Very few words trigger the level of distress and anxiety that the word “Foreclosure” brings. You are not alone! In fact you might be surprised to learn that we get calls every week from other people in similar situations to you. You probably even have friends that have faced Foreclosure but you never knew because people don’t talk about it. That being said, there are SO MANY ways to AVOID FORECLOSURE, but you need to find a real estate professional who can help you navigate the path to saving your credit score and walk a way with a profit! We have tons of resources on our website to help homeowners like you avoid foreclosure and think out of the box but this article is about how to make you money.
We are Cash Home Buyers in Katy, TX and we have helped hundreds of people sell their homes in the greater Houston, TX area. Many of our team members are licensed realtors so this means we actually know a lot of the ins and outs that help us get deals done while maintaining a high code of ethics by TREC.
Key Takeaways In This Article:
- Foreclosure will ruin your credit but it doesn’t mean you won’t make any money in the process.
- You can avoid foreclosure all the way up to the property being auctioned.
- Giving a real estate professional time to help you is critical as there are a number of things that can occur when selling a property.
- The process of selling to an investor like J&A Home Buyers is extremely simple. No Repairs, No Clean Up, Minimal Paperwork.
What is Preforeclosure?
Before we dive into how to make money with your property let’s align on what Preforeclosure means in Texas. Preforeclosure is a time period where a property is in danger of being repossessed by the bank or auctioned to the highest bidder due to default in the mortgage clause. Texas requires that all lenders in Texas begin the preforeclosure process and during the preforeclosure process the owner of the property can either sell their home or pay off any remaining debt. If the property is sold or debt is paid off prior to the auction date the owner will avoid foreclosure. Texas does not allow banks to take possession of a property in foreclosure unless the property has been first auctioned to the highest bidder and no one made a bid to purchase the property. In Harris County that auction occurs on the first Tuesday of every month. The time to foreclosure can vary on a number of factors relevant to your lender and your payment history.
Do You Get Any Money If Your House is Foreclosed?
Very few of the houses that reach the foreclosure auction are actually sold to a bidder. In fact only 20-30% of the houses auctioned get a bid high enough to pay off the lien and sell. This means that about 70%-80% become a bank owned property after the auction and the owner makes $0. What happens if the property does get auctioned, does the bank get all of the money from the auction or does the owner the money? No, if the house is lucky enough to get purchased in an auction then the owner of the property gets the remainder after all debt is paid off. This is a really high risk way to make any money and it will destroy your credit score for years. There are a number of easy ways to make money and avoid the hit to your credit score.
Can You Sell A House In Foreclosure?
Yes, you can sell your house anytime before the foreclosure auction. Typically a buyer will want at least seven days prior to purchasing the property to make sure that Title has the time they need to get a survey company out and insure the title to your house. It is critical to make sure that you have a well qualified buyer that has experience working with a quick cash purchase of your property. Just because you can sell with only eight days to auction don’t risk it! Selling a house is not like selling a smartphone. Sometimes Title finds problems to Title that take time to work through so starting early on the sales process is key. We have seen two situations pop up that can drag a sale out too long. Sometimes when a property is built the survey company made an error and the house or part of your neighbors house may be slightly over a property line. Another example we see come up is someone put a lien on a house for work like painting and even though the owner did pay off that debt no one took the time to drop the lien off of the property. In both examples these problems can be easily fixed but they take time to remediate. So contacting a well qualified Cash Buyer in your area is a key step in getting started.
What if My House Needs A Lot of Repairs?
All houses require maintenance and even if your house is brand new an inspector will always find some problem with it. Houses that are in the foreclosure are no exception. In fact houses that are facing foreclosure may often have more work than usual. This is because the home owner had to prioritize making mortgage payments or basic family needs over making the repairs. Investors, like J&A Home Buyers, have a lot of experience handling all sorts of repairs and can buy the house as-is. Sellers are often shocked at what we mean when we sell as is. You make the money at closing and we handle everything as-is, you don’t even need to take unwanted items or clean. Our purchase process is so simple and we have access to cash funding which allows us to close nearly 4x as fast as the market.
If you are facing foreclosure the first step to helping yourself is filling out the form on this page or calling one of our team members at J&A Home Buyers. We will help you look over your options
Call us today to speak with one of our licensed Realtors and find your way to making a profit!