Real Estate with Dallice – Overcoming hurdles, Achieving Success
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We all have obstacles to overcome or a past to leave behind, but there is nothing you have going on now or that you have done, that will prevent you from owning your own home at some point in the future.
Let’s run down the list of obstacles that my clients have overcome, starting with most common.
Divorce: When you are approaching this life decision, are mid-divorce or have just come out the other side, it’s “normal” to feel like others don’t understand and the odds of ever getting back a warm and safe feeling home are low. Not true though.
Divorce is bad enough by itself but the side effects are ridiculously upsetting too. You may have found yourself with child support or spousal support payments suddenly, additional debt from legal fees, credit card obligations, buying new “half of everything” that your spouse took with them or simply struggling to make ends meet now that your monthly expenses are not shared. On the bright side, if you had to sell marital property to your ex, or anyone else, you’ll soon have a little nest egg to leverage into a new home. Take a little time to emotionally stabilize before making large financial decisions and in the meantime, use that time to get to know the market, discover what YOU want (no compromise this time) and improve your credit report. Then go shopping for real estate with Dallice.
Credit Card Debt: At one point in time or another, we’ve all been there. For me it was the highs and lows of starting a new business and unexpected medical bills. For many of my clients it’s simply being unable to make minimum payments and over time, a steady increase in the balance with a steady increase in the interest rate to boot. It can creep up on you if you turn your back on it. The flip side is that using credit wisely is a way to build credit. From now on, with regular payments that reduce your debt eventually to below 10% of your max possible, you’ll be increasing your credit score by the month. The silver lining.
Delinquent Student Loans: SUPER common actually. The question(s) everyone will have is how much debt, how many missed payments and how long ago was this pattern of behavior? Do yourself a favor and make on-time minimum payments. This type of debt is the least detrimental to your ability to get a loan from a debt-to-income ratio perspective, but still… showing a lender you fail to make good on your loans is never ideal.
Short Sale: So, you owed more than your last house was worth and had to sell it short of what the loans totaled? The bank forgave your debt but of course, nothing is without consequence. It wrecked your credit score but that’s temporary. Now you need to wait 2-4 years before you’ll qualify for a mortgage loan again (depending on the type of new mortgage you go for and the type of mortgage debt that was forgiven). We’ll use that time to build your credit up again before looking at real estate with Dallice.
Foreclosure: It’s a bit worse and not as common. Essentially I see foreclosure in this market only when a home owner doesn’t ask for help. If they reach out to the mortgage holder at the beginning of distress there is often the opportunity to resolve outstanding payments and become current without selling. In the event it is not possible to “catch up”, then a call to your friendly Realtor (me!) is in order. We can sell the property and pay the loan back with less damage to the credit score this way. And less stress. But if, for whatever reason, a foreclosure happens to you, hear this: Life as you know it, is not over. Your foreclosure will stay on your record and impact your ability to get a new mortgage for up to 7 years. There might be the possibility of reducing that to 3 years or less though. Ask me how . Our conversation could change your life, but not without a good plan for your real estate with Dallice.
Bankruptcy: Someone you know has filed bankruptcy. Trust me when I say that you are not the only person you know with an unfortunate filing past. How do I know? Bankruptcy doesn’t mean you lose your home so it can be easy to hide from friends and family. I see it with surprising regularity when clients hire me to help them buy or sell and we have some bankruptcy-related complications to overcome. We do overcome them… that’s the only thing you really need to know.
Identity Theft: Ooh the surprise I left ’til last! Once upon a time, a few years back, I had a buyer about to submit an offer. I referred them to a lender who did his usual due diligence in the pre-qualification process and quickly discovered that my clients SSN was being used by another person, rather nefariously, in CA. My clients SSN was connected with unpaid taxes, crime and host of fraudulent accounts and pretty much that was the end of real estate with Dallice for them. It would take another TWO years for them to unravel the truth and undo the damage caused by the theft of their identity.
Two things:
1) Keep an eye on your own credit report. Sign up for monthly monitoring and investigate any unusual changes in credit score. The sooner you are aware and take action, the easier and quicker the damage control will be.
2) If you have been the victim of identity theft, don’t worry. By 2014, 7% of Americans had experienced some form of identity theft. When something becomes this common, lenders find ways to work around complications resulting out of something that is simply not your fault. Getting a new mortgage while still working through identity theft issues is not impossible, it just might take a bit longer. Be patient and chin up! We’ll just have to make sure the seller of your new home can empathize and be patient too.
Do you have issues that aren’t mentioned here? Think I cannot handle it? Might judge you? Think again. You are my bread and butter and then my friends! I’m grateful for every client. Plus the challenges are what push us to become smarter, stronger, better. Every complicated situation that came before you prepared me for the next one!
Step right up!
Stay tuned for Post 8 in this series. We’re talking about something way scarier than material obstacles… We’re going to talk about long and short term goals. Are your obstacles in your mind? 😉