantage  is you have to find a buyer to make an offer, which takes times and more stress on your finances.  banks will also sometime say no or make owners sign a promisary note for a portion of the deficit.  As far as Short sales goes, the advantages of them are your Realtor and legal counsel will negotiate with the bank(s) to accept less than what you owe on the loan(s).

With Deed in Lieu the biggest advantage is that your will be able to give the home up quickly no real wait time, although most often the bank will want to see an honest attempt to sell the home first.     The disadvantage is their has been no attempt to negotiate down the amount owed back to the bank. There is a very strong likeliness that they will come back for the amount owed to the bank.

My current recommendation is to give Real Estate Agents that specialize in selling homes Short a chance.  It will save you a lot down the road and if that doesn’t work you can then do the deed-in-lieu(banks want to see you have tried selling anyways).

Again I am not an attorney, accountant or mortgagor, this is my interpretation of what I have seen in my years as being a Realtor.  If you have questions, concerns,or anything you want to add to this please comment to this post would be happy to hear everyone’s take on this