# Selling a house?



## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

Hoping someone knows more about this than I do. 

I am planning on selling my house and getting into something smaller and cheaper. I am going to get new carpet and flooring put in here...(been needing it anyway) ...to help selling cost... 

How does it work if I only get a little above payoff?? 
How does the equity work? Is that just extra I get or??

Sorry,, not sure if there's a book out there "home selling for dummies" --- Just kidding


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## canttrustu (Feb 22, 2012)

Well i have a realtors license so..... first things first you gotta pay off the mortgage and the realtors fees usually 6-7% depending on where you are and there are some sellers fees(termite inspection for example) after all of that the rest is yours. Ask your realtor to work up an estimate of good faith for you....

Good luck

CTU


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## Married in VA (Jan 6, 2012)

Before you sell you need to see what the house is worth. You can ask a real estate agent to give you comparable sales of similar properties in your neighborhood or you can go to zillow.com and look on there. Once you know the value, then figure out what you owe on the mortgage. That is where the payoff quote comes in. Remember, this is a buyer's market so as the seller you will be giving up a lot to sell the house unless your area is different than most. Once you know where you can sell your home at and you know your payoff, you can subtract the payoff from the expected sales price to get your equity. Don't forget the 6% commission that goes to the agent and all the taxes and transfer fees, help with buyer's closing costs etc. If there is any profit left, that would be your "equity". If the number is negative after all that and you have to bring money to closing, then that negative number is your loss. Hope this helps.


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## canttrustu (Feb 22, 2012)

Married in VA said:


> Before you sell you need to see what the house is worth. You can ask a real estate agent to give you comparable sales of similar properties in your neighborhood or you can go to zillow.com and look on there. Once you know the value, then figure out what you owe on the mortgage. That is where the payoff quote comes in. Remember, this is a buyer's market so as the seller you will be giving up a lot to sell the house unless your area is different than most. Once you know where you can sell your home at and you know your payoff, you can subtract the payoff from the expected sales price to get your equity. Don't forget the 6% commission that goes to the agent and all the taxes and transfer fees, help with buyer's closing costs etc. If there is any profit left, that would be your "equity". If the number is negative after all that and you have to bring money to closing, then that negative number is your loss. Hope this helps.


If you have NO Real estate experience at all- I recommend asking a realtor for a list price-ITS FREE and not a guess. Zillow is ok for people who have some idea what they are doing but I wouldnt recommend it for a property virgin like yourself. Just b/c you ask a Realtor to come talk to you and take a look at your house- you have NO obligation and now you have a good list price and most likely she/he would be willing to let you know what the cost of transferring and taxes are in your area. I dont recommend doing this yourself if you are asking these kinds of questions- no offense intended but you gotta keep yourself outta trouble here.


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## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

No offense taken.... This is new to me,, never thought I'd ever have even think about selling,,,

I am not really worried about "coming out ahead",, if I do it's a bonus.. I just want to at least come out even,, not negative,, I can't afford that..

I will get in contact with a realtor and see about the estimate... 

If I call the bank,, will they give me estimated payoff? I would say it should be different than what comes on statement because of interest?

I got a headache thinking about all this..


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## canttrustu (Feb 22, 2012)

Numb in Ohio said:


> No offense taken.... This is new to me,, never thought I'd ever have even think about selling,,,
> 
> I am not really worried about "coming out ahead",, if I do it's a bonus.. I just want to at least come out even,, not negative,, I can't afford that..
> 
> ...


you can call the bank and ask for a payoff with specific date. Just pick a date maybe a couple months down the road.Keep in mind it will go down slightly as you will make payments but it will give you a ballpark. Also be sure there is no prepayment penalty(most dont have one, but there are the rare ones that do). And yes it will be different from whats on yours statement.

And one more thing because I dont remember- are you in a D? Whos name is on the deed/Mortgage?

Let me know if I can help. Good luck.


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## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

canttrustu said:


> And one more thing because I dont remember- are you in a D? Whos name is on the deed/Mortgage?




We are separated right now,, but the house is in my name only. We were together when I bought it, but we weren't married yet and he had went through bankruptcy from previous marriage and didn't have credit. 

I had enough credit for it,, and then stupid me cosigned for his daughters college loans,,(60,000),,,, yes I know,, stupid, stupid,stupid!!! so I have good credit score, but my debt to income ratio sucks... So hopefully getting rid of house will help.


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## jpr (Dec 14, 2011)

Have you considered refinancing? I don't know how much equity you have in your house, but I hardly had any equity at all, and I was able to refinance and I lowered my house payment substantially. 

If I would have sold my house, I would have lost money after subtracting the realtor's fees and the cost of moving. 

You might want to consider a refi.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

What is your current interest rate? Could you refinance the home and get the new very very low interest?


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## canttrustu (Feb 22, 2012)

Numb in Ohio said:


> We are separated right now,, but the house is in my name only. We were together when I bought it, but we weren't married yet and he had went through bankruptcy from previous marriage and didn't have credit.
> 
> I had enough credit for it,, and then stupid me cosigned for his daughters college loans,,(60,000),,,, yes I know,, stupid, stupid,stupid!!! so I have good credit score, but my debt to income ratio sucks... So hopefully getting rid of house will help.


ok. Now the mortgage is in your name only what about the deed. Im going to assume it is also. So then youre set. You wont need him to do anything as far as the house. 

But I absolutely recommend using a realtor IF you can afford it. Remember it will cost you 6-7% of the sales price. Not the list price the sales price. However he/she should will be able to work the numbers and do the work to let you know if you can afford them and what your absolute bottom dollar can be for the sales price. First step -find your deed. Second- get a payoff. Third- call a realtor.

ABOVE ALL------GET YOUR HOUSE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE CONDITION FOR SHOWING. AND DECLUTTER!!!!!

Best of luck

CTU


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## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

EleGirl said:


> What is your current interest rate? Could you refinance the home and get the new very very low interest?



With having his daughters $60,000 school loans on my credit, I don't know if I would qualify to refinance lower...my interest right now is like 5.5%

But I guess it doesn't hurt to ask...


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## jpr (Dec 14, 2011)

Yeah...you should investigate a refi. I just refinanced my house at 3.75%. The rates are super super low....and FHA has a lot of good programs out there.

If you loan happens to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you may qualify for the HARP program too.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

Numb in Ohio said:


> With having his daughters $60,000 school loans on my credit, I don't know if I would qualify to refinance lower...my interest right now is like 5.5%
> 
> But I guess it doesn't hurt to ask...


There are some special programs right now for refinancing. Some of them do not require a new credit check if you are current on your payments. It's usually done with your current morgage company.

One of my sisters just did this on her house. I'll ask her the name of the program seh went through.


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## jpr (Dec 14, 2011)

here is a link
Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)


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## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

Guess I will be having a busy week next week.... but I will check into the refi first, and see if that would work,, otherwise I will get everything in order to contact a realtor,,

Thanks everyone for the help,, will update.


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## Married in VA (Jan 6, 2012)

Numb,
Another thought. I know you said the house is in your name only, but here in VA it would still be considered marital property. Did you ask an attorney about selling since you are physically separated? If you or him file for D then automatic restraining orders kick in which prohibit the sale of a home without court permission. Make sure you check OH laws so your ducks are in a row.


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## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

Married in VA said:


> Numb,
> Another thought. I know you said the house is in your name only, but here in VA it would still be considered marital property. Did you ask an attorney about selling since you are physically separated? If you or him file for D then automatic restraining orders kick in which prohibit the sale of a home without court permission. Not sure what state you are in but make sure you check your laws so your ducks are in a row.



We are in Ohio, but I have had a consultation with a lawyer.. so it is considered "my house"... 

My H tried just last month to get me to see about refinancing in both our names,,, (he talked to the bank about it while he was setting up his separate checking account) <<< WTH?

I may have been the fool to not see his cheating,,, but I am not a total idiot to be going through separation, and refinance my house together putting his name on it at the same time....


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## canttrustu (Feb 22, 2012)

Married in VA said:


> Numb,
> Another thought. I know you said the house is in your name only, but here in VA it would still be considered marital property. Did you ask an attorney about selling since you are physically separated? If you or him file for D then automatic restraining orders kick in which prohibit the sale of a home without court permission. Make sure you check OH laws so your ducks are in a row.


I live in THIS area. My liscense is reciprocal with OH. . I already knew that if the deed is in her name- ITS HER HOUSE(thats why I asked about the deed and the mortgage). Especially w/o his name on the mortgage. NOW- if the judge wanted to he COULD order any equity to be split. THIS is unusual and since Numb says she is not looking at much equity, if any, this shouldnt be a problem. And usually a judge will only order that IF both names were on the mortgage or someone was a Stay at home parent. Usually. In OH there are NO automatic restraining orders and they would only apply to community property anyway.

Refi is a good option but I thought you said you wanted a smaller place? Anyway if you can refi it could be a good option until the market recovers some. Just be sure to check the fees for doing so.


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## Numb in Ohio (Oct 31, 2011)

canttrustu;778039
Refi is a good option but I thought you said you wanted a smaller place? Anyway if you can refi it could be a good option until the market recovers some. Just be sure to check the fees for doing so.[/QUOTE said:


> I kinda do want a smaller place,,but it was mainly the fact or finding something cheaper.. But as you said, if I can refi and stay here for a while for the market to recover.. I could look into selling later...


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