How To Tame Debt
Estate settlement involves squaring off with creditors. Little can be more discouraging than having debts or ongoing financial obligations that can’t be paid. If you find yourself in this situation, please realize that you don’t need to deal with the problem alone.
Credit Counseling
Having good credit is very important when qualifying for a loan to buy a car or purchase a home, or even when applying to rent an apartment. After a death, people might be forced into providing for themselves in new ways, and for this reason their credit might become a factor. Getting to a good credit score as fast as possible might open doors that would be closed. Credit counselors know the system and can help you find both the information and the support you need to achieve your goals.
Please reach out to me if you’d like to discuss credit counseling services in eastern metro Dallas.
Short Sale
Sometimes, the liens on a property can actually exceed the sales value of the home. In other words, instead of receiving cash at a standard closing, you would need to show up with thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to pay off financial obligations just in order to sell your own house. For a family already undergoing financial hardships, paying this kind of money might be impossible.
If a homeowner has been honest with a lender but legitimately cannot make these payments, there is an option: a short sale. Here, a buyer negotiates with your lien-holders with the assistance of specialized real estate agents to reduce the amount of money required to settle your debts. If the property is moving towards foreclosure, negotiating a short sale can put the foreclosure on hold. You should hope for at least three benefits from this:
- A short sale is a much softer landing for someone’s credit than a foreclosure or bankruptcy – the penalty is less severe and the recovery time is much shorter.
- With a short sale, the owners’ credit history will show that they were pro-actively working to resolve the problem, not just giving up or walking away.
- A “waiver of deficiency” means that the lenders agree not to go after you for the balance of your debts after the sale of your home. They’re finished. You’re free.
- Your buyer can actually negotiate a living allowance of thousands of dollars to help you transition into the next phase of your life.
The short sale process does require cooperation and participation from the owner, and it can take longer than a normal sale, but it can be liberating.
If you believe a short sale will help your situation, please reach out to me.