Owning a luxury home can be a person’s lifelong dream. The perfect floor plan with just the right amount of beds and baths, giving us that office we always wanted and the opportunity to customize every inch with the right décor, color scheme, candles, and personal touch can be a blissful experience.
Sometimes, life throws us a curve-ball and what was once a dream situation can quickly become a nightmare. With changes in employment and income, sometimes a home can become a burden; especially when the home has a large mortgage.
It was a beautiful 5 bedroom, 3 bath home in Knightdale, NC with a massive kitchen, convection oven system, plenty of storage, and a posh master bath. It was walking distance from all the shopping one could ever want, replete with grocery stores, restaurants, Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, and more. This was not the type of home that someone would want to part with.
The Issues
The issue with this particular home was related to the mortgage. There was a hefty loan on the property with a “monster” PITI payment of $1800 per month. The kicker was the additional $300 to cover the private mortgage insurance.
Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI, is an insurance policy, paid for by the borrower, which covers the lender in the event of a default. This is common in situations where money is borrowed at a high loan to value ratio.
Due to changes in personal circumstances they had a substantial drop in income and were no longer able to afford such a large payment. The plan was to move closer to family to rebuild their finances. They were savvy enough not to move away and let the home sit vacant during the sales process.
When I meet with sellers I always review ALL their options with them, not just what will work best for me!
Naturally, I asked if they had discussed the situation with a qualified agent. They had, and the agent was very forthcoming about the cost of sale and the fact that it they would have to bring a large check to the closing table. Most people don’t realize that it costs money to sell a home. When I am doing my analysis I always budget for 10% of the gross sales price to pay all closing costs.
Unfortunately, their mortgage balance was too high to absorb these closing costs, so selling via an agent was not an option, as they did not want to have to break their savings to pay this amount.
The Solution
Because I buy houses in Knightdale NC, I looked at the property very thoroughly and tried to figure out a way to buy the house myself. The monthly payment prevented me from doing this. I’m not one to invest in a property with negative cash flow.
The next step was my rent-to-own program. This is one of the best ways to sell a house fast that has too much debt. The goal of this is to find someone who will buy the property with the intention of keeping it long-term, but cannot qualify for a home loan just yet.
Can You See How This Solves Two Problems?
The seller gets what they want, debt relief, and the buyer gets a home that they can eventually call their own, while they diligently repair their credit. It is when executed properly, a true win-win situation.
Benefit To The Seller
The benefit of this solution is that the owner of the home can still use the mortgage interest as a tax deduction and will get all appreciation and principal paid down during the lease period. If the tenant does not buy the property, they will own the same asset with a lower mortgage balance and a higher value due to all of the appreciation over the years.
Remember How They Moved Out Of State To Rebuild?
This asset has been slowly growing all that time. If the tenant buys the property as planned they still get the tax deduction and will receive their equity in cash from the sale. Also, this is a much more cost-effective way to sell the property because of the decreased cost of sale. There are no agent fees because the buyer has already been found.
Benefit To The Buyer
The buyer gets a beautiful and luxurious home with owner financing. They can live in the home and gradually make it their own, while they rebuild their credit and repair their credit. They won’t have to worry about the hassle of moving, and searching for a home while going through the motions of qualifying for financing. They can qualify while enjoying the hot tub in the master bath!
I’ve Done Plenty Of These Transactions In The Past And This One Worked Very Well.
The buyers were very happy with the home and the terms. They had been renting a large apartment in the area and were growing tired of apartment living–It was time for them to own.
If you own a home with a large mortgage don’t despair, I can help. The key is to contact me before you start missing payments.
If you fill out the form below I will contact you ASAP and give you a free, no obligations, phone consultation. Your information will not be shared with anyone. Anything we talk about will be kept 100% confidential.
I can only handle a LIMITED amount of rent to own properties per month. If you have a home that has a lot of debt on it then be sure fill out the form to contact me ASAP!