What if I Can’t Sell the House?

There are certain moments in life where time may be of the essence. For example, either you or a loved one may require some form of long-term care and you’re running out of options. We’ve tried everything we can think of and, when it came down to it, we were not even able to sell the house. So what do you do when you’ve tried everything and are left grasping at straws? While things may seem understandably bleak, you do have a few options available to you, so you may be down, but you aren’t completely out.

The first option available would be to try and obtain a short-term loan that would give you the time you need to sell the house, while still funding your long-term care needs. This solution can be preferable since it is going to give you some cash against the current value of the house. Upon selling the house, the loan would then be repaid. There is a downside to this option, however: a lot of times, it requires secondary signatures, so there would need to be someone else who could personally guarantee that loan along with the homeowner.

A second option when you’re trying to sell the house would be to try and sell it “as is.” With this scenario, you could reduce the price to whatever the current market value is, since whoever purchases the house would be doing so with whatever blemishes it currently has. As an example, if the house needs a new roof, you could discount the cost of the home since the buyer would need to put the roof on after buying the property. Technically, you would not actually be discounting the cost, since the home’s value would decrease because of the roof. A lot of people forget that if they’re told to make repairs, the home’s value is less than they originally thought. 

One last option you have would be to look for some place that buys homes for a reduced rate in exchange for completing the transaction quicker. There are places that will pay you a reduced percentage (20% below market value) in exchange for taking the property with no questions asked. 

To recap, the following options are viable choices to solve the issue: a bridge loan, selling as is, or selling to a group that buys the properties on an expedited basis in exchange for a discount on purchase price.

If you currently find yourself trying to pay for care, but you think you can’t sell your house in time, you do have some options. It just takes some patience and a little faith.