You want to sell your home fast. To do so, you must sell it for cash. You have equity in your house and the house needs repairs before someone can or would want to live in it. The rule of thumb is if your house needs $5,000 or more in repairs it is a candidate to sell for cash.

Equity is the amount of cash value in your home after you pay off your mortgage and closing expenses. In a cash sale, you are simply offered cash for your house. Usually repairs are needed before the home can be financed with a traditional mortgage loan. A real estate Investor will offer you a “wholesale” price for your home based on a discount off the retail value of your home less the cost of repairs. After he buys your house and makes repairs and updates, he will sell it for its retail value and hope to make a profit.

The retail value of residential real estate is measured by the square foot of living space. For most homes, the square footage is recorded with the county tax authority. To estimate the value of your home a real estate professional will compare it to homes of nearly equal size and condition with the same number of bedrooms, baths and garage spaces. Square footage is also used to estimate repair costs. Common repairs such as Painting, roofing and flooring are quoted this way.

Using the investor formula, the wholesale value is usually in the range of 65% to 70% of the fully repaired retail value of your home or 70 times the expected monthly rental fees less the cost of repairs. Ask to see the formula for you home and make sure his estimates are reasonable and are backed up with a fair market analysis. If you are presented with an offer that is too good to be true it is probably is too good to be true and will never happen. On the other hand, understand one thing – the Real Estate Investor has to make a profit or it is not worth their time to buy your home. His potential profit is the price you pay for transferring your market risk to the investor and selling your home fast.

There are no restrictions in selling your home for cash. You sell it “As Is” the risk and expense of repairing the property is held solely by the Investor. In a cash sale, Real Estate Investors are either planning to repair the property and sell it at retail value for a profit or fix it up just enough to rent it. The Real Estate Investor may still be borrowing money to buy your home. This is usually pre-arranged credit that does not have restrictions on the quality of your home at the time of purchase.

The Real Estate Investor may ask you to finance some or all the purchase price of your home and may be able to offer you a higher price for attractive payment terms if you do so. Owner financing can be beneficial to both you and the Investor when the terms are equitable.

The all cash sale is the most common real estate investment transaction and has the least risk to you, the seller. You don’t care how the Investor gets their money as long as they show up with it at closing.

 Method #2 – Pre-foreclosure Sale (Short Sale)

You are in financial trouble and want out of your house to avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure. You want to sell your home fast. You are behind on your payments and have little or no equity in your home.

To avoid the costs of repossessing your home and selling it, financial institution lenders are sometimes willing to allow you to sell your home for less than what you owe them. Lenders call this a “Pre-Foreclosure Sale”. Real Estate Investors call it a “Short Sale”. In a Short Sale, a Real Estate Investor will make a written offer to buy your house and negotiate with the lender to purchase the home below market value.

To avoid taking a homeowner through the expense of the foreclosure process, lenders are willing to forgive some of the loan balance down to 80% of the market value of the house on a first mortgage and much lower than that on a second mortgage or line of credit. To the lender, this is a better deal and less expensive then going through the foreclosure process to recoup their loans. To the Real Estate Investor or traditional buyer, this is a method of obtaining a property for less than its retail value that can be resold or rented for a profit.

Absolutely the best way to sell your home in a Pre-Foreclosure Sale is to hire a Realtor. Realtors are trained to help you in this situation and know all the steps that can be taken to keep you in your home and all the steps that must be taken to close a Pre-Foreclosure Sale.  A Realtor can get you the greatest amount of exposure to get your home sold quickly at the highest possible price and the bank will pay the real estate commission.

To the homeowner, foreclosure and bankruptcy may be avoided. The homeowner may benefit from the equivalent of “Free Rent” while the transaction is negotiated, residual debts are eliminated and credit is repaired more quickly. In some cases a stipend is paid to the homeowner to help in relocation. In this case, the homeowner must leave the home when the Investor takes the home and will loose any financial interest in the property.

Remember this important point. If you agree not to make your payments to help the real estate Investor or if you are compensated for this action you and your real estate Investor can be charged with fraud and be sent to jail.

When a Pre-Foreclosure Sale is completed the amount forgiven (Mortgage Loan Amount – Sale Price) is taxable by the Internal Revenue Service. Consult your tax consultant to determine your true tax liability. Your tax consultant can evaluate the cost of the tax and identify the costs that may offset the tax liability.  In 2007, legislation was presented to congress proposing to eliminate this tax.

Visit my website at http://www.dfwcityhomes.com/avoid_foreclosure.htm for more information on how you can avoid foreclosure and the steps that must be taken.

Method #3 - Subject To Sale 

You are in financial trouble and want to sell your home fast and have an existing mortgage loan on the home and are behind on your payments. You have equity. You want out of your house to avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure.

If you tell your real estate Investor you “just want out of the house”, he may say “Will you let me take over your payments to give me time to find a buyer for your home?” If you agree to let the Investor take over your payments he is buying your house “Subject To” the existing mortgage. In almost all cases your mortgage lender does not allow the taking over of payments and assumption of their loan. This stipulation is called the “Due on Sale” clause in your mortgage agreement. If you agree to let someone else take over your payments you are violating your Due on Sale clause.

In the 1980’s, Federal legislation disallowed the assumption (transfer) of conventional mortgage loans without the permission of the lender. “Due on Sale” means that if you deed, sell or transfer ownership of your house the lender can demand that the loan is paid in full. Traditionally, when you sell the house your title company pays off your loan with the proceeds from the sale and your loan obligation is dismissed. If you deed the house to someone else and you don’t pay off the loan, the lender can rightfully foreclose on the property. And of course guess what – lenders never give permission to transfer a loan that has a Due on Sale clause.

There is one exception; you are allowed to deed your home (transfer ownership of your house) to a “Land Trust” without your lenders approval. A Land Trust is a legal entity that is used for estate planning. A Land Trust does not have to be filled with any regulatory agencies, does not require a tax identification number and therefore its structure is easy to keep confidential.

In a Subject To Sale you may be asked to deed your house into a Land Trust and give the beneficial interest of the Land Trust to the Real Estate Investor. If structured correctly, the Investor makes your payments and controls the ownership of the house. From that point forward, the Investor can rent it for a profit or sell it for a profit without your consent.

Remember, signing over your deed and having someone else make the payments does not relieve you of your loan obligation to your lender even if your Real Estate Investor is obligated to make the payments. The lender still considers this a violation of the Due on Sale clause. It is the Land Trust that hides the transfer and gives the Investor the vehicle to sell the house at a later date without your consent.

For this to work, the fact that you have sold your beneficial interest in the Land Trust has to be hidden from your mortgage company. This is not illegal. The problem is that you are responsible for the debt regardless of who controls the property. Therefore, if at some later point the Investor decides he doesn’t want to make payments on your loan your lender will foreclose on the property, ask you to cover any losses and add the foreclosure to your credit report not his.

Another concern is insurance, if the home insurance is left in your name and payments are being made, it will not cover losses if the insurance company determines you are no longer the rightful owner. Either the insurance policy must be changed naming you and the Land Trust as beneficiaries or additional insurance coverage should be acquired.  If this is not handled correctly it can trigger the Due on Sale clause. If your home is damaged and no longer habitable, your Real Estate Investor may let the mortgage go into default and you could be asked to cover loan deficiencies after the foreclosure sale.

The objective of the Real Estate Investor is to purchase your house with little or no cash out of pocket and avoid borrowing money to make the purchase. Not the Investor, but your credit history is at stake giving him an unlimited ability to enter in as many Subject To contracts as he can.

You may be in a situation where this is the best alternative. While the Investor is making payments on your loan your credit is being repaired. If your home is later sold your loan will be paid off (because the lender has a lien on the property) and the risk on non-payment eliminated.

To protect yourself, make sure your Investor has a significant financial interest in your home. Beyond just making back payments, you should expect to be paid something for selling your home. Make sure you have a contract that obligates the Investor to make your payments. If your Investor stops making payments you could sue to force him to make payments or payoff the note. Ask for a competitive market analysis substantiating the value of your home and ask to see rental history to show you that the Investor can actually rent your house and cover the payments. If you have equity in your home or market rents can’t cover your payments consider another option like the Pre-Foreclosure Sale.

Method #4 - Lease Option Sale

You want to get out of your home fast and are willing to lease your home with an option for the buyer to purchase the home at a later date. This is also known as “Rent to Own”. You have or will have enough equity to consummate a sale at a later date.

In a “Lease Option Sale”, your buyer is depositing option money with you for the right to purchase your home at a later time. Until the buyer exercises the option to buy your house they are renting it from you. The benefit to you is that you get to keep the option money and the renter is responsible for repairs. Until your home is sold, it continues to increase in value and your payments are covered by the rental income. The option money can be used to make back payments and get your mortgage back under control. Best of all, when you finally sell your home you may be able to sell it for its full market value.

The advantage to the buyer is they don’t need as much cash, they can rebuild their credit and more easily qualify for a mortgage loan when it comes time to buy. The risk is that if your buyer doesn’t exercise the option to buy your home it can leave you with a vacancy and a lot of damage.

In a “Sandwich” Lease Option Sale, an Investor offers to lease option your home and finds a buyer to lease option it at a higher rate. Understand that if you enter a lease option contract with a real estate Investor you are still carrying the risk of vacancy and damage to your property. If the Investor has nothing at stake he will lease it to anyone he pleases, pocket the difference and leave you with the damage.

The risk in a Lease Option Sale is the same in every case.  About 80% of the time the buyer never makes it to the point of exercising the option and you get your house back unexpectedly and maybe damaged.  Also, if your mortgage company finds out about your lease option it can trigger the Due on Sale clause and they may demand immediate payment of your mortgage. In some tax jurisdictions, it triggers reassessment for property-tax purposes. And in Texas, the biggest risk is violating the law.

In 2006, state legislation went into affect that effectively outlawed Lease Option Sales. In this legislation, you may no longer offer a lease option without the lenders written permission. Since few, if any, investors have free and clear properties; this effectively eliminates the buying a property, financing it, and then reselling on a Lease Option Sale contract.  The law requires certain disclosures, most of which are not big deal. However, the penalties for non-compliance are substantial if the disclosures are not followed. It's basically a windfall for buyers who find a good lawyer to hammer a technicality that most investors are not aware of.

If you still decide to Lease Option your home or enter a Lease Option to buy a home, consult an attorney.

Method #5 - Flipping

In this simple and very common scenario, a Real Estate Investor becomes a Flipper (Joe Investor) wants you to sign a real estate sale contract that identifies the buying party as “Joe Investor and/or Assigns”. In Texas, this makes it legal for the Investor to sell or “Flip” your contract to any interested party without your knowledge. Usually the Flipper earns a fee in the range of $1,000 to $5,000 for Flipping a contract.  The part of the clause “and/or Assigns” gives the investor the legal right to sell your contract without your consent.

The risk of Flipping your contract is you loose control of the contract and do not know who is really going to show up at the closing and how capable they are to close. The only money the Flipper has at risk is the earnest money. For a Flipper to be successful they have to get a good enough deal from you so they can Flip it.  If they can’t Flip your contract to another Investor they will break your contract and attempt to get their earnest money back. This can cost you a lot of wasted time and energy and make you more desperate. If they do close, you may be okay but now you know you have left money on the table that could have been yours.

Usually the Flipping scenario stops with the Investor trying to make a quick buck by assigning your contract to another investor. In the most fraudulent flipping scenario, a real estate Flipper wants to buy your home and artificially inflate its price to sell it to an unsuspecting buyer. Be alert to the possibility of this scam.  To do so, he may involve you, appraisers and title companies as accomplices. Some basic research might disclose the fact that the Real Estate Investor may be involving you in a scam.  In you go along with it, you face the possibility of being named as an alleged conspirator in a real estate scam and going to jail.

In essence, a Flipper is acting as a real estate agent. Although not illegal, it points out the risk of selling your home your self and not getting top dollar. Hiring a Realtor and paying a real estate commission is a better way to seek out a qualified buyer and get top dollar.

How to Avoid Being Scammed

The definition of a s Scam is a pre-meditated attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) with the goal of financial or other gain. There are scam artists out there pretending to be Real Estate Investors that will try to swindle you out of your house and your money. With foreclosure rates at an all time high there are many desperate home owners that will believe anything so that they might be able to keep from losing their house. Scam artists try to scam you out of your house and money by gaining your trust, getting you to deed your house and then taking it from you. Then, they borrow money against your house without your knowledge and pocket the money. Or more simply, make false promises and then charge excessive fees for assistance that never pans out.

How does the scammer know to target you, anyway? One way is when your home is scheduled for public auction. About three weeks before the auction the matter becomes public record. Anyone can check the court documents to find the list of lawsuits. Soon, a letter or phone call comes like something from a guardian angel -- only it's a vulture. 

In North Texas, there is a service called the Roddy Foreclosure Listing Service. Local Real Estate Investors can subscribe to the service. Each month from the courthouse they gather a list of pending foreclosures and provide them on-line to their clientele. From the electronic list they provide, homeowners facing foreclosure receive scads of solicitations through the mail, by phone and in person from investors offering solutions. Some of these are legitimate offers to buy your house at a price higher than what you owe and some of these may be not legitimate. If you do not have equity in your house which is the case in the vast majority of Texas foreclosures, it is impossible to conceive a legitimate solution that can save you your house and provide income for the Real Estate Investor.

Here are three common scams:

Equity Stripping – You have equity in your house. The scam artist convinces you they can help you keep your house via a process in which you sell your house very cheaply to them temporarily while you get your finances in order. The new owner says they will pay your mortgage while you pay rent to live in the home. While paying rent, you will buy back the home (with interest) in a fixed amount of time in a lease option transaction. You believe your financial setbacks are temporary, and the buyer is above-board, and everybody can win: You keep the house and the scam artist earns a profit for its role as rescuer.

In the meantime, the scam artist refinances your home, wipes out any liens on your property and maybe even gives you a little cash back from the refinancing while pocketing the difference. For this, you get a two-year lease with a purchase option at the end. But soon you realize you're in trouble. Why? Because scammers aren't about to let you get your home back. Often, the lease terms you agree to turn out to be more onerous than your previous mortgage payments that helped get you into trouble.  The new owner evicts you as soon as possible, sells your house, pays off the new mortgage and pockets whatever equity is left.

Phantom Help - You're way behind on your home payments and facing foreclosure. A scam artist approaches you and offers to help. Then, they charge you thousands of dollars for various administrative duties like filing forms and phone calls, and keeps simply promising a big rescue later. You can probably guess what's really going on: The "helper" isn't really doing anything at all to stop your foreclosure despite collecting thousands from you. By the time you figure out you've been hoodwinked, it's often too late to stop the loss of your house.

The bait-and-switch - In this scam you are tricked into signing over the deed to your home -- without your knowledge. How could you fall for this?  You agree to some form of assistance like those outlined above and are presented with a load of documents on a clipboard with X’s and post-it notes indicating where you sign. With the stress of your situation hanging over your head, you are overwhelmed by the documents and you can’t exactly see what you are signing thanks to the clipboard and the post-it notes. One of the things you unknowingly sign is a "grant deed" that passes your home's title to the scam artist.

To avoid falling victim to a scam, first and foremost don’t panic. Read Recommendation #8 and follow my 17 Recommendations.

About Hiring a Real Estate Agent

Here is a little advice about selling your home with a Realtor. If you do not have to sell your home lightening fast and have the time, money and energy hire a Realtor to sell it for you. Selling your home with the services of a Realtor can get you the highest possible price because Realtors provide you with the broadest possible marketing exposure.

If you have experienced a hardship and are at risk to loose your home in foreclosure you should use a Realtor to sell your home. This is absolutely the best way to sell your home in a pre-foreclosure sale. In this situation, the Realtor commission is paid by the mortgage company and the training and experience of the Realtor affords you the best chance to get your home sold before the bank takes it from you.

If your home is in fairly good shape and you have the time and enough equity to cover Realtor commissions you should consider using a Realtor to sell your home.

If your home is not in good shape a Realtor can also help you find a cash buyer. Sometimes this can be the best of both worlds. A Realtor can list, advertise and market your property and attract the top dollar investor or the fix it up type of retail buyer. Your agent will also guide you through the real estate selling process and relieve you with this burden.

Understand that to sell your home with the services of a Realtor you must be willing to pay real estate commissions. You may have experience with a Realtor because you purchased your home from a Realtor. Selling a home with a Realtor is the traditional way, as I have discussed previously, to sell your home. For some reason, 6% has traditionally been the standard rate for real estate commissions paid to a Realtor. This is usually split 3% to the Realtor representing the buyer and 3% going to the Realtor representing you the seller. Real estate commissions are not regulated and are negotiable. With little effort, you should be able to negotiate a lower commission rate.

When you hire a Realtor, make sure your Realtor is advising you to list your home at a fair market value. The number one complaint against Realtors is the homeowner is deliberately misled about the market value of their home. As an incentive to get you to list your home with them, unscrupulous Realtors will try to convince you they can sell it for more than it is worth. They believe that after they have your listing, you will stick with them and eventually lower the price to market value. No matter what price it sells at, they expect to get their commission. Because the commission rate is a fixed percentage, the Realtor does not have a very big incentive to get top dollar for your home versus something less.

As I said before, finding a Realtor, listing your home, finding a retail buyer and getting lending approvals takes more time than a cash sale. If your home needs repairs your Realtor may want you to fix them before he try’s to sell it - and this takes money. After you find your Realtor, complete your repairs and find a retail buyer, inspections and appraisals must be completed for the property to be approved and sold. The borrower must have good credit and usually at least 3% of the sale price in cash. All of this activity takes time and money. Contracts can fall through at the last minute after a lot of time and energy has been spent because the buyer cannot qualify for his mortgage loan.

If you believe you are capable enough to sell your home yourself put a “For Sale by Owner” sign in your yard and go for it. By selling your home yourself you can avoid the real estate commissions you would pay a Realtor. If you end up selling your home to a Real Estate Investor they can guide you through the sales process and make it easy for you. But remember, you may not be getting top market value for this convenience. To get top market value you need to sell your home to a retail buyer that may expect you to be the guide. Before you go this route make sure you understand the risks involved and the real estate process. If you are uncomfortable working with contracts, inspectors, mortgage companies and lenders I recommend hiring a Real Estate Agent.

How to Get a Fair Deal from a Real Estate Investor

If you are thinking about selling your home to a Real Estate Investor I offer these 17 recommendations:

Recommendation #1 - Make sure your Real Estate Investor has a financial interest in what he is buying.

Make sure your Real Estate Investor is investing his money in buying and repairing your home and stands to loose his money if you loose yours. Regardless of the method, if the Investor doesn’t have to put up any money you may make a bad deal for yourself.

Recommendation #2 - Make sure you investigate all options to sell your home and have more than one interested buyer for your home.

With more than one buyer you can set deadlines and create competition. Without competition, time is on the side of the Investor and you are at a disadvantage.

If you haven’t already, put a “For Sale by Owner” sign in your yard. Real Estate Investors are always driving neighborhoods looking for “For Sale by Owner” home buying opportunities. They will find you very quickly if you have one of these signs in your yard. Look for their signs and ads. Call “We Buy Houses’ phone numbers that you see on those little signs you see on the side of the road. Look for ads in the Homes Wanted section of your newspaper, Thrifty Nickel, Penny Saver and Greensheets. Make sure you call more than 2 or 3 and don’t stop calling because you find one that sounds good.

Recommendation #3 - Negotiate.

Know what your home is worth and how well homes are selling in your market. Know what repairs your home needs and understand what these repairs cost. Real Estate Investors making offers on your home can provide you with this information very quickly. Understand that you do not need to leave money on the table to sell your home fast. Armed with this information, you can negotiate for the best deal and still sell your home fast.

Use this information as the basis for determining your selling price. Establish a selling price that allows your Real Estate Investor to make a reasonable profit after incurring the costs of repairing and selling your home.

Recommendation #4 - Know who you are doing business with.

A legitimate Real Estate Investor can not give you an exact quote over the phone. There are too many differences in the condition, size, features and location of a home to estimate its value without seeing it in person. Use common sense, if something sounds too good to be true it probably isn’t true.

If you're selling the house yourself, check to see if there are any complaints against the prospective Investor. You can contact your state's Attorney General, the State Real Estate Commission, or the local District Attorney's Consumer Fraud Unit for this type of information.

If you think an individual or company is running a real estate investment scam contact the Better Business Bureau, the State Real Estate Commission, local District Attorney, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice.

Recommendation #5 - Don’t get involved in something you do not understand.

You risk being taken advantage of if you place your trust in the Investor. Always have an expert on your side that can advise you to do the right thing. Real Estate transactions are complicated and unusual methods have legal and regulatory complications you may not be aware of.

Do's and don'ts:

• Don't fall for promises like "We'll save your credit"; "We'll buy your house 'as is'"; or "We'll get you a new mortgage with low monthly payments."

• Don't sign away ownership of your property (sometimes called a "quit claim deed") to anyone without the advice of lawyer you trust. "When people get behind on their loan payments, they get a bit desperate, but the answer is not putting someone else on your title," says Oakland real-estate attorney James Hand.

• Beware of any home sale contract where you aren't formally released from liability for your mortgage. Also, make sure you know what rights you're giving up and that you agree to giving them up.

Recommendation #6 - Get it in writing.

Ask for the contract and review it with someone knowledgeable in real estate. Ask for a copy of the competitive market analysis, expense and profit assumptions. Make sure the information you are given is reasonable and fair.

Recommendation #7 - Ask for proof of financing.

A legitimate Investor can provide you with a letter showing funds are available or a bank statement with the funds disclosed. If the Investor plans to flip the deal after you sign the contract you risk not selling your home if the funding can’t be raised. Don’t enter a contract with the “and/or assigns” clause unless you have a logical reason to do so.

Recommendations #8 - If you are in financial trouble don't loose your home and damage your credit history.

You or an intermediary can talk to your mortgage company’s loss mitigation department and ask them to help. Frequently, a mortgage company will make special arrangements for a period of time to help you get back on your feet. Call your mortgage company or find someone that can call for you and ask them for help and be honest about your financial situation. Also, stay in your home to make sure you qualify for special assistance programs. Here is a list of the alternatives your mortgage company might consider.

Special Forbearance. Your mortgage company may be able to arrange a repayment plan based on your financial situation and may even provide for a temporary reduction or suspension of your payments. You may qualify for this if you have recently experienced a reduction in income or an increase in living expenses. You must furnish information to your mortgage company to show that you would be able to meet the requirements of the new payment plan.

Mortgage Modification. You may be able to refinance the debt and/or extend the term of your mortgage loan. This may help you catch up by reducing the monthly payments to a more affordable level. You may qualify if you have recovered from a financial problem and can afford the new payment amount.

Partial Claim. Your lender may be able to work with you to obtain a one-time payment from the FHA-Insurance fund to bring your mortgage current.

You may qualify if:  your loan is at least 4 months delinquent but no more than 12 months delinquent; you are able to begin making full mortgage payments.

When your lender files a Partial Claim, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will pay your lender the amount necessary to bring your mortgage current. You must execute a Promissory Note, and a Lien will be placed on your property until the Promissory Note is paid in full. The Promissory Note is interest-free and is due when you pay off the first mortgage or when you sell your home.

Pre-foreclosure sale or "Short Sale". This will allow you to avoid foreclosure by selling your home for an amount less than the amount necessary to pay off your mortgage loan.

You may qualify if: you have experienced a hardship; and a new appraisal (that your lender will obtain) shows that the value of your home meets guidelines.

Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. As a last resort, you may be able to voluntarily "give back" your home to your lender. This won't save your house from foreclosure, but it is not as damaging to your credit rating as a foreclosure.

You can qualify if: you are in default and don't qualify for any of the other options; your attempts at selling your home before foreclosure were unsuccessful; and you don't have another FHA mortgage in default.

According to the Department of Justice, “Bankruptcy Foreclosure Scams” and “Predatory Lenders” are targeting consumers whose mortgages are in trouble. Watch out for fraudulent operators that promise to take care of your problem with your mortgage lender or to obtain refinancing for you. Don’t pay them fees before they provide services to you and don’t make mortgage payments directly to them. Never transfer your property deed or title to the individual or company claiming to be a “Mortgage Consultant”, “Foreclosure Service” or similar name. Never agree to roll excessive fees into your mortgage for refinancing. Never sell your monthly payment. Never agree to balloon payments if you are elderly and cannot qualify to refinance later on. Never agree to payments you cannot afford and never repeatedly refinance your loan. Credit counseling agencies may also help but watch out for phony counseling agencies. If you have a need for such services, call a HUD-approved housing counseling agency at (800) 569-4287.

Recommendation #9 - Get all the facts before you get someone to help you with your mortgage problems.   

Did you know a bankruptcy filing often stops a home foreclosure, but only temporarily? If you file for bankruptcy you will have the bankruptcy listed on your credit record for at least 10 years. Don’t declare Bankruptcy just to avoid foreclosure. Make sure you have investigated all of the previously mentioned options before you file for bankruptcy.

Recommendation #10 - Make a list of your issues and develop a plan of action.  

Ask yourself these questions: How fast do I really need to sell my home? Have I investigated all of my options? Can I trust the people I am working with? Is my home really worth what I think it is?

Remember to be realistic. If you are comfortable with the answers to these questions and have a plan of action you will come out okay.

Recommendation #11 - Get everything in writing.

Once you are satisfied you are working with an honest, competent professional, invite him into your home and ask for an offer in the form of a Texas Real Estate Commission Contract (TREC) and supporting documentation in writing and a written explanation of anything you do not understand.  A written contract gives you the assurance that you know exactly what you will receive for your home and eliminate surprises.

Watch out for Real Estate Investors that are willing to give you supporting documentation but discourage you from verifying that information.

Recommendation #12 - Make sure you know who is buying your home.