If your fall behind on your house payments for too long, chances are that you will have to navigate the foreclosure process. It makes sense that you should understand how the process works in Texas.
So what is a pre-foreclosure in Dallas TX anyway?
Many people in Dallas have fallen behind on their monthly mortgage payments.
When a homeowner misses enough of these mortgage payments, their lender will give a mailed warning, letting the homeowner know that if they continue miss payments, they will eventually lose their house. This period is known as “pre-foreclosure.”
Depending on the this lending institution, bank or other lender, a homeowner will generally have 3 months to bring their balance back to current.
If the mortgage payments continue to be missed, the lender will foreclose on the home, take back it back, and give the owner the boot (eviction). During the pre-foreclosure period, the borrower still has a chance to take action to prevent losing their home. Let’s take a closer look at some of these options.
Pre-foreclosure Options for Borrowers
If you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments and received a NOD from your lender its crucial to remain calm.
Here are some options you have that can help slow down or even stop the foreclosure process all together:
- If you still have some equity in your house, you may be able to refinance your mortgage and lower your current monthly payment. Check with your local mortgage broker or contact us and we can hook you up with a good one.
- You may be able to quickly sell your home to a real estate investor that’s trusted in Dallas. You can then use the cash we provide to pay the months of back-payments owed. You may still lose the house but you will save your credit score. We can buy your Dallas TX area home quickly, usually in less than 10 days, pay cash, and takes the stress out of trying to find someone to buy your house.
- You can contact the bank and ask them to allow a short sale. In a short sale, you’ll sell your home for less than it’s worth. While the bank will take a loss on the sale, they will still get a tax write off. In some instances you may still be required to pay the difference to the bank if the house doesn’t sell for what is owed on the loan.
- You may be able to declare bankruptcy, which can buy you time to pay your debt. Bear in mind that bankruptcy, like a foreclosure, can absolute destroy your finances and credit.
Listen, lenders are not in the business of being homeowners. They would much rather work something out with you rather than having to incur the costs of carrying a foreclosure to the finish line.
If you’re honest and communicate with your lender, you’ll often find that there are options that will allow you to remain in your home, or at least salvage your credit score.
A foreclosure can often negatively affect your credit score by up to 600 points and can prevent you from obtaining a loan of any sort for 5-7 years, so be very diligent if you’ve received a Notice of Default.
If you are unable to come up with a solution by working with your lender directly, connect with us. We may be able to help.
Ways We Can Help If You’re In Pre-Foreclosure
- We can potentially help with a short sale – Submit your info on this website so we can evaluate your situation to see if we can help.
- We can buy your Dallas area house – We buy houses in Dallas TX and would love to make you an all-cash offer on your house. Fill out the form here to get started.
- You can ask us questions and we can provide you FREE guidance and resources so you can make a well educated decision. This costs you nothing, there’s absolutely no pressure, no obligation, just free a free consultation.
If you’re in the pre-foreclosure stage, there’s still time to fix it.
Reach out to your bank to see if they’re willing to work with you or contact us if you’d like to see if we can buy your house.