I need help with what the best option for me would be. It’s a bit complicated so bare with me:
A couple years ago, I put my name on a mortgage for my brother to purchase a house, alongside my uncle and his now ex-girlfriend.
For 2 years payments were made up until recently. My brother is incarcerated and no one is paying the mortgage anymore. I helped with what I could but I cannot waste money on a house that isn’t mine anymore, knowing I will not get my money back.
The house is in AZ, and I live in CA. The house is currently 3 months behind payments. All 3 of us on the mortgage want nothing to do with the house. However, we are facing foreclosure within the next month. We don’t think the house would sell within that time frame. We had someone who wanted to assume the loan but it fell through after the mortgage company requested they put 10% down.
What are the best options for us, as we are now facing foreclosure. I know essentially letting it go to foreclosure will remove us from liability but it will also mess up our credit for years to come. What is the best way to get rid of the house the fastest way possible? We are not looking for any money out of it as it has no equity.
Foreclosure approaching, need to get rid of a house ASAP!
byu/NaturalCombination38 inRealEstate
Posted by NaturalCombination38
6 Comments
I dmed you with some questions, I may be able to help 🙂
Have you considered a short sale?
Want to sell it ? Lower the price to where I buyer can be found or mail in the keys
Just to be clear…the foreclosure does Not remove you from liability, they can come after you for any deficiency. They may, or may not.
The good news I guess, is that AZ is a no-recourse state. So if it sells at foreclosure for less than the loan, they can’t come after you for the deficiency. Of course as you mention your credit will take a hit for a few years. BUT, in my experience if your credit is good except for the foreclosure, many lenders will not care that much. You probably aren’t getting another mortgage in the next 2 years, but other things, will probably be fine.
There’s not a good option if the foreclosure is only a month away. You could find a buyer to pay market value, and negotiate a short sale with the bank, but that takes more than a month. I guess there’s no harm in trying though. Contact a local agent and get it listed on the market as a short sale. If you get any takers, then contact the lender and ask for a postponement of the court action (they usually agree to this, if you can produce a sales contract).
Also be very leery of any DMs from people who would offer to help you out. These are almost always scams. Do not sign any contracts without an attorney in AZ looking them over.
Get it on the market asap with an agent who knows short sales. Start at the price you need to clear the loan and cost of sales. Quickly start lowering the price until you get it under contract. Then let your agent and the lien holder get it closed.
You need a very experienced agent asap, preferably one who moved a bunch of property during the 2007-2012 recession.