Have you ever found yourself saying these words, “I can’t sell my house in Toledo, OH,”? Well if so, then this article is for you! Maybe you’ve been trying to sell your house in Toledo for awhile now, and haven’t received any decent offers. You’re not alone. Don’t panic! You still have a few options at your disposal to help sell your house at a fair price.
You’ve probably tried the first one already – Lowering the asking price.
Everybody wants to sell their house for more than they paid for it. But, that’s not always realistic, especially if housing prices in your area are low, if the economy isn’t doing well, if there’s a glut of homes on the market or your home has some sort of structural defect or location problem. In those instances, you may have to reduce your asking price.
What are my options, if I can’t seem to sell my house in Toledo?
Here are five things you can try when you can’t sell your Toledo area house:
1) Take It Off the Market
That may sound counter-intuitive. But, you may be trying to sell it at the wrong time, such as when its a “buyers’ market” caused by there being too many houses to choose from; some better than yours and for similar or less money. Or, maybe you’re trying to sell during the winter months, or over the holidays when home sales are slow.
If this is the case, you might be better-served by taking your home off the market for a few months, and wait until market conditions improve. That assumes you can afford to keep paying the mortgage that long, or aren’t pressed about time that you need to be out.
2) Take Out a Second Mortgage
If, “I can’t sell my house, but I need the money”, and you’ve built up a lot of equity in your home, you may want to consider a home equity loan (called a Home Equity Line of Credit, or “HELOC” for short). Again, you’d have to be able to pay the higher monthly payments. But if that’s not an option, you can always try renegotiating with your lender for a lower monthly note, called a “loan modification program”. You can also try to convert your Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) into a Fixed Rate Mortgage with a lower interest rate. [By the way, that second mortgage loan can be used to fund a variety of other things as well, like real estate investments.]
3) Rent Out Your Home
If, “I can’t sell my house, and I don’t want to (or can’t afford to) hold two mortgages” (i.e., your current home, and your new one), then one option might be to rent out the current home. You should be able to charge at or near the price of your monthly mortgage payment, depending on the prevailing rental rates for a home like yours in your neighborhood. (You can find typical rental rates for similar properties in your area by looking at sites such as Rent.com, or by asking a local Realtor®.) Renting enables you to apply the rent proceeds to your mortgage while minimizing additional expenses; such as advertising fees, and maintenance costs (i.e., routine upkeep and repair).
4) Consider a “Short Sale”
If, “I can’t sell my house in Toledo because I owe too much on it and would take a loss”, that can happen when you owe more for your home from when you bought it than its currently worth. This is typically referred to as being “upside down” on your payments. A good example of this is when people paid too much for their homes during the housing bubble of 2006-2014. People were speculating on home prices, assuming they’d continue rising forever. But when the bottom fell our of the market, their homes were no longer worth what they paid for them. And, many people lost their properties, either through foreclosure, or simply walked away from them.
In some instances, the lender will let you negotiate to take a loss on the the remaining balance that you owe them on your mortgage, especially if it looks like your only other option is foreclosure. Foreclosure proceedings can be costly for the lender. And, they’ll sometimes consider cutting their losses and accepting a short sale, in addition to you surrendering the house.
Keep in mind, however, that a short sale can affect your credit. One way to avoid foreclosure is to have a home buyer on board who can close quickly, before the lender forecloses. Fortunately for you, we can do that! And, while redeeming a mortgage that’s in “pre-foreclosure” will probably still show all your months in arrears on your credit history (which might disqualify you from getting another mortgage anytime soon), that’s not as big a hit as if the lender completed the foreclosure and you actually lost the house! This way, you’re in control.
Give us a call today at [phone] for a no-hassle offer on your house. We can discuss whether a pre-foreclosure sale is right for you.
5) Offer a “Lease-to-Own” Option
A lease-to-own option is when you rent your house to somebody, and they have the option of purchasing it from you at (or before) the end of the lease. That’s a good alternative, if you can’t find qualified buyers because you can collect rent, plus charge them a (typically non-refundable) purchase-option fee for the right to buy your home at an agreed-upon price at the end of the lease, while they build their credit and accumulate the down payment needed to obtain a traditional bank mortgage. This enables them to hopefully become qualified buyers over time, and eventually purchase your home free-and-clear.
In addition to monthly rent, and the non-refundable purchase option fee, you can also charge them a premium on their monthly lease payments to encourage them to exercise their option and buy you out. When they exercise their option, the total amount of monthly premiums paid to you is applied as prepaid (full or partial) down payment, or else used to reduce the cost of the house; whichever is more convenient for them and the lender. However, if they don’t exercise their purchase option at the end of the lease, you have the option of extending their lease for an additional short term (for an increased monthly premium amount), or keep their lease option fees and premiums and find another buyer; keeping their forfeited fees as income.
The downside is that it may take you longer to sell your home than you wanted. But, you won’t be losing money while waiting. As long as you choose good tenants who will protect your home, and their investment; people who stand a good chance of being able to qualify for a mortgage in a year or two, then the hefty rental fees and premiums they pay are designed to encourage them to exercise their purchase option rather than lose their money. It also weeds out all but the serious home buyers rather than renters. And, it prevents you from becoming a permanent landlord.
I Can’t Sell My House in Toledo OH!
If you’re interested in learning more about your options for selling your home in Toledo OH, just give us a call at [phone]. Or, fill out the form on this page and we’ll send you additional information right away.