Being a homeowner or landlord in Fort Worth doesn’t mean you are automatically going to avoid running into trouble. Over the course of history, one can conclude that owning a home in Texas comes with plenty of responsibilities. You must worry about the wear and tear on the property, you’re responsible for any necessary upkeep, and you must make sure all the financial aspects of the property are up to speed. One of the top financial concerns is the mortgage payments.
Staying out of mortgage payment trouble is critical to ensuring that you don’t have to worry about liens, legal issues, and foreclosure. Unfortunately, once you find yourself in mortgage trouble, it can often be hard to find a way out. Here are some ways to avoid running into hot water when you have a mortgage payment.
How Can I Avoid Running Into Trouble Paying My Mortgage Payments In Fort Worth Texas?
Develop a Gameplan
If you have a feeling that you’re going to experience a hardship down the road that will limit your ability to pay a mortgage on time and you want to avoid running into hot water, contact your loan servicer and create a game plan for how to deal with it. Keep good records of your income and expenses and make sure you figure out the equity of your house. Then, walk through each potential scenario. Here are some questions to consider:
- What will you do if you miss mortgage payments?
- What will you do if it looks like this will be an issue for six months or a year?
- How will you be able to document and back up your explanation for falling behind?
- How can you avoid running into trouble?
One could make the argument that the more prepared you are beforehand, the quicker you can respond and the easier it will be to work with the lender on a solution.
Make Decisions and Act Fast
One of the smartest things you can do when you start falling behind on mortgage payments is to contact your lender quickly. Oftentimes, they’d prefer to avoid going into foreclosure or potentially not getting their money, so they will work with you on a solution. It’s entirely possible that you could qualify for a loan modification, either by your lender or under the Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
Be specific with your lender about the reasons for falling behind on payments. Tell them what caused the delinquent payments and all the important details they should know. The lender may offer to extend the repayment period, suspend payments for a period, or allow for extra borrowing to alleviate payments in the short term. They may even grant you a forbearance, which allows for reduced or suspended payments over a period you and your servicer agree to before you resume making your regular payments. So, if you want to avoid running into trouble, please realize that you’re going to need to act fast!
Find Something to Sell
If you were suddenly tight for a few months or even a year, can you offset any lost income or savings by selling items you own quickly? It could be fair to say that no one likes to think about this, but it would be good to make a list of the things you own that you could part with if needed (second car, boat, vacation property, investments, etc.) and get a sense of how much you could get for each of them and quickly?
We never like to assume that we’ll have to do this, but if push comes to shove and you could avoid foreclosure by selling something, it’s a decision you may need to make if you’re wanting to avoid running into trouble. And hopefully, you’ll be back on your feet soon and be able to get a new version.
Discover the Power of Trustworthy Tenants
If you’re renting your house out to tenants, it’s important that you do what you can to ensure they’re trustworthy and capable of keeping up on rent payments. This could help you avoid running into trouble. A quality tenant can be described as someone who pays their rent on time consistently, maintains the property well, and will not abuse the terms of the agreement in ways that cause damage or vandalism to the property.
It would be wise to take full advantage of background checks and credit checks. If you want to avoid running into trouble, look for tenants who may want to commit to living there long-term rather than short-term (those who are passing through). This could assist in cutting down on your need to be worried about re-filling units repeatedly.
The reason this can be critical to preventing mortgage problems is that you may be relying on monthly rent payments to pay your mortgage. Please recognize that if the rent is late, you could be placed in a bind to stay current on your own financial responsibilities. It is entirely fair that you do all the necessary due diligence when entering into a lease agreement for any and all tenants in your property. Because at the end of the day, you are putting a lot of faith and trust in those renters to hold up their end of the bargain.
Retain the Renters
If you’re renting out your house or property, it should go without saying that you want to make sure someone is paying rent as often as possible. I think we can all agree on that. Every month where the house, apartment, condo, or townhome sits empty is a month where you don’t make any income. That result can put a real strain on your mortgage payment, and lead to an even bigger financial problem.
Don’t feel bad about advertising new tenants even if all your units are occupied. You never know when someone is going to give notice to move. Don’t let applications sit idly when you could have processed them sooner and gotten a tenant into your place quicker.
Acting fast and being efficient is a big part of being a landlord and a big part of ensuring that your mortgage gets paid properly therefore allowing you to avoid running into trouble.
There’s also a direct connection between how well you maintain the property and keeping the place fully rented. The better the place is tended to, the more likely you are to find long-term tenants who pay rent on schedule and appreciate living in a well-kept house or property. Keep an eye on appliances that need upgrading and respond to tenant concerns quickly.
If you want to avoid running into trouble as a landlord, communication and quick responses are going to be essential to your success. Because as a leadership expert, John Maxwell writes about, how you win with people.
Sell the House on the Open Market
If you foresee some potential mortgage-paying issues in the future, you can try to get ahead of the problem and sell your house on the open market. Of course, doing so brings with it plenty of challenges. You’ll need to hire a real estate agent who takes a percentage of the home sale profits. You may also need to make repairs and renovations that will cut into potential profits.
And in these crazy times, none of us have a crystal ball to know if the home will sell quickly or even at all. It certainly Could be a solution to your potential problems. Perhaps but it might also create more financial issues than you had before you even began the process.
Sell Your House As-Is
If you see yourself facing financial hardship or if there is potential foreclosure in your future, one of the quickest ways to get out of trouble is to sell your house as-is in the Fort Worth area to a real estate investor for cash. The trusted team at Whirlwind Homes will review the details of your house and make you a fair cash offer within a short amount of time.
They can close on your timeline and allow you to sell the house on your own terms. They want to make it easy for you so you can then take the cash and satisfy any financial issues or outstanding debts. That way you have the peace of mind to move forward while embracing a fresh start.
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(682) 200-1837
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