Should Denise Default?

My husband and I have been trying to sell a house in Pittsburgh for 11 months now. We have been making every payment on time even though we are not living there. At this point, we need to get out from under the house. 

Our agent has suggested a short sale.  However, the banks won’t talk to us until we are two months defaulted on the loan. Our credit scores are in the high 700′s.

Do we default on the loan and risk lowering our score to get out from under the house?

Denise

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Hi Denise,

I can’t answer that question for you, because I don’t know your situation.  And even if I did, that would still be a personal decision for each to make. 

Can you afford to make the payments?  Can the property be rented?  Do you have liquid assets?  So many questions…

As a general rule, pulling money out of a retirement account and/or cash advancing credit cards to make the mortgage payments is a (very) bad idea. 

Read: Short Sale & Retirement Accounts, Do You Have To Be Past Due For A Short Sale? & Rachel’s Short Sale

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul