The economy is rebounding, but the foreclosure sickness is still amongst us. Unfortunately, last July showed that the foreclosure numbers are still prevalent in the real estate market with more homes succumbing to the financial problems in the marketplace. If you are a home owner headed to foreclosure you should know all the options available to you to help you sell your house fast.
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More than 360,000 properties filed foreclosures last month, which is an increase of 7 percent from June and a more than 32 percent increase from July of 2008. Companies like RealtyTrac are stating that Julys numbers demonstrate the third time in the last five months where there has been a new record set for foreclosures.
The government is setting up programs to help individuals and distressed homeowners alike, but they are not able to save this trend towards more foreclosures to stabilize the real estate marketplace. Bank repossessions and notices of default are continuing to pour in.
Some of the foreclosed homes were a result of the end of state issued foreclosure prevention plans that had been rolled out in certain areas. For many homeowners, these plans offered too little protection too late and the modification programs have done little to help save the homes that so desperately need it. Homeowners are trying to get their loans refinanced or modified in order to protect their financial investment, but the plans are not working out as well as initial projections had speculated. Through the end of July, RealtyTrac is reporting that there have been a total of more than 464,000 repossessions this year alone, data has been accumulated until the end of July.
Delayed option ARM mortgages have been reset, which is causing more homes to default as the interest rates skyrocket on unprepared homeowners. For this reason, repossessions have increased among homes with a higher market value than other REOs in the past. The reason behind this market trend is that option ARMs have been used historically with borrowers who had better credit and were going to purchase more expensive properties.
It is no surprise that the areas still reporting the highest levels of foreclosure are those that were considered the most offensive, bubble states in the past. The home prices soared in these areas and banks financed mortgages for many individuals who would not have typically qualified for the financial backing. These states, including Arizona, California, Nevada and particular, Las Vegas, and Florida, are still recovering from the time of highest appreciation and worst lending practices during the real estate boom years.
California is reporting the highest number of foreclosure filings, but Nevada, with Las Vegas as its core, is showing the we buy houses highest rate of foreclosures with one in every 56 homes going under. As news of the recovering economy trickles in the media, it is important to note that these foreclosure filings give us a stronger indication of the real estate market and how it is truly performing.
When it comes to selling your house by owner, it can be confusing. Which forms to use. How to market it to get people to find you. Even how to take care of the closing and recordings. However, there is one overlooked part of selling most folks don't think enough about.
Financing.
This is how the deal gets done. After all, if the buyer doesn't get the funds in your hand, you can't close. And in this crazy real estate market, where everyone's wondering whether we are recovering or entering another bubble. If housing gets better, will mortgage lending become easier or harder (as they have been lately).
One of the least known, yet most powerful selling techniques when it comes to getting your house sold is a lease option. This is also known as a rent-to-own. A lease option is basically finding a well qualified tenant/buyer that wants to buy your house, but for some reason or the other, just can't get qualified right now. It can be because of some strain on their credit from the last crash or their lender is requiring more down payment than they currently have saved up.
Either way, these are folks who genuinely want to buy, have the income to support buying the property, and just need some more time to get financing ducks in a row.
And this market is huge. The amount of people in this category is huge right now. A good 80% of people who want to buy, and can afford to do so, just can't get approved right now.
To sell your home fast in this market, by yourself, and net the entire purchase amount (since there are no fees or commissions when selling with a lease option), this method can be a great solution. The buyers are there, and if you can wait a year or two to get cashed out... this can get you out from under your payments and get the best price possible.
If your concerned about being a landlord... don't. Selling with a lease option attracts buyers who want to buy, not just serial renters. There is huge difference in their thinking. A renter just wants a place to live in for a period of time and move on. They won't clean up, they don't care about repairs, and will usually leave the house at anytime, in not the best of conditions.
When you deal with buyers, you get a great family who wants to buy your property. Not just move from place to place, but a real buyer who will take care of all the repairs, keep the place perfectly clean, and ensure the payments are made on time since they don't want to lose their option.
You, as the seller, also benefit from the market or higher payments you'll be getting, not having to deal will all the day-to-day maintenance, and from getting full retail price when they cash you out... without paying a realtors commissions or fess... which usually results of over 10% of the price. This works out really well if you don't have much equity or if you're upside on your mortgage.
Selling your house on lease option or rent-to-own is one of the best kept secrets of how to sell your house yourself fast and get the best price.