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Selling Your House Fast to Avoid Foreclosure

Posted Wednesday, August 5, 2015

If you are behind on your mortgage payments and are facing foreclosure, you may be wondering, "how can I sell my house fast?" There are ways to get your house sold quickly, but it may depend on whether you need permission from your bank.

Short sale

One of the biggest determining factors in whether you can sell your house fast when facing foreclosure is whether you have enough equity to pay off your mortgage. If you don't, you will have to try to work with your bank to do what's called a "short sale." In a short sale, the bank agrees to take less than what it is owed. But such sales typically take a long time because the bank is involved at every step of the process and has to approve any sales contract.

Get aggressive on price

Assuming you have enough equity in your house to sell it without needing permission from your bank, you don't want to try to squeeze every possible penny out of it that you can. Setting the price too high could mean the house sits on the market and doesn't get seen by too many people. Your best bet may be to set the price a little bit below what the market price would be. That will generate interest and may even boost the price above what you were asking.

Use a real estate agent

Though you may be tempted to try to sell your house on your own to save money, you're likely to sell it a lot faster if you use a real estate agent. An agent can help you set the right price to draw in buyers and also can help to bring in buyers that he or she may know about. You also may be able to negotiate a discount on the potential commission by explaining your circumstances.

Look for investors

If your house is not in great shape and you don't have money to make fixes, you may be better off trying to sell to an investor. There are companies out there that specialize in buying houses that need some TLC, and they will pay cash, which ensures a quick closing. However, you will have to sell at a discount, so you need plenty of equity to go this route.

If you're thinking, "I need to sell my house fast," because you face foreclosure, follow these tips to help get it done.