Can I Sell My House If It Is In Foreclosure in Chattanooga?
What are my options when I get the news that they’re foreclosing on my home? Can I sell my house if it is in foreclosure? While foreclosure can be a rather stressful situation on its own, it’s not one without hope or viable solutions.
In case you’re wondering, you can sell a home going through foreclosure—with strings attached. With that in mind, here is a quick guide on selling a foreclosed property from a 5-star rated company who will buy houses in Chattanooga as-is. contact our team if you’d like to know more.
Foreclose: The Basics
If you fail to keep up repayments on your home’s mortgage, your lender may go through with the process of foreclosure. This legal process helps the mortgage lender repossess your home so that they can sell it to another buyer and make up for their losses on your missed payments.
Understandably, foreclosure has a number of negative consequences, including:
Home eviction. You cannot live in the home anymore and will lose any equity you have.
Credit score: Your home’s foreclosure puts a black mark on your credit report. That makes it tougher to acquire a new mortgage (or other loans) in the future.
Legal issues. The lender may come after you in court for any remaining amount if auctioning off the foreclosed home doesn't cover their losses.
How the Legal Side of Foreclosure Changes Things
Foreclosure isn’t just a single event—it is an entire legal process with several complicated steps. For example:
After missing your first payment, your loan may have a grace period where you can make the payment without penalty.
If you miss your payment and more than 30 days pass, the lender will put your loan in default. This initiates the foreclosure process.
The exact contours of the foreclosure process depend on whether judicial or non-judicial foreclosure applies:
With judicial foreclosure, the courts mediate the process. The lender files a lawsuit. Judicial foreclosure is common in mortgage agreements that do not give the lender legal power of sale.
With non-judicial foreclosure, the lender can initiate foreclosure without the courts.
Regardless of which applies, your mortgage lender will first send a Notice of Default to you as the homeowner to let you know your missed loan payment has put the house under foreclosure. Next, you’ll receive a Notice of Sale indicating that the home is going up for auction.
Afterward, once the foreclosure process comes to an end and your lender sells your house, you’ll get an eviction notice ordering you to vacate the property. In Tennessee, the entire foreclosure process takes about four to six months.
Can I Sell My House If It Is in Foreclosure?
Many Homeowners who find themselves in this situation want to know the same thing: “Can I sell my house if it is in foreclosure?”
The good news is that, yes, you can sell your home and avoid the worst of the consequences of foreclosure. However, there is a strict time limit—you have to get a cash offer and sell the property before it goes up for auction.
So, unlike traditional property sales, successfully selling a foreclosed home is a matter of timing.
The Process of Selling a Foreclosed Home
Are you hoping to sell a foreclosed house in Tennessee? You have to do so before it goes up for auction, so you need to act quickly.
The first step in selling a foreclosed home is to contact your lender and work out a deal. Most lenders will give the go-ahead on selling a foreclosed home, as it will help them recoup their costs without having to finish the whole legal process of foreclosure and eviction. When you talk to your mortgage company, take detailed records of your home finances, including:
Late mortgage payments
Interest expenses
Other outstanding debts.
After the lender gives you the thumbs up, you can proceed as with any other home sale.
Find Out Property Value
Research your market and determine the home’s fair market value. From there, you can set an asking price that satisfies any negotiations or loan modifications for your mortgage company.
Find a Buyer
You can then sell the home on your own or hire a real estate agent to list your home and find a buyer for you. A real estate agent may get you a higher price but it can take a lot longer to close the deal and you have to factor in commissions and fees as well.
Negotiate an Offer
After finding a buyer, you need to negotiate a deal. You won’t have much room to negotiate a sale price if you are facing foreclosure, as you are already selling against the clock.
Close the Deal
Are you ready to close the deal and pay the lender what you owe? Depending on how much the house sells for, you may even walk away with some cash in hand that could help you start the process of buying a new home.
Why Sell a Foreclosed Home?
The main reason to sell a foreclosed home is to avoid the potentially serious consequences of going through foreclosure and eviction. For example, selling your home before the auction doesn't count as a foreclosure. That means you shouldn't receive a negative mark on your credit report.
If selling your foreclosed home would not generate enough money to cover your debts, remember that you can still short-sale the home (a short sale is when you sell a home for less than the remaining balance on your mortgage). Lenders allow short sales if you have no other option than to sell the house.
A short sale will negatively impact your credit, but it won’t count as an outright foreclosure.
We Buy Houses in Chattanooga and Beyond
Can I sell my house if it is in foreclosure? Now that you know the answer, you can take the next step. Why not contact Chattanooga Property Solutions online or call (423) 454-3070 to talk more about how to sell your house fast and get your life back on track?