If you are experiencing financial hardship, it can be a very challenging, uncertain, and stressful time. You may be experiencing a job loss, bankruptcy, or facing the inability to pay your bills. Each situation is vastly different, and many people go through financial hardship throughout their lives. If you are a homeowner, that means you have a light at the end of the tunnel. Selling your home when you are going through financial issues means that you will be able to get money back in your bank account based upon the equity your home currently has. Let’s explore steps homeowners can take when going through financial challenges.
Streamline Your Budget
When you are in a financially stressful situation, one of the first things you can try to do is streamline your budget and make necessary cuts that can potentially help make your expenses more manageable. It may be helpful to work with a financial planner to help you budget your core expenses. This option is only helpful for those that are not in a severe situation. Trimming your budget will only relieve a small piece of the puzzle and oftentimes, that relief is simply not enough to truly help matters.
Review Your Loan Documents
Another option is to review your loan documents to see if any modifications can be made. Afterall, your mortgage is usually one of the largest monthly bills you have. According to LDN Properties, “Some mortgage lenders offer homeowners payment protection, which is a provision in a loan that will typically give you a temporary reprieve from having to meet your monthly payment if you are suffering difficulties. These problems will often be specific in the terms of the mortgage agreement and will include situations such as loss of a job. Check your loan documentation to see whether you could take advantage of such cover.” Making a change to your loan can help you make your mortgage payments more manageable for a short period of time. Some options may be:
-lowering your mortgage interest rate
-extending your repayment term
-reducing your outstanding principle balance
-converting your loan type
-adding your past-due balance to your outstanding loan amount and recalculating your repayment term
Going through this process takes time, energy, and patience. Not all people have the luxury of time when dealing a financial hardship and again, it is a short-term fix even if it is granted. Oftentimes, those in a true financial challenge need more than just a temporary bandaid on the situation. Lending Tree reminds us that, “The ultimate purpose of participating in a mortgage modification program is to make changes to your mortgage that’ll help you avoid missed payments and foreclosure.”
Avoiding Foreclosure
When you are dealing with financial hardship, most likely you are finding your mortgage payments difficult to pay. When you get in this situation, foreclosure is looming. According to Ca.gov, “If you have missed one or more mortgage payments (or think you will in the future), it’s essential to know your rights. Mortgage servicers are required by law to inform you of the resources available to help keep you in your home. Servicers must:
- Contact you, in person or by phone, at least 30 days before starting the foreclosure process to discuss your financial situation and explore options to avoid foreclosure;
- Prominently post foreclosure avoidance resources on their website; and
- Offer a single point of contact (can be a team or individual) to help guide you through application requirements and deadlines.”
Avoiding foreclosure is something most people definitely want to try to avoid. Foreclosure can have severe repercussions on your financial future and credit and should be avoided at all costs if possible.
Ask for Family or Friends for Financial Help
Another option that could help you feel a bit of financial relief is to tap into your family and friend resources. Usually, this is a last resort for most people. It can be very embarrassing and stressful to make this call and again, usually the help that family and friends could help will not alleviate the issue at large. It may provide a respite or a bit of relief for a temporary amount of time, but it won’t solve the issue. And at the end of the day, you will still need to re-pay your family and friends for their generous help and many times, people just aren’t in a situation to do that.
Sell Your House to Trusted House Buyers
If the list above seems a bit scary and unrealistic to your situation, you are not alone. Many times, when homeowners are in tough financial positions, they need cash in hand to pull them out of the hole. One very realistic option is to sell your house to a cash buyer, like Trusted House Buyers. Trusted House Buyers is a direct cash buyer and can buy your home, providing you with cash in your hand. It is a quick and seamless process, but that isn’t always the case with any cash buyer in San Diego. Trusted House Buyers is a reputable, family run business right here in San Diego. We have handled countless sensitive situations and have been able to provide our clients with a true light at the end of the tunnel. How it works, is we will first come to see your property and assess the property. Then, we are able to give you a fair cash offer based on the condition of your home, location, recent neighborhood sales, etc. If you chose to accept our offer, we can usually close as quick as 10 days. In 10 days you will have cash in your pocket and can decide how you want to move on with the next chapter of your life with more financial freedom. Give us a call today at 619-786-0973 to see how we can help you sell your San Diego home during financial hardship.
