Selling your home?
March 10, 2010 by
Filed under realestate for sale by owner
Can we sell our house for the remaining balance of the loan? We bought this house and we still owe about 79,305.00 and we are wanting to move to another town and wanting to sell our house. Can we do this even tho we are still paying the bank (lender)? And if so could we sell the house for the remaming balance and then pay down our loan? I dont want to do anything that will hurt our credit or us so that we can purchase another home in the future! Also If we still owe the bank do we have to sell through realestate agent or “For Sale by owner”? Any advice is wonderful. Also if it helps I live in Texas. Thanks!
Of course you can sell your house. Just remember that when the buyer writes the check, the bank gets paid before you do.
Remember also that you have to pay whatever taxes Texas requires, filing fees, the agent (if you have one) and all sorts of other charges.
If you sell for less than the house is mortgages, you still owe the balance. You do not have to use an agent, but since you seem to know very little, you should probably get a good one to help you.
Find out what the value of your house is. You could do this with a real estate agent or just research it yourself. Normally houses in the same neighbourhood that are similar sell for a similar price. Let’s say your house is put up on the market for 120 000.
You end up selling it for 110 000. You then take the money from your house sale and pay off your bank balance. Whatever is left is yours. You can than put a down payment on an another property if you like.
Real estate agent will take anywhere between 3-6%. I have always gone with the agents myself. But keep in mind that no matter what they tell you, they are not really working for YOU , they are working for themselves. .
Selling your home will not be a problem. Absolutely interview a couple of real estate agents that office close to your home and know the area.Once you go through the interview process the agents can give you an idea as to what they think the house will sell for. Never sign any agreements up front, let them know you are interviewing a couple of agents and will make a decision and go with who you feel most comfortable and confident with.
If your home sells for more than you owe the bank and closing fees, then you will have a profit and can use that on the next home. If the house is worth less than what you will be paid, then you have a problem. The bank gets paid first ahead of EVERYONE, except the tax man. If you use a RE agent, they get paid 3-6% of the selling price, and then there are closing costs associated with closing title. If you make your payments on time and pay the bank on closing title, you shouldn’t have any problems, and you can sell it through a RE agent, or yourselves, banks don’t usually dictate HOW you can sell your home. I would also suggest a good Real Estate lawyer, as you seem relatively inexperienced with RE matters. You are smart to check BEFORE doing anything, so at least you are thinking ahead! Good luck!
Dear Homeowner,
The statement you made, “And if so could we sell the house for the remaming balance and then pay down our loan?”, makes me think that you are concerned you owe more than your house is worth…….. If so, you may want to first contact a reputable agent in your area who can give you a Comparable Market Analysis (“CMA”). Most, if not all will do this for FREE !
Start there !! If you do find that you are facing a “short sale” You will need a Broker/Agent who is experienced in Loss Mitigation. You probably do NOT want to take this on yourself !!! Do not worry about using an agent just because your value is right at, or below what you owe.
The agents commission will be negotiated through the bank/lender during the short sale approval process !!!!
By the way this will not hurt your credit as long as you stay current on your payments. The lenders are all aware of the current market trend. It will take an aggressive agent who is not afraid of working hard and working “for” YOU !!
There are some VERY good Broker/Agents out there, ask a lot of questions, if they stumble or just don’t know – move on to one who is knowledgeable !!!!
I would get a good realtor, because you don’t know enough to do it safely yourself and we can’t know enough to get every angle on this forum.
Your home may be worth a lot more than you think because there has been a lot of appreciation over the years, even though there has been a bit of a drop in most areas in the last 8 months or so. A good chunck of money would help you get another home. While the fact that your home may have become worth more is the good news, but the fact that when you go to buy another home the price will shock you if you have not followed home prices in the last few years, well that’s the bad news, but if you get money from your home it should balance out, depending on where you are moving and where you are now.
You can sell it yourself if you want, there is no law aganist that, but in your case I would advice against it.
Before a deed can be recorded on your house in favor of a buyer the bank loan will have to be paid. A title company can be a lot of help in some of this stuff.
If you want to do a lease option that is possible too, where you give them the option to buy and they pay you rent until they do or until they leave. If you do that try to get at least 10% down payment to you before you let them move in. You will probably want to have a lawyer draw up the papers though, it’s to much risk and few people know how to protect themselves unless they have been in the business and are well versed in creative finance, and few realtors are, I just got into that because I liked creative deals. One of the guys I taught how to do creative finance because he was a friend is a guru now, all important to himself, and won’t return my calls lol, the goofball.