I have a house that I bought in 2022 at the absolute top of the market as a primary residence. Purchase price was for 575k, 5% down , 30 year mortgage, 4.875 interest rate. Current value is about 500k and my loan balance is 518k. So with like 50k in closing costs to sell I’m 70k under water.

    It’s a new build and a decent starter home, pretty much perfect shape. In a great school district in a nice area. I was working in a seemingly super stable job role at a company that I had worked at for 7 years when we bought the house and the house was well below our means. Unfortunately my employer had layoffs like many other companies and the only job I could get required a relocation. Due to the house being so far under water, we decided to rent it out. Mortgage is about $3500 and rent is $2900. Luckily my new job pays a lot more, so the negative cash flow is not an issue. I’m able to pay the difference and vacancies with no issues.

    The housing market in this area is super stagnant. Not much inventory, but also not many sales. I’d love to sell to a family who would appreciate it, but I’m not really in a position to take the 70k loss, so I’m kind of stuck renting it out. I also have a job that monitors my finances so I’m unable to take the hit to my credit by selling at a loss or foreclosing. My only saving grace is that the interest rate is low and my finances are strong, so I can afford it. It feels like I might just be stuck waiting 10 years for this to recover.

    Anyways, does anyone more seasoned have advice for me?

    Any tips on what to do with under water house?
    byu/happymotovated inRealEstate



    Posted by happymotovated

    4 Comments

    1. Any chance your mortgage is assumable? With a lower interest rate you might be able to get a bit higher on the purchase price. From there try entry only listing, for sale by owner, or some sort of flat fee online listing to keep your closing costs down, and maybe you could walk.

    2. MayaBookkeeper on

      Selling at a loss does not hurt your credit.

      What hurts your credit: short sale, deed in lieu, foreclosure, late or missed payments

      I think it’s worth trying to sell in the spring.

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