BEST ANSWER
Rachelle
Let me get this straight
1. You need to sell (not want to sell, but have to sell)
2. You are worried that you will not have adequate proceeds from the sale to pay off your mortgage and closing costs, so you think by paying a Realtor a lower commission you will breakeven.
3. You have contacted two local agencies and have not yet heard back.
You situation is not uncommon. My family was in the same situation so here are some suggestions:
1. Do you really have to move? What alternatives do you have to moving? Do you mean as in sell the property or move as in relocate to another area?
a) if you have to sell, but are staying in the same area, then that means that there are financial issues. If you look at the link below it appears that homes are selling, which is good, but at lower price.
b) If you prefer to stay in the same area you could ask your lender to modify your loan. You'd need to qualify for the new loan, but the basic idea is that the lender may agree to modify the loan interest, monthly payment, or other aspects to enable you to stay in the home.
2. If you need to relocate, then there are other options:
a) rent the property out and either keep it as a long term investment (which is what happened to us...we kept it 18 tears and sold it for a big profit in the end), or keep it just until the market turns around. Either way you'll want to talk to a CPA about the tax implications.
b) Try to sell it yourself (tough to do in a buyer's market). Works about 10% of the time.
c) Try to sell it with a discount broker or MLS Entry Only broker in hopes of 'saviing' enough to breakeven. The problem is that with these types of brokers the majority of the time the listings fail to sell and when they do sell, they sell for less (2-3% less than those sold by Full Service Realtors).
d) Sell it with a full service Realtor and look at negotiating a possible short sale or other terms.
Here are some possible scenarios-
- The property might be worth more than you think (although I doubt it).
- Ask a Realtor to provide you with an "Estimate of Seller's Net Proceeds" and see exactly how you would be financially at the end of the transaction. Possible options could be:
- use a credit card or borrow from someone to pay any shortfall
- ask the lender to issue you a promissory note for the balance. This is where the negotiating comes in..maybe they will give you an interest-free note with monthly payments you can afford to repay the shortfall
- if the difference is too great look into a short sale. A Realtor experienced in Short Sales should be able to analyze your situation to determine if you might qualify.
Hope this helps. If you'd like a referral let me know. Good luck.
Thu Apr 30 2009, 08:34
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