When you fall behind on mortgage payments, it can feel like a hopeless scenario. If you fall even further behind on payments on your Chicago home, you not only incur debt but also lose your home in the foreclosure process.
There are some things you can still do to save your bad mortgage in Chicago. Keep on reading to find which option is best for you.
File for Bankruptcy
Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say. If have incurred a huge debt, there is no reason to be ashamed about needing to file for bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy gives you the opportunity to negotiate your outstanding loans with all your lenders in one go.
Filing for bankruptcy is not easy and won’t help you avoid your mortgage, however. You also have to note that your lenders will respond in different ways – some may be more lenient towards your late payments while others won’t.
Reaffirm your loan
This can be both a good and bad move to make. When you reaffirm your loan, you are basically committing to paying additional fees to keep your mortgage active. While this buys you time to pay for your mortgage, it can create additional liabilities if your property is foreclosed upon.
Negotiate with your bank
Falling behind on mortgage payments is a common occurrence, so many lenders have a standard operating procedure for it. Many will be willing to offer you some form of assistance to help you start paying back your loan.
This can include a reduced interest rate on your mortgage, a temporary reduction in your payment, or longer payment terms.
Negotiating with you bank takes a lot of work. Be prepared to make numerous phone calls and spend hours filling up and filing forms. It can push you to the edge but always remember to be keep your cool.
When speaking with your bank, be as transparent as possible about your situation. Offer any supporting documents you can and reassure your bank that you are committed to paying back your loan.
Many banks are keen to help their borrowers out because they’d rather get a portion of the loan paid back rather than none at all. Usually, selling a foreclosed home at an auction means taking a huge loss, so if they can avoid this, they will.
Sell your home
A final option you can look into is to sell the home before your mortgage goes bad. If you choose to sell your home, you need to let your lender know beforehand. But as mentioned above, lenders are willing to make adjustments with their borrowers if it means getting some of the payment back. Just tell your lender you’re interested in doing a short sale to help pay your debt off.
There are several ways you can sell your home. If you choose to sell it yourself or through a real estate agent, you need to account for the extra time it will take to prepare the house for viewing, show the house, and negotiate with prospective buyers. This can take anywhere from a few days to a few months.
If the clock is running out and you’re sitting there anxiously thinking “how can I sell my house fast in Chicago,” your best bet is to do it through a professional home buyer. When you choose to sell your property to a professional home buyer, you can sell it in as-is condition, meaning you don’t have to make any changes on your property just to make it more marketable.
READY TO SELL YOUR HOME?
If you live in Chicago, Illinois and are interested in selling your home, we can help here at Onyx Homes LLC. We are a real estate solutions company that specializes in solving your real estate problems for you. We buy houses in Chicago, IL here at Onyx Homes LLC, and will act as your personal guide during your home selling process.
Our goal at Onyx Homes LLC is to improve the overall quality of housing for the residents of Chicago, IL. We buy houses in just about any condition and situation, including foreclosure, late mortgage payments, or fair market value. You can either take a step forward into your new life by accepting our fair cash offer or take your chances with the long arduous process of traditional home selling. For more information about our home buying process, give us a call at (847) 262-9012 today.
