Are you looking to sell a distressed house in Memphis, TN? Some people would make you think this is impossible. The lender is demanding their money, the house is possibly in disrepair, and you aren’t able to find any market buyers willing to make a deal fast. However, when it comes to distressed properties, you can certainly make a sale fast if you know who to work with.
You need to be smart in how you do it, whether you plan to sell the house on the open market or as-is to a cash home buyer. How you make those decisions will impact the money you can make and how quickly the entire process can be completed. Let’s look at how to sell distressed properties in Memphis, Tennessee.
What Is a Distressed House?
A distressed property is defined as any kind of house or property that is in serious danger of foreclosure or is already in the process of being sold by a lender. A house becomes distressed when the owner is unable to maintain mortgage payments or a tax bill. It’s worth noting that not all distressed houses have been repossessed because of late or non-payments. They can also be repossessed because the lender wants to protect their investment.
What is Foreclosure?
We hear the term foreclosure a lot but it’s important to have a very clear idea of what it means. Foreclosure is the legal term for when your lender takes over control of your property so that they can sell it to recoup the money that the owner was unable or unwilling to pay to satisfy the mortgage. So if you miss enough mortgage payments, or just stop making them altogether, your lender will put your house in foreclosure.
In Tennessee, almost all foreclosures are nonjudicial, so a lender will have to publish a notice of foreclosure at least 20 days beforehand or post a public notice at least 30 days prior. The bank will also have to mail you a copy of their notice on or before they publish it publicly. If foreclosure happens, the bank can then hold a foreclosure sale in order to recoup its outstanding costs on the house.
What Is a Distressed Sale?
Because of your Memphis house’s financial situation, it needs to be sold quickly in order to satisfy the debt and let you move forward. This is what is known as a distressed sale. It often means the seller is willing to accept a lower price on their house in order to pay off the debts and get the property off their hands as fast as possible. While foreclosure is a common reason, a distressed sale can also happen for other reasons, such as medical expenses, outstanding debts, divorce, relocation, and many more. The common denominator is that you need to sell your house fast in order to avoid further financial issues.
Distressed Homeowners Can Consider a Short Sale
When it comes to distressed houses, lenders always want to avoid foreclosure when possible. There are a lot of legal and financial issues, not to mention the bad PR that can come from foreclosures. So while a short sale probably won’t get them all the money they could get for your distressed house in Memphis, they might enjoy it as the path of least resistance for them.
A short sale means you are selling your house for less than the amount owed currently. Assuming your lender signs off, you have to negotiate a payoff amount with your bank and then seek their approval on the home sale. The lender is ultimately in charge of all the details and you’re basically at their mercy. Plus, you may still be asked to pay the remainder on the loan once the short sale profits are collected. So that’s important to remember.
Work With Your Lender If Possible
Along with a short sale, there are other ways that your lender might work with you in order to avoid a distressed house sale in Memphis. You can always call your lender and ask them if restructuring your loan is possible. The worst they can do is say no, which they might, especially if this is the second time you’re asking.
You can also ask your lender for forbearance. This means they would suspend or delay your payments for a period of time while you sort out your finances. Of course, this presumes that you are in a position to eventually restart payments soon.
The Clock is Ticking for Distressed House Sales
Let’s say you decided to sell your distressed property on the open market. In an ideal world, you would list it and it would sell in a matter of days. This is extremely unlikely for a number of reasons. First, this assumes your house is in good condition and doesn’t need repair or upgrades. It also assumes your house is fully cleaned, prepped, and staged well. It also presumes that the Memphis housing market is a seller’s market, which is isn’t always.
The truth is that a traditional market sale using the MLS system will take months and possibly years to complete. A distressed house seller in Memphis doesn’t have that kind of time. They need to sell their house as soon as possible so they can avoid foreclosure and all of the legal, financial, and credit issues that creates.
Understand Your Distressed House’s Value
A big mistake that owners of distressed homes in Memphis, TN make is not having a good idea about the true value of their property. That can lead to a lot of problems when it comes to selling your house fast. Even though the property is distressed, you need to be able to provide a realistic value so that it can be priced accordingly. The price you initially list your Memphis house determines whether or not you sell quickly.
Price too high and you’ll scare off potential buyers. Price too low and people will wonder what’s wrong with it. Plus, a low starting price means less money for you.
There are a few ways to determine the price you should be aiming for. The easiest way is to go online and look at real estate valuation websites, which have tons of data about recent sales and other homes in your area. You can also get a competitive analysis from a local real estate agent, though they will provide this in the hopes that you hire them for a commission fee. You can also hire an appraiser to come by and give you an estimate of your property value. That will cost you a few hundred bucks, but you’ll get a realistic idea from them.
Sell Your Distressed House in Memphis As-Is
If you have a distressed property in Memphis that you need to sell fast, you don’t have any time to waste on listing the house, hiring real estate agents, paying for appraisals, cleaning, prepping the house, and dealing with buyers. You need to sell the house fast and you need to get money just as quickly. Your best bet to accomplish those things is to work with a cash buyer like Fair Cash Deal.
We will work with you on a solution to buy your house in pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, or any other financial situation. We won’t ask you to make any fixes or repairs, we’ll buy your distressed house as-is. And we will pay you in cash for your house quickly. This entire process can be over in a matter of days. It begins when you contact us today and we will reach out ASAP to discuss your distressed property further and make you a fair cash offer to buy it from you.
