Clean Up Real Estate.org

In the home sales market we are in the throes of what may be the strongest buyer’s market in my lifetime. There are a few things people can do to help their property sell when they are living with a house that must be sold right now. Number one on the list is don’t panic. Bad decisions lead to more bad decisions. Ask yourself if you really have to sell that property right now or if you can somehow refinance it and turn it into a rental unit.

If that is impossible and you are in a position where your job has forced you to move at a bad time work out if you can get some help from your employer. Companies have relocation budgets and are sometimes willing to help out the people who work for them in such a situation. If you are just going to have to bite the bullet and sell do try to prepare a package that will help out your buyer. For instance FHA has a program that can give a buyer the capacity to get into your home with little or nothing down. That can be very attractive right now.

We really do not have an excess of houses in this country so much as we have a home market in a state of constant turmoil. That condition was brought on by some bad lending practices and a lot of folly on the part of people who thought prices had to keep going up forever. This is a market correction. Just like prices had to come down when they went up too far they will eventually go up again when they come down too far.

If you are in danger of foreclosure try anything to avoid it. Besides being an ugly stain on your credit it is a really painful experience based on everything I have seen. Be proactive and work on anything you or anyone who has a little expertise in lending can do to avoid that fate. Consider a short sale if your bank will go along. That may be ugly but can really make it easier for you to find a new home eventually. Do not give up. There are lots of programs that are already in place to help you negotiate your way out of the problem instead of standing by while it happens to you.

Finally use the network of social and private agencies that has started to develop around this problem. You are not alone. There are four to six million homeowners that are facing the same problem over the next three years if the financial papers have it right. This is a major social problem and society is trying to address it. Ask for help and you just may get it.

Finally if you do lose your home do not damage it. Negotiate with the bank for a relocation contract which can give you some cash to relocate and leave your home in good shape. Anger is part of the problem with this whole mess. Anger at losing your home is understandable. But indulging in petty vandalism to get even with the lender who really doesn’t want your home right now is self defeating.