If you (or someone you know) is underwater on a home, you have options. Please do not “walk away” from a home/mortgage without exploring these options.

What is underwater? This term applies to a home where the mortgage is more than the market value. E.g., you may owe $170K on a home (mortgage value) but only be able to sell for $160K (market value).

In this case, you may be able to do what’s called a short sale, wherein you sell the home for the market value (subject to the approval of the lender).

Why wouldn’t you want to walk away? Foreclosure can leave a collectible debt. In the example above, the bank could pursue you (in some states) for the $10K difference. (In practice, this would be a larger deficiency than $10K with commissions and other costs.)

A short sale by definition (and done correctly) is where the bank agrees to cancel this difference (a debt).

Questions? Need help? Call Rob at 719-440-6626 or email me at rob@rtrcolorado.com!