Can You Sell a House with a Mortgage in Houston

Can you sell a house with a mortgage in Houston? The simple answer is yes, you can sell a house with a mortgage! Of course, there are things that you need to consider before moving forward to sell with a mortgage on a property.

Some of those things you may want to consider should be: What do I owe? What is my house worth? Where am I going from here?

It’s common for someone to want to sell their car even though they owe money on it, however trading in a car is much simpler than trading in a house. A dealership actually does a lot of stuff in the background that most people do not see, but the process is a lot faster than selling a house, so those “things” appear to be a lot more difficult that they make it look.

For instance, they basically loan you a car until your trade in is paid off, while also simultaneously selling you a new car and having a lender buy your note.

If you have no knowledge of how this process goes, it sounds like a cake walk, but in reality, there are a lot of moving parts. Same thing with selling a house with a mortgage – it might sound simple, but there are a lot of moving parts!

What do I owe on the house?

Most people have a general idea as to what they owe on their property, but it is always best practice to get a payoff directly from your lender to verify. Sometimes there are things that we do not remember initially that we need to make sure are included in the payoff. So can you sell a house with a mortgage in Houston…of course, just need to make sure you know where you’re starting in this process.

First and foremost, the payoff will include the full remaining principal balance, any overage or underage in your escrow account, and any possible late fees that have been accumulating, if you have ever had any.

Also if you happen to be behind, the principal balance will not be anywhere near what the true payoff is, as the interest continues to accrue and be added to the total principal to give you the full payoff.

You need to order this directly from the lender. Some lenders will give you an option to order directly from their website, but some you may need to call. Ask for them to email it to you or have them fax it to you. Mailing it to you is going to take forever.

What is my house worth?

Trust me when I say, before you start down the path of signing a contract with a realtor or even directly with a buyer – this is information that you need to know. Do not count on Zillow or any other estimators, as they oftentimes are taking into account an entire area with houses in mostly good shape or mostly bad shape, but giving them the same value.

Determining the value of your property

The best suggestion I can make is asking a few realtors to run a CMA on your property. A CMA is a comparative market analysis, which involves 1) looking at other houses in your area that have sold, 2) seeing what they sold for, 3) and using that to help determine your property value.

Or if you’re choosing to sell to an investor, they should be able to provide you with comps for the area as well. Compare your home to properties in similar condition with similar upgrades or needed repairs. I cannot stress this enough. Some agents, like Zillow, will lump all properties together and give an average value.

So when asked, can you sell a house with a mortgage in Houston…my answer will always be of course, if this value exceeds the amount you owe on the property, you’re ready for step 3…however if it isn’t, this is a great time to consider what you need to do to the property to achieve this goal.

Reach out to an investor if you cannot afford the payments, they may be willing to assume your note. This will solve some of the issues you’re facing if you’re behind.

Where am I going from here?

The final, most important step, would be to know where you plan to go from here. Once again, can you sell a house with a mortgage…yep, but where will you go. Are you thinking about buying a new house? Or maybe you need to move in with in-laws for a while? Or maybe you’re ready to rent something instead of being responsible for everything yourself? Whatever your response, as long as you have a place in mind, you should be good to go.

However, please consider the time that it will take to move into a new home, if you qualify for a new loan, if there will be any waiting period to get into a rental in your area…in any case it is best to have this in mind before you begin the process of selling your home.

If you’re ready to take that leap, we will gladly help you figure this stuff out, without the stress of having to do it all by yourself.

Call 832-839-0890