Making calls you don’t want to make: Calling your seller because of a Notice of Default list

About a year ago, I had listed a home for sale in Beaverton, Oregon and thought it was going to be an easy sell. In the taking of the listing I had asked how much they owed, what their interest rate was and when they bought the home. (You know all the traditional questions)

But, it seems the one question I forgot to ask was… Are you current on your payments? This one was a very important question because it seems they were not. I do have to admit that this was a mistake on my part because when I heard how much they owed and how much equity they had, I thought it was going to be an easy sell even if they were behind on payments. (BOY WAS I WRONG)

Two weeks later I received my Beaverton area real estate Notice of Default list from my local title company just like I do every Friday. That is when I noticed the address on the list as one of my listings. I immediately called the seller and asked them how they were doing and then asked them if they were presently making their payments on time.

Their answer actually rocked my world a little! They said “NO, we have equity and we need the money for a down payment on something else in another state that we are buying” I then said “That is great there is one little problem with your theory and I’m hoping we aren’t too late!”

The problem was that what they thought they would get by not paying payments was more money in their pocket at close, but the exact opposite was true, they were actually going to get less because of interest and penalties from their bank. Then to top it off, their credit was going to be affected enough that they may not be able to even get the home in this other state.

Lucky for them, they were actually already buying this on contract, so there was no bank on the other end to deny them the loan at the last minute, but the catching up on the payments almost still cost them the new home because they ate up their savings to do it. We did close about 2 months later after getting a great offer and they ended up selling their RV to make up the difference they lost in penalties to pay the down payment on their new home.

So, if you are thinking of selling your home in the Beaverton area, please consult your real estate agent, lawyer and CPA before making any decisions on making or not making payments, what you think you are doing may not get the desired result and could cost you thousands in the end.

Todd Clark and the Friendly Home Team
Capstone Real Estate
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

Todd Clark is a licensed Realtor who specializing in Washington County, Oregon and also works both Clackamas and Multnomah Counties including the cities of Aloha, Beaverton, Canby, Clackamas, Gladstone, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sherwood and Tigard.
All information contained in these posts is copyrighted and cannot be used without prior written approval authorization from the author. If you are looking for an outstanding agent please give Todd Clark a call he would love to help you in all your real estate needs.

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