Buying or Selling a Home/Suggestions please?

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Expert: - 4/25/2009


Question
"Hello,

     I have lived in a home for 20 years, we refinanced a couple times. My brother and myself were caregivers for my Elderly Father. My brother passed away on 2/3/09 then my Father passed on 3/5/09. I am 50 on disability and unfortunately, cannot afford our 1150.00 mortgage by myself. I receive 1054.00 on SSI disability. I am currently only one month behind, and I believe that I am not upside down on the loan. Any ideas on how I could posssibly save my home? All suggestions would be appreciated. Regards-Skyler"


Answer
Hello Skyler - Please accept my condolences for your loss. First, contact the lender and tell the lender the situation and ask about your options. One option should be a forbearance where the lender agrees that you don't have to make a payment for up to, say in this example, 6 months. The interest which is charged would be added to the principal, or loan balance. This will give you time to sell your home and seek appropriate legal and tax advice with regard to your options under the estate settlements. If there was an inheritance you could put it in a high-interest account/money market/CD that could offset the difference between what you receive in income and what your housing and living costs are. There are as many options out there as there is creativity. The concern is to protect yourself from options that sound good but may be scams. When are backs are against the wall sometimes we make poor decisions or fail to see the reality underneath the terms that appear to solve our dilemma. So please seek legal and tax advice from trusted sources. When you contact the lender the lender will tell you what your loan balance is. A REALTOR can provide you with a FREE market analysis of your home which will provide you with a comparative market value. If you take the estimated value of your home minus the loan balance, minus your costs to sell, the result is your equity. This is how much cash you would receive if you sold the home based on the criteria. If the value minus the loan balance minus your expenses to sell is a negative number then you would be in a negative equity short sale scenario. Ask your attorney (or prepaid legal) about subsidized payments. I am not an attorney and this is not to be considered legal advice, although this is to be considered real estate information that any professionals REALTOR should be able to provide. I hope this has offered some options for you. - Todd

Buying or Selling a Home

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Todd C. Menard

Expertise

National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics and Professional Standards * Contract Questions: 05/05 Arizona Real Estate Purchase Contract, Exclusive Buyer Broker Contracts, Listing Contracts and associated contract documentation as it relates to boilerplate, covenants, contingencies, procedures and procedures. * ARMLS Arizona Regional Multiple Listing questions * Real Estate Professional Standards and Practices, Ethics, Obligations, Duties * Agency relationships in Arizona, Procurring Cause * Questions typicaly arising during the listing period * Questions typically arising during the escrow period * Questions about working with a real estate agent/REALTOR * Questions Related to New Home Builders

Experience

National Association of REALTORS Board of Director (2011) Arizona Real Estate Salesperson License (1991-1995), Arizona Real Estate Brokers License (1995-Present), Arizona Association of REALTORS Board of Directors (2008-Present), Arizona Association of REALTORS Professional Standards Committee (2008-Present), AAR Certified NAR Code of Ethics and Professional Standards Instructor, Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS President-Elect (2011) Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Board of Directors (2008, 2009), Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Grievance Committee Chairperson (1998-2007), Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Bylaws Committee (2008-Present), Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Education Committee (2008), Arizona Association of REALTORS Forms Committee - Residential Purchase Contract (2005), Arizona Association of REALTORS Forms Committee - Residential Rental Agreement (2008), Arizona Association of REALTORS Forms Committee - Buyer Broker Agreement (2009), Arizona Association of REALTORS Presidents Advisory Group, Road to Professionalism (2009), Arizona Association of REALTORS GRI Curriculum Review Committee (2009), Arizona Department of Real Estate, Commissioner's Education Advisory Group Sub-Panel B (2010) Arizona Department of Real Estate, Commissioner's Statute and License Review Committee (2007)

Organizations
National Association of REALTORS, Arizona Association of REALTORS, Arizona Real Estate Educators Association (AZREEA), Arizona Regional Multiple Listing System (ARMLS), American Notary Association, Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS (SEVRAR), Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Women's Council of REALTORS (2010-Present), Phoenix Association of REALTORS (1994-2000, 2005-2009), Scottsdale Association of REALTORS (1994-2000, 2005-2009), Maricopa/Glendale Association of REALTORS (1994-2000, 2005-2009),

Publications
"Real Estate in 2008"- Lifebushido Publishing (Contributory Author), SEVRAR Magazine, Internet Crusade, RealTown ListServe, Blogger.com, Active Rain

Education/Credentials
- AAR Certified Ethics and Professional Standards Instructor, Graduate REALTOR Institute (1993), Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE), Over 100 Hours of annual real estate continuing education, Annual Ethics and Professional Standards Development Workshops as required by the National Association of REALTORS, Approx. 36 hours of NAR Code of Ethics training annually, Numerous IDW, Seminars and Train the Trainer programs, Business Management Degree - 1981

Awards and Honors
2009 REALTOR of the Year Award, Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS (10,000+ Members), Double Platinum Production Award ($45,000,000 Sales Volume)- Keller Williams Realty Int'l (2001), Top 15 Sales Production Keller Williams Realty International (2001), Top 5 Sales Producation Keller Williams Realty Southwest Region (2001), Top Recruiter Award - Keller Williams Realty Int'l, SW Region (2002), Who's Who in U.S. Executive (1983), Who's Who in U.S. Real Estate Professionals (2007)

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