How to Sell Your Modesto House Before Foreclosure

We’ve been seeing the foreclosure rates climbing throughout Modesto and the surrounding Central Valley communities. The rising costs of living due to inflation have made it harder for some homeowners to keep up with mortgage payments and property taxes. Unfortunately, there may come a point where you can no longer afford to stay in your home.

At that point, you may be facing a difficult decision as a Modesto homeowner. You will have a few options to consider:

• Improve your financial situation
• Work out a financial relief solution
• Sell your house now
• Lose your house to foreclosure

Don’t Just Wait for Foreclosure to Happen

Obviously, any of the top three options probably sound much more appealing than the last one. If you just try to ignore the problem and let your mortgage or property taxes go unpaid, you will eventually lose your house. Foreclosure is a problem that you cannot ignore and you should take every step you can to avoid it. Going through a foreclosure is a terrible experience. It also hurts your credit score and hinders your ability to buy another home in the future. It can haunt you for years.

The good news is there are things you can do to prevent foreclosure or at least delay it for awhile. Banks and mortgage lenders don’t like foreclosing on properties either. It is a costly process with a lot of legal complications. They usually end up losing a lot of money. They will give you every opportunity to find a reasonable resolution before the hammer finally has to come down.

Find a Feasible Solution

Of course, the best solution is to improve your financial situation. This can be easier said than done, but the job market in and around Modesto is relatively strong in the inflated economy and employers are paying well. If you have been out of work for awhile or are are stuck in a bad job, you can start taking more aggressive steps to find something better. Cut out unnecessary expenses or sell off some valuable things you don’t really need. Do what you can to get back to the point where you can comfortably afford mortgage and tax payments, as well as your other necessary homeownership and living expenses.

Sometimes improving your financial situation is too little, too late. You have already dug yourself a deep hole of debt and fallen behind on mortgage payments. Whether you are already behind or are worried about keeping up with future payments, you should reach out directly to your bank/lender. Ask them if there are any financial relief programs available to you. They understand that things happen and financial distress can occur. They may be willing to work with you to help you stay in your home, sell it as a short sale or find some other feasible solution that prevents foreclosure from happening. You may be eligible to take out a secondary loan or tap into your home equity. You may be able to delay mortgage payments for awhile (“forbearance”) to help you get caught up. There may be government support options that can benefit you in your time of need. The point is to be proactive and get ahead of the problem, rather than waiting until it’s too late to do anything about it.

Sell Your House While You Still Can

Lastly, you can look to sell your Modesto house as soon as possible—before foreclosure can occur. Housing inventory is critically low and real estate investors are looking for properties like yours in the Central Valley area. They have cash and are ready to buy houses. You will be able to sell quickly and pay off as much of your existing mortgage as possible. You won’t have to spend any money out of pocket on repairs and closing costs. The right cash investor will buy your house in as-is condition and cover any costs to close the transaction.

It’s important to understand you do have options, as long as the final foreclosure process hasn’t already started. You will get plenty of warnings and notices. Use this time to take action and find the right solution.

If you would like to get a fair cash offer for your Modesto house, PropertyLark will get back to you within 24 hours. Just fill out the contact form to the right. Tell us a little about you and your property, and we’ll get you a cash offer as quickly as possible.