Buying or Selling a Home/my home

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Expert: - 7/16/2006


Question
I bought a house 5 months ago and have found out due to work slowing down that I may not be able to afford it.

I found someone who wants to rent it.  Their rent would be 1/2 of my actual mortgage.

Because my mortgage was obtained with the understanding that i would be owner occupied, can I rent it out?  

I read all of my closing paperwork and there is nothing in it (that i can find) that pertains to to this.

any advice you can give would be great.

Thanks

Shawn

Answer
Dear Shawn;
Life sometimes throws us curve balls.  You had no way of knowing that you would have a work slow-down and would have difficulty paying your mortgage when you applied for the loan.  By renting out the house, if you can make your payments, the lender should be satisfied. The lender will probably never even find out that you aren't living in the house unless you tell them. (I am not saying that people should lie about their situations--that is fraud...however, people lose jobs, have health issues, and run up debts that sometimes causes them financial hardship.  A lender prefers not to foreclose on a house and would like to see someone find a solution that would not require bank ownership.)

Good luck,
Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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