Despite rumors of a rebounding real estate market those selling a home cannot be too over confident or afford to drag their feet if behind on their mortgages.
Stories of prices of bank owned REOs soaring and shrinking housing inventory have been hitting the news headlines in rapid succession but that unfortunately doesn’t mean that all distressed homeowners can count on rising above water in the next few months or being able to sell for a lot more than a few months ago.
Mortgage lenders have been purposely holding back inventory (as much as 90% according to some sources) in order to push up the value of the homes they are holding. At the same time while short sales have been a great way for many struggling homeowners to free themselves from debt and get a fresh start they are now being complicated with phony short sale letters being sent out by scam artists.
If you are thinking about selling a home make sure to be wary of scams and fake offers of help but also watch out for the looming deadlines to receive the best benefits of completing short sales, including relocation funds and tax breaks.
Homeowners must also be wary of plowing more money into their homes in anticipation of big returns if they are potentially facing foreclosure or are underwater.
Carefully weigh benefits of selling your home fast for cash and taking advantage of current incentives versus making many improvements and taking longer to sell.
All the great advice out there for rehabbing and flipping houses for profit doesn’t really apply if you are behind on your home payments and could lose your home in a foreclosure. You don’t have the luxury of time and certainly don’t want to risk losing more money. There is help available and short sales are being approved by the dozen right now but there is no guarantee that will last.
