If your mortgage payments on your Hawaii property are getting difficult, don’t despair. While writing that check to your lender every month can be a nuisance or downright frightening moment, there are ways to still sell your house even if your mortgage seems like an albatross around your neck. Don’t believe me? You should because we’ve bought many houses in Hawaii (and townhouses, condos, etc.) from owners who felt trapped by their mortgage and were finally able to free themselves.
Here are a few ways you can still sell your house to us despite a big mortgage, expensive monthly payments or even being behind in your loan:
Outright Cash Sale
Of course, the easiest way to sell your house is with an outright cash sale, usually to an investor (like us). You’ve probably heard the phrase “Cash is King” before — there’s a lot of truth to it. Having cash means a buyer could buy your house in Hawaii in as few as 7 days if need be (ex. your bank is foreclosing).
You may think that cash sales in Hawaii are rare, but I assure you they are not. In fact, there are homes on Oahu that sell for over a million dollars — for cash. It’s not nearly as uncommon as you may think.
However, selling your house in Hawaii directly, outright for cash means you have to have enough equity to pay off all your debt. What if you don’t?
Short Sale
Let’s say that you owe more on your mortgage than your home’s current market value. You may want desperately to sell your house to get out from underneath the mortgage and debt, but you can’t because your home isn’t worth enough to cover it. You may feel trapped, worried that you’re going to get deeper and deeper into that hole. You might even have tried a loan modification but all the red tape, appraisal or your income status made that a no-go.
Enter the short sale. What is a short sale? It’s where your bank allows you to sell your property for less than what it’s worth. If you owe $750,000 on your Honolulu single family house but it’s only worth $625,000, then this method for selling your house is meant for you.
Before you get too carried away, though, understand that a successful short sale usually involves a lengthy negotiation. Not all agents or real estate professionals have the knowledge or expertise to successfully navigate the short sale process. Luckily for you, we do – we have short sale team ready to go at a moment’s notice, so if your mortgage is underwater and you want out — talk to us.
Taking Over Payments
We completed a few projects last year on Oahu where we took over the homeowner’s mortgage payments, even reinstating delinquent loans. Perhaps you’ve read about a “subject-to” sale or an “Agreement of Sale”. These are all different ways to sell your house while leaving your current mortgage in place.
Why would you sell your house this way? By selling us your house so that we take over your existing payments instead of cashing you out, you’re likely to save us money (since we buy all our properties with private lender capital). Saving us money means SAVING YOU MONEY, so this method often works out in your favor and puts more money in your pocket.
We usually buy houses in Hawaii this way for 6 months or less, after which we pay off the existing mortgage. During this time, we also pay your property taxes, insurance, utilities and any maintenance or association payments (for condos or townhouses). Here’s an extra bonus: because we’re paying your mortgage — which remains in your name — your credit score may start to rise again.
This method of selling your house with a difficult mortgage may be the best option if you have some equity but not enough for us to cash you out completely.
No matter your situation, don’t lose hope. Difficult mortgages can be very stressful and you may think there’s no way out, but I’m an optimist — I always believe there’s a solution to every problem. Sometimes it takes an experienced investor who’s well seasoned in bank negotiations and creative financing to craft the perfect answer to your specific mortgage and housing dilemma.
I like to think that’s us — talk to me and my team today (or just call 808-377-4379) and we’ll see about putting together the best solution for you.
Michael