If the payoff is bigger than the value, you need the real math first.
This is the one situation where a cash buyer might not be your answer, and you deserve to hear that before you spend a month finding out.
Run my numbersHow a house ends up underwater in Kentucky
It is usually not a market crash. More often it is a high loan to value purchase with little down, a second mortgage or HELOC drawn against the property, years of deferred maintenance that pulled the value down while the balance stayed put, or arrears and fees that inflated the payoff past what the house was ever worth.
Whatever the cause, the arithmetic is the same. The lien total exceeds what a buyer will pay, and somebody has to absorb the gap.
What a cash offer can and cannot do
We buy at a price that accounts for condition, holding costs, and resale. If that price is below your payoff, we cannot close a conventional sale, because the lender will not release the lien for less than it is owed without agreeing to it first.
We will tell you this on the first call rather than after a title search. It costs you nothing to find out, and knowing sooner is worth more than optimism.
The short sale path, and its tradeoffs
A short sale is a sale where the lender agrees to accept less than the full payoff and release the lien. It is a real option and it is used often. The tradeoffs are that it requires lender approval, which takes time, and that the process is documentation heavy.
There can also be credit and tax consequences to forgiven debt. Those depend on your circumstances, and a tax professional should weigh in before you commit. We can participate in a short sale as the buyer. We just cannot promise the lender's answer.
Five questions. That is the whole thing.
We already know your situation from this page. Change it if it does not fit.
Question 1 of 5
What people ask about this
Can you just pay off my loan anyway?
Not above what the house is worth to us. Any buyer telling you otherwise is either mistaken about the value or planning to renegotiate later.
How do I find my actual payoff?
Request a written payoff statement from your servicer. It will be higher than the balance on your statement because it includes fees, interest through the payoff date, and any arrears.
Is a short sale better than foreclosure?
Often, but not always, and it depends on your loan, your other debts, and your tax picture. Ask an attorney or HUD approved housing counselor rather than deciding from a website.
Often it is more than one thing at once
Run my numbers.
No cost, no obligation, and nobody shows up at your door unless you ask them to.