Durham Region Real Estate Blog

These are tough times for many people, and every day someone is looking at a nasty letter from their bank, or the bank’s lawyer. How did things get to this point and could you have avoided them?

At some point in our lives most of us find ourselves a little behind the eight ball when it comes to our finances.  We thought we had more money than we actually did have and the next thing we knew, the collector was calling. Are you getting behind on your house payments?  You might feel embarassed, knowing that you were unable to manage your own finances, but don’t let that stop you from seeking out some help.  You need to take action to work out the best deal for you.

Once you have missed one mortgage payment, you start the ball rolling toward foreclosure, so instead of just missing the payment, contact your mortgagee and ask them if it would be o.k. for you to skip one payment.  This may be just enough of a break to get you back on track.  Find out how much equity is in your home.  Should you refinance with details that better match your current situation?  Maybe a sale of the house is the best option for you.

Call a trusted real estate agent to receive a current market assessment.  An agent can let you know if you will be able to walk away with a little cash in your pocket when you sell your house and pay off the mortgage.  If your home is worth $200,000 and you only owe $140,000, it is in your best interest to do whatever you can to keep the mortgagee happy.  You don’t want to lose the $60,000 equity in your home.  Usually you have a few options and you need to make yourself aware of them.

Some mortgagees will not start official proceedings to foreclose your home until you are three months behind, but you don’t want to let things get that far.  If you do, you will have to come up with a lump sum payment that includes the missed payments, the upcoming payment, the lawyer fees ($2,000 or more!) and proof that you still have home insurance and property taxes paid in full.  That can quickly add up to $6,000 or more!

I just want you to know that it is never a good idea to bury your head in the sand. Stand up, acknowledge your mistakes and move forward! ……and ask me any questions you like. I don’t know you anyway so it doesn’t matter if I know how deep a hole you have dug for yourself!

Tags: bowmanville real estate, courtice real estate, foreclosure, home, home selling, house, mortgage, oshawa real estate, repossess, sell, whitby real estate