We Buy Houses In Foreclosure

It’s the “F” word every homeowner dreads: foreclosure. Before we dive deep into this dark topic, let’s begin by giving you some good news. You’re wondering, “Can I sell my house if it’s in foreclosure?” The quick answer is a resounding “yes,” but there are some caveats you’ll need to understand first. That’s where we come in.

At Suburban Cowboys, our mission is to help you turn the page and get a fresh start with a fair deal. It’s important to understand your options, so read on to learn how to sell your house for cash to avoid a foreclosure auction and if you have any questions, give us a call at 615.422.4797

Let’s break down the process so you have a better understanding of what causes a home to be in foreclosure.

What Causes a House to be in Foreclosure? 

Even with the best intentions and planning, life can throw the proverbial curve ball that knocks us off our feet. Life changes like divorce, death, and medical bills can hit like a punch to the gut and have us reeling emotionally and could lead to financial hardship.

Sometimes the impact of a tragedy hits so hard that mortgage payments go unpaid. If this happens and the homeowner hasn’t contacted the mortgage company to discuss options, they can take legal action by putting your home in foreclosure.

But before you start to panic at the thought of your home in a foreclosure auction, let’s unpack this “F” word some more.

What is the Foreclosure Process?

Foreclosure is a legal process in which the mortgage company repossesses your home due to you falling behind in mortgage payments or violating other contractual agreements. Believe it or not, they don’t want the foreclosure process to proceed because it’s expensive and time-consuming. They’d prefer to work with you to find a solution, so if you’ve missed payments, contact them immediately to discuss options.

We know it’s hard to deal with finances when your world has been turned upside down by loss. For some, this has them feeling paralyzed or apathetic about their financial responsibilities. When left unchecked, this mindset can lead homeowners down a road of despair in which they believe losing their home is “a good thing” when the opposite is true.

If you do nothing and the foreclosure process moves forward like a tsunami, you’ll experience long-term adverse effects for years. Here are but a few examples:

 

• Eviction. Not only will you be homeless, but you’ll lose any equity you currently have in your home.

• Credit report damage. Your credit could be in such disarray that you can’t secure a future loan, or you may find it difficult to even rent.

• May owe deficiency balance. If your lender can’t recoup what they loaned you even after selling your home, you will owe them the balance. If your finances are too much disarray that this isn’t possible, you may need to file bankruptcy.

We hope our candidness doesn’t feel like too much. Instead, see it as tough love from an agency that’s in your corner and wants what’s best for you.

With that said, together, let’s look at some solutions to sell your house fast in foreclosure.

Why Selling Pre-Foreclosure is Your Ally 

Before you end up in foreclosure, your best option is to sell your home pre-foreclosure and depending on your situation you may need to sell your house fast. Before we explain why, let’s further examine the foreclosure process to understand why this could be a good idea.

Generally speaking, lenders begin the foreclosure process three to six months after you miss your first mortgage payment. Next, they’ll issue a Demand or Notice to Accelerate letter that gives you 30 days to get your balance current. This is where some folks opt for short sales, which aren’t always an option. Others will seek a loan modification, but this can be a difficult and confusing process.

If you don’t meet their demand, and don’t get a short sale or a loan modification, the mortgage company can proceed to the next phase, foreclosure, which takes about 922 days to complete on average. But every state has different foreclosure laws, so you may want to check with a lawyer for specifics to your area.

If you can’t work out payments, then we believe it’s better to sell pre foreclosure, and here’s why:

 

• You Can Do It Now. When Suburban Cowboy gives you a fair, no-obligation cash offer for your home, you have the option to move much faster and start fresh.

• Maintain Credit Score. A foreclosure will ruin your credit report but selling beforehand lets you leap over this pitfall with cash for a new home.

• You’re in Control. Selling pre-foreclosure allows you to control the timeline. Instead of the bank telling you when to move out of a foreclosed home, you decide what’s best for you!

Let Suburban Cowboys Save You Time!

We would be remiss to not inform you of some time-saving tips which involve calling Suburban Cowboys for a free cash offer. Here’s why:

 

• Skip Repairs. In the traditional market, you must paint and repair your home before selling it. Not with Suburban Cowboys! Our no-obligation cash offer is based on your home’s current state, so you can skip time-consuming and expensive projects.

• It’s Easier. At Suburban Cowboys, we don’t waste any of your time on things that don’t matter to you. If it’s time to go, we’re going to help you move forward and help you avoid the typical headaches involved in listing a house. 

• Faster Turnaround. Time is of the essence when trying to beat the foreclosure process. With Suburban Cowboys, you take control of your future and your timeline.

Can You Sell a House During Foreclosure? 

Even if you’ve received a foreclosure notice, there’s still hope! You can still sell your home and avoid a foreclosure sale, but you may not have the luxury to get rooms painted or leaky faucets fixed.

Depending on the current market in your neighborhood and surrounding area, it’s even possible in some situations to make money from the equity you’ve accrued. Again, we at Suburban Cowboys can clue you in on market trends and assist you during this trying time.

Here are the stepping stones to selling your home during foreclosure:

1. Current Net Value of Your Home

The first step is finding out how much your home is worth. Some online tools can get you in the ballpark, but we suggest giving us a call so you can get a more accurate assessment.

2. Calculate Fees and Balance Owed

The last thing your mortgage lender wants is for your home to go into foreclosure. At the same time, we know the last people you want to talk to are the ones you owe money to and who sent you the foreclosure notice. While they may “feel” like the bad guys, they want what’s best for them, too, which is to avoid foreclosure.

So please take a deep breath and call them, explain your plan to sell, and find out what fees you owe and any mortgage debt accrued. Expenses can range from lawyer to late fees lenders charge for missed payments.

Add these fees and additional costs up and deduct them from what you’d expect to make selling your home at a fair market value.

3. Factor In Selling Costs

If you take the traditional route of selling a home and hiring a real estate agent, you’ll also be heeding the adage, “It takes money to make money.” When going in this direction, don’t forget to factor in selling costs, staging or repair costs, moving costs, and real estate agent commission, to list a few.

As a company wanting to earn your respect, we need to ask you a probing question: “Why do it that way?” As we’ve already mentioned, you can skip agent commissions, repair and staging costs, and closing costs, and cut the time down to sell from an average of 47 days to an average of one week to close, by getting a free, fast, and fair quote from Suburban Cowboys.

4. Don’t Sell Your Home By Yourself

Perhaps you’re of the mindset that you can avoid using a real estate agent and companies like us simply by selling your home by yourself. Let’s explore this option more and see if we can sway your thinking.

At Suburban Cowboys, we have experience navigating the dark waters of foreclosure, which you may not. And because we’ve seen everything, please let us take a minute and go through some of the pitfalls we hope you’ll choose to avoid.

Chances are you’re already under an extreme amount of stress. Do you really want to add to your tempest by creating yard signs and social media campaigns? Additionally, you must sell your home fast to avoid the foreclosure process. While you may be a born salesman, it can take weeks or months to find a qualified buyer. 

You may be tempted to get a real estate agent involved in order to communicate and negotiate with your bank and mortgage lender when your home is facing foreclosure. Of course, banks and mortgage companies want to avoid foreclosure. They don’t want forfeited properties on their ledger sheets, and they’re not in the business of selling real estate. Additionally, banks and lenders in many states will hold off a foreclosure if your home is in contract. If you can find a good real estate agent, they’ll try to establish consistent and positive communication with your lender. But more and more people are finding it simpler, easier, and faster to just sell their home and start fresh with cash. Nearly one third of home sellers chose to sell their house for cash in 2021.

When you need to sell your house fast to beat foreclosure procedure, you’ll find it’s an extremely stressful situation when going the traditional route. You can eliminate the anxiety and time consuming and emotionally draining procedures necessary in the traditional market by accepting our no-obligation fair cash offer. Naturally, one call to Suburban Cowboys will bypass much of what a real estate agent needs to do to sell your property.

Put another way, we want to be your ally who has your back during one of the bleakest times in your life. Tenacity and forethought are our forte at Suburban Cowboys, so give us a call!

Can You Avoid Foreclosure After it Starts? 

If you’ve been overwhelmed by a dire situation and had to put off taking proactive steps to avoid foreclosure, there’s still hope! But here’s our tough love kicking in again: it requires you to “Cowboy Up” and grab the bull by the horns.

First, take advantage of the Housing Counseling Services offered by HUD. Not only will they be able to help you navigate procedures with the next steps and a plan, but their services are free.

Some homeowners opt to give the deed back to the bank, called a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. However, you may still have to pay the lender’s lawyer fees, and you won’t recoup any equity in the home. Also, this is typically only done by owners in a market where homes have depreciated or aren’t selling quickly.

Your other option is to call Suburban Cowboys at 615.422.4797 for a fast fair cash offer, but we’re guessing you already knew we’d say this!

What Happens if Your Home is Foreclosed on? 

First, you have our deepest sympathy if this has happened to you. But again, there are options we can explore, so don’t despair.

If your home is foreclosed, the worst-case scenario is that the bank takes possession, and you must move out. You lose all equity in the house and will have to make restitution if the home sells for less than what you owe. The timeframe for these processes varies from state to state ranging from a few months to a year.

The keyword for you is communication, communication, communication! Even if you’ve ignored phone calls and letters from the mortgage lender, it’s never too late to start anew. But remember, as stated throughout our article, your lender would prefer working this out with you and not following through with this final solution.

Sometimes, the lender is willing to renegotiate mortgage payments to find an amount that can keep you on track and in your home. No matter where you may be in the foreclosure process, it’s better to over-communicate with those you owe money to than to ignore, hoping “somehow” it’ll be better (or gone!) the next day. That only works in fairy tales and Hallmark movies!

How to Sell Your House Quickly if it’s in Foreclosure

By now, you should see this pitch coming like a slow, underhand softball! The quickest and easiest way to sell your home when facing foreclosure process is by getting a fair cash offer from Suburban Cowboys.

You’ll get a free, no obligation quote for a competitive market value for your home, you won’t need to worry about repairs and repaints, and you’ll save money by not paying fees and commissions.

Imagine cash-in-hand, your credit score intact and free from those nagging phone calls and letters from lenders. And to top it off, all of this could happen in several days versus months using the traditional methods.

The bottom line is that we’re here for you and genuinely want what’s best for you, even when facing foreclosure. Call us right now at 615.422.479 and tell us about your situation. We’re here to help you turn the page and get a fresh start with a fair deal… in weeks not months.