Being a homeowner or landlord in Maryland comes with plenty of responsibilities. You have to worry about the wear and tear on the property, you’re responsible for any necessary upkeep, and you have to make sure all of the financial aspects of the property are up to speed. Chief among those financial concerns is the mortgage. Staying out of mortgage trouble is critical to ensuring that you don’t have to worry about liens, legal issues, and foreclosure. And 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 mortgage paying trouble for homeowners.
How Can I Avoid Running Into Trouble Paying My Mortgage In Maryland?
Have 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, contact your loan servicer and create a gameplan 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. 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? 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.
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. Let them know what caused the delinquent payments and all of the important details they should be aware of. The lender may offer to extend the repayment period, suspend payments for a period of time, or allow for extra borrowing in order 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.
Sort Your Sellable Items
If you found yourself in a situation where money was suddenly tight for a few months or even a year, do you have the ability to offset any lost income or savings by selling items you own quickly? We don’t like to think about it but you need 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 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. And hopefully, you’ll be back on your feet soon and be able to get a new version.
Get Trustworthy Tenants
If you’re renting your house out to tenants, it’s critical that you do what you can to make sure they’re trustworthy and capable of keeping up on rent payments. A quality tenant is one who pays their rent on time, maintains the property well, and doesn’t abuse the terms of the agreement in ways that cause damage or harm. Take full advantage of background checks and credit checks. Look for tenants who may want to commit to living there longterm rather than those who are passing through, cutting down on your need to be concerned with re-filling units over and over.
The reason this can be critical to preventing mortgage problems is that you may be relying on monthly rent payments to pay your mortgage. And if the rent is late, that can put you in a bind to stay current on your own financial situation. You’re putting a lot of faith in renters to hold up their end of the bargain so it’s entirely fair for you to do your due diligence when signing a lease with them.
Keep Your Property Rented
If you’re renting out your house or property, it goes without saying that you want to make sure someone is paying rent as often as possible. Every month where the place sits empty is a month where you don’t make any income, and that can put a real strain on your mortgage.
Don’t feel bad about advertising for new tenants even if you’re full. You never know when someone is going to give notice. 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.
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 longterm tenants who pay rent on schedule and appreciate living in a well-kept house or property. Keep an eye on any appliances that need upgrading and respond to tenant concerns in a speedy manner.
Sell the House on the Open Market
If you foresee some potential mortgage-paying issues in your 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 you have no idea if the home will sell quickly or even at all. It certainly could be a solution to your potential problems but it might also create more financial issues than you had beforehand.
Sell Your House As-Is
If you see yourself facing financial hardship or if there is potentially foreclosure in your future, one of the quickest ways to get out of trouble is to sell your house as-is in Maryland to a real estate investor for cash. Easy Outs Homes will review the details of your house and make you a fair cash offer within days. They can close on your schedule and allow you to sell the house on your own terms. Then, take the cash and satisfy any financial issues or outstanding debts and then move forward with a fresh start.
