Are you ready to get on the merry-go-round of real estate foreclosures and short sales? There are so many people who are confused, distressed, baffled, etc., by the current market. Who will they turn to?
There are war stories after war stories of people who have invested thousands upon thousands of hard earned dollars into their present home, only to see their equity eradicated and their home basically unsellable in the present market.
So back to my question, what is a homeowner to do? Continue paying for a home that may never again be worth what the buyers paid? Humm?? Doesn’t sound like financial wisdom does it? John Doe buys the house next door for $100K or $200K less than you owe on yours. Oh, and it is bigger and has more amenities, too. Again, humm???
Some homeowners have equity lines they acquired “before the fall” and they have used this equity just to keep up with payments. Now that is depleted and has to be paid back also. Do the banks help? “Not yet”, they say. ”You must be at least 120 days past due for us to even consider a modification.” So does the homeowner just quit paying payments and wait for the other shoe to drop? In the mean time, ruining their credit and waiting for the banks to respond.
Based on what I see on the multiple listing service, homeowners are staying in their homes well past 12 months of making no payments. Is this going to be the trend? Why jump into a short sale right away? Stay in the home and, hopefully, save money to move on later?
Meanwhile, Realtors are taking listings on properties that are not in foreclosure, but these home cannot compete in the present market with homes in the area that are being “sold short”.
Where is all this heading? Can someone enlighten me and everyone else?
