Thinking about letting my house go *update post 39*

[DAFox]

As several people have suggested, you NEED expert advice: Real Estate agents, bank loan officer/mortgage brokers. Perhaps, bankruptcy lawyers and reputable consumer credit counselors. I wouldn't base this decision on just one person's adivice. I'd talk to several real estate agents, etc.
Please, don't make this major decision based on advice from us and other friends. I do understand that you are super stressed and that is all the more reason to depend on people that CAN help you make an informed decision.

We had to sell a house as part of my MIL's estate, just this past Spring. We got a buyer who wanted to do everything that needed to be done. The house was sold in less than a month. We hadn't even officially put it on the market.

Good luck,
Dale-Ann

 

[EweSheep]

How about short sale?????? You would be required to pay something after it is done but better than what you owed now.

I would agree with the others, try to sell your house before you do walk away. Its worth a try!

I had to file bankruptcy seven years ago, lost my house and truck and everything except my worldly possessions and furniture. It was the best decision for me and is a stay at home mom all that time. I was pregnant when I filed. Now my credit is back up in the 700's, didn't take out a loan but would not qualify a house loan because of my bankruptcy but can get a car loan now. I was glad I filed bankruptcy before the restrictions was placed on how you can file and not file.

There are SO many people credits are ruined by housing, loss of jobs so having good credit anymore does not concern me anymore. I don't need a credit card to build up my credit and if the bank wants my money, they can look at my payment history and been paying things on time and no outstanding debts of our own. To get a credit card or anything you need to build up credit, its hooky because it is the bank's control. If they dont have my business, they dont have my money. Time to turn the tables on them and take charge and control in our money and use our noggins to determine whats the best use of our money to build credit. We have only ONE credit card at Sears, for any emergency appliants like washer and dryer/furnance, AC, etc. It feels good not having any debts since I filed bankruptcy and hubby has no bad credit on his end, and with MY help, I helped build up his credit even higher because I am in charge of the finances in the family.

It does not hurt to call Clark Howard...he does have some good tips but harder for poor folks that has no income or on Medicare/Medicaid, etc. Go and find out what he says!

 

[Royd]

Quote:
Honestly, why would anyone replace carpet with carpet? The cleanest it will ever be, is the day of installation...Why not go with tile or wood?

 

[EweSheep]

I love wooden floors, much better for respiratory problems!!!!!! People are going for tile or wooden floors than carpets and when they move in, first thing they did, ripped out carpet and put in tile or wooden floors.

 

[1_FnkyFrm]

Why dont you dye the carpet a darker color to cover the pee stains.(Dark gray, Dark Blue, Dark brown) Then you can rent it out. Cheapest way out....

 

[Royd]

Quote:
Not to mention, the untold number of chemical fumes, being emitted from the new carpet..I.E. that new car smell.

 

[Royd]

Is the house offgrade, with joists and plywood, or is it a slab? If it's a slab, you could look into concrete staining...Some of that stuff is pretty cool...It holds up, in resturants, and other commercial buildings.

 

[Catstar68]

I'd personally rip the carpet out and get it as clean as possible. Do not replace the carpet...this gives the buyer an option of customizing it. Set the price 5 or 6 thousand (wiggleroom) above what you owe and do a for sale by owner. Do not agree to pay a buyers agent a cut.
Someone with an eye for investment property may snatch it up. A house flipper.
A good real estate attorney to handle the paperwork is all you need. Mine cost me $500 and we did the closing in his office. I wrote my contract myself from some examples I found online, got it notorized free at my bank. Do some research.
I bought my house for 30,000 under market because neither I nor the seller dealt with a real estate agent. Don't get me wrong, agents are fine in most situations but this seems like a case where if the choice is between foreclosure and selling quickly to get out then it is worth a try.

 

[ChurkLover]

If possible, don't let it go back to the bank. It will take forever to get that off of your credit. Although you are not as concerned with your credit now, you mentioned you have 7 acres...what if you need to purchase a tractor or a new mower or a new car/truck down the road? You have a new baby on the way and you have to consider what changes that will bring also. To get rid of your home the quickest, I recommend using a realtor and offering the cost for repairs in closing as other have mentioned. This will eliminate the need for you to do the work and likely get the home sold the quickest. Price your home just right and also consider asking your realtor to take less on their commissions. I have done this the last two times we sold homes and they agreed to cut commissions. If you get a good realtor, they want a quick sale as well.

As another option, you could list your home on craigslist or forsalebyowner.com which would eliminate the commissions but then you have to be there to show the home to potential buyers and sounds like you don't have the time for that. The only costs associated with selling a home this way would be the couple hundred dollars you would pay a title company for any work and a couple hundred for the forsalebyowner.com online and magazine listing. That's how we sold one of our homes. It's super easy to do and saves a ton.

It's only August and it's five months until December. Maybe ask a realtor in your area how long it is taking for homes in the area to sell so you have a better idea. If they say 3 months, I would go for it and get that thing on the market now. If they say 6 months or more, then maybe look at your other options.

Good luck with the new baby and whatever you decide on the home.

 

[WingingIt]

If you let the bank take it they'll just turn around and resell it. If you owe $115,000 and they sell it for $90,000 to get it off their books, YOU STILL OWE THE REST. So then you've got a foreclosure on your credit along with still owing them $25,000 or whatever the difference ends up being. If you're going to go that route (because you seem determined no matter what other options are being thrown out to you) then I really think you should talk to a lawyer about bankruptcy instead. If you're going to smash your credit and lose the house, you might as well lose it in a way that protects you from still owing on it AND take care of at least some of that credit card debt, too. No guarantee that you'll qualify, but it's a better choice to at least try it before just giving the house up and still owing money on it.

Really, though, start by calling a good realtor who does lots of sales in that area. I guarantee you won't have been the first person in this type of situation and they probably know contractors who can help with the work costs, too, versus hiring a flooring company to do everything.

Good luck!