As a real estate investor, I buy houses on a regular basis. In a typical month, I view around 100 homes for sale. Of those 100 homes, around 90-percent of the homeowners are facing foreclosure or bankruptcy and need to sell their house quick. The remaining 10-percent belong to homeowners facing divorce, have lost their spouse to illness or accident, or need to sell their property because they no longer have a job.

When I first entered the “I buy houses” business my main objective was to make money. I soon discovered that buying houses provided tremendous relief to distressed homeowners and provided them with an opportunity to start fresh. Although making money is a good thing, helping people find a way out of a bad situation is even better.

A common trend I have noticed is many homeowners procrastinate about taking action to save their home from foreclosure until it is too late. Experts claim more than 50-percent of foreclosures occur because the homeowner failed to take action.

If you are currently behind with mortgage payments, I highly recommend taking action today. Believe it or not, your lender does not want to repossess your home. Statistics show the average foreclosure costs banks about $60,000 and takes 6 to 18 months to complete. As you can see, this is very costly and not in the best interest of the bank.

Most lenders would rather work with you to help you stay in your home. They can offer loan modifications and real estate forbearance agreements which will temporarily reduce or suspend mortgage payments.

If you are unable to cure mortgage arrearages, ask your lender to engage in a short sale transaction. Although short sales are complex and take several months to complete, this type of real estate transaction allows you to walk away from your home owing nothing. While you lose all monies invested and cannot profit from the sale of your home, a short sale can provide much needed financial relief.

One common fallacy is that once foreclosure proceedings commence, the only option to prevent foreclosure is to file for bankruptcy protection. While it’s true bankruptcy can stop foreclosure, if you aren’t able to adhere to Chapter 13 payments, filing bankruptcy will be a waste of time and money.

There are many real estate investors who specialize in buying distressed properties. Many of them buy houses for cash; particularly when purchasing real estate under short sale contracts.

Before selling your house to companies who buy houses for cash be certain to engage in due diligence to ensure you are working with a reputable person or company. Unfortunately, there are many scammers engaging in foreclosure rescue schemes.

Check with government and consumer protection agencies such as the Better Business Bureau, Real Estate Commission, and Attorney General’s office. Conduct research via the Internet to determine if any complaints have been filed. One thing is for certain – if a company or individual has engaged in unethical behavior, chances are good it will show up in the search engines.

Author Bio: Simon Volkov is private real estate investor who provides solutions to individuals facing foreclosure, bankruptcy, and short sales. If you need to sell your house quick, list your property via the “I Buy Houses” form at www.SimonVolkov.com to obtain a complimentary consultation.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: i buy houses, homes for sale, buying houses, loan modification, real estate forbearance