If you've fallen behind on your loan payments but aren't underwater yet—meaning the fair market value of your home is greater than what you owe on your home loan—you can sell your house and use the profits to pay back your lender.
If your home is worth more than what you owe
If the value of your house exceeds what you owe, you should be able to sell your home while in forbearance, just as any interested homeowner would. The main difference is that you must pay the lender any missed or deferred payments from the sale proceeds.
Your real estate agent or attorney can work with your mortgage holder and title company to prepare loan closing documents or a settlement statement. When the home is sold, those funds are used to pay the remaining balance on your loan and you can retain the remainder (if any) as profit on the sale.
This includes most mortgages. Homeowners with federally backed loans have the right to ask for and receive a forbearance period for up to 180 days—which means you can pause or reduce your mortgage payments for up to six months.
How long does the repossession process take? With the various steps that lenders need to follow to apply for a repossession order, the whole process can take up to 9 months. This can differ case to case, but in general, it's quite a slow process.
If you're behind in mortgage payments, you might be wondering how soon a foreclosure will start. Under federal law, in most cases, a mortgage servicer can't start a foreclosure until a homeowner is more than 120 days overdue on payments.
You're responsible for your mortgage payments until your house is sold, so even if you've moved into a new property, you'll still have to pay off your mortgage on your existing property. You may even be temporarily homeless until your home is sold.
Selling with a mortgage FAQs
Do I need to tell my mortgage company if I am selling my house? Definitely. You'll need to let them know and you'll also want their help to talk through the different options, unless you're using a separate advisor. Even so, they should be one of your first ports of call.
A deed in lieu of foreclosure is when you voluntarily deed the property back to the investor (or government) in exchange for a release from all your obligations under the mortgage. Although you lose your house, it is usually preferable to foreclosure because of the cost and emotional trauma of a foreclosure.
For homeowners who can't afford the regular monthly payments after forbearance, they can extend their mortgage term to 360 months, which will reduce the monthly principal and interest payments. Loan modification.
Myth: If I enter a forbearance plan, I will be ineligible to refinance or get a new mortgage loan. Fact: You may be eligible for a refinance or a new mortgage loan if you are in forbearance but have continued to make timely payments.
The Borrower only pays the Partial Claim if the home is sold or refinanced. The Partial can be up to 30% of the amount owed. In other words, your FHA Partial Claim must be paid in full before you can sell your house.
The good news is that homeowners now have a couple extra months to sort out late payments and work out foreclosure alternatives. #1 Refinance. Refinancing won't be as detrimental to your credit report, but it's a step best taken before your lender begins a foreclosure process.
Mortgage reinstatement provides an option to avoid foreclosure. Instead, you can catch up on your payments and cover any late fees to restore the mortgage by paying the total amount past due.
Loan Modifications
Probably the most common alternative to a foreclosure is a mortgage loan modification. This is a permanent solution for a homeowner who is unable to keep up with monthly payments.
The answer to this question is yes, you can give your house back to the bank to avoid foreclosure in a process known as deed in lieu of foreclosure. Before pursuing this option, first look into a short sale, loan modification, or simply selling the property.
What happens once I've surrendered my property? Once you've handed your keys back your lender will sell the property on your behalf. If any money is made from the sale you'll get this back, but as the property will usually be sold at auction it may not make the best price.
Furthermore, because the loan is secured against the house, a lender can force you to sell or repossess the property if you fall behind on your repayments. If you sell your house before you've repaid the full mortgage, you will need to use the money from the sale to settle the debt and keep the remaining cash.
The short answer: yes. The long answer: it's a little more complicated, but usually you can sell your property prior to repossession. Generally, the sooner you start, the better.
In general, mortgage companies start foreclosure processes about 3-6 months after the first missed mortgage payment. Late fees are charged after 10-15 days, however, most mortgage companies recognize that homeowners may be facing short-term financial hardships.
If a foreclosure sale is scheduled to occur in the next day or so, the best way to stop the sale immediately is by filing for bankruptcy. The automatic stay will stop the foreclosure in its tracks. Once you file for bankruptcy, something called an "automatic stay" immediately goes into effect.
Yes, you can refinance a delinquent mortgage as a way to bring a past-due home loan current and avoid foreclosure. The process of refinancing pays off the existing mortgage and replaces it with a new loan, giving borrowers somewhat of a fresh start.
If you have, you likely won't be able to get a refinance loan. Just missing the due date won't necessarily be reported as a late payment. A vast majority of lenders will only report late payments to the credit bureaus if you're over 30 days late, in other words – if you don't make a payment until the next due date.
Generally, lenders hold all refinance applicants to the same credit standards, even when they're current customers. Any missed payments or payments received 30 days or more after the due date disqualify you from a refinance because they indicate financial trouble or mismanagement of your mortgage payments.