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What's all this talk of Mortgage Assignments?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Real Estate Solution Providers LLC

Mortgage Assignments are gaining more and more attention these days.  While they aren't a common house hold term like short sales, this could change shortly.  Mortgage Assignments are referred to as the "lease worst option", with the one biggest caveat being the homeowner stays on the mortgage while the buyer takes over payments.  Upon first glance this might seem like a deal breaker, however, in many situations this is the best option available to them.

Typically speaking, a mortgage assignment is for homeowners who have 0 equity in their home, but don't quite qualify for a short sale. This enables a seller to improve their credit, while avoiding a short sale or foreclosure.  The buyer who has taken over payments normally refinances the property within a year or two so the homeowner is released from the mortgage.

Just like any creative foreclosure prevention strategy, there are risks, however, you can minimize risks by taking the appropriate precautions. In some cases the homeowner can even benefit from any potential issues that may arise in the future.

This might be a great alternative for realtors to provide to their clients instead of doing a forced short sale or having the property sit on the market.

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Dennis Olson
West USA Homes - Peoria, AZ

It sounds interesting but how does it account for negative equity? In most cases here in Az there is such a disparity in equity to payoff that even after 2 years a refinance would not be possible.

Mar 05, 2011 12:06 PM
Ryan Paliukaitis
Real Estate Solution Providers LLC - Rockaway, NJ
Cash Home Buyer

Hi Dennis,

The amount of negative equity would determine if a mortgage assignment is doable.  For example, if the amount is small, it might be offset by the down payment from the buyers. Typically speaking, this is most common for properties that are right at the threshold (they owe what the property is worth)...when dealing with negative equity, there's a good chance it would be a short sale candidate instead.

 

Ryan

Mar 05, 2011 03:54 PM