You may ask me why you should not just walk away and let the bank foreclose. You want to ”Stick it to the Man” by stubbornly doing nothing and forcing the bank to foreclose. It becomes an act of defiance and personal vengeance for being trapped into an unaffordable mortgage that turned your home dreams into a nightmare. Believe me - I know how you feel. I bought a home a few years ago, too.
We all struggle with the gorilla question, ‘What should I do now?” You want to really “Stick it to the Man”? Then, short sell rather than let them foreclose.
Why should you do a short sale rather than go through Foreclosure? Won’t a short sale hurt your credit just as bad as a Foreclosure on your credit record? The jury is still out on the hit to your credit - some people have seen a 150 point LESS of a hit and others say it hurts just as bad as a foreclosure, but the real reason to short sale rather than go through a foreclosure is healing time is shortened by 2-5 years with a short sale. You can recover quicker from a short sale than a foreclosure. Here is actual proof from the Fannie Mae guidelines (that is the Bible the bank underwriters use to decide if you can get a loan or not when you buy a house next time).
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2008/0816.pdf
You read it - right in the guidelines, it states that people who short sale can qualify in 2 years to buy a house. People who get foreclosed on must wait 4 years. So, use the next 2 years to repair your credit, build it back up and be ready to buy 2 years sooner than you could if you get foreclosed on.
Take Control Rather than Do Nothing.
First, try to modify. Obama is handing out candy to the banks to modify loans and keep people from losing their houses and the banks have a sweet tooth that Willy Wonka couldn’t satisfy called “GREED”. Obama also hands out candy for short sales - yeah, you get the picture, they want that candy. If they can’t modify you, they want to short sale the house. Obama’s plan is to put some cash in your pocket, too if you coooperate with a short sale. The banks are calling it, “relocation expenses”. One bank official I personally talked to at a training seminar for real estate agents told me they are offering $5,000 to people to cooperate with a short sale. Here’s a website to check if your bank is offering relocation incentives to homeowners: www.sdsfn.com/mhaprogram.php.
When you short sale, you are proactive. In foreclosure, you are reactive. The foreclosure process is a steamroller that squashes families. When you short sale, you are in the driver seat and the bank is towed behind you. Where do you want to be – defiant and flattened under the steamroller or smiling and yanking the bank around on a chain? Obama has baited the hook for you - it is up to you to reel them in.