Thinking of selling to avoid repossession?

Selling your house as a result of falling behind on mortgage payments might be for some, the best alternative to repossession.

This could clear all your debts related to your property, keep your credit rating intact, ensuring that you can move on with your life and start again.

However, selling your property through the “usual channels” and engaging an Estate Agent to sell it for you can have its challenges. Obviously you will want to get the market value (or at least as close to market value as you can) but this may not be possible if time is not on your side. If your lender has started repossession proceedings, they will be looking to recoup their loan as quickly as possible regardless of your decision to sell.

When you add the selling costs associated with selling through an Agent, the chances are that you will end nowhere near the money you were expecting to get from the sale after everyone has been paid off.

If you do go down the path of using an Agent, we suggest that you speak to at least 3 before deciding on which one to engage. Ask lots of questions like how many houses they have recently sold in your postcode, what they believe your house is really worth and what they have to back this up. There are “Agent finding” websites that can give you information and reviews on who is performing the best.

Your contract with them should be as short as possible as you don’t have much time and if you can manage it, steer clear of exclusivity, meaning that they are the only Agent that has the right to sell your home. Your agent should be looking after your interests, so ask them how they plan on proactively selling the property. Some agents will just take a few photos, place them on a few websites and then hope for the best.

Remember that your lender will need to be kept up to date on progress of the sale – Good luck.