A recent study estimates that 47% of foreclosed properties are still occupied.
When you first see that stat you may be surprised… but we’re not.
What most people in Southwest Florida don’t realize is that banks aren’t in the business of owning homes.
They are in the business of loaning people money and making a profit off the interest. But when banks have to foreclose on a house… the bank is forced to own a home they really don’t want until they’re able to sell it in an effort to get all or most of their money back.
But, what they had found is that when a Southwest foreclosed house goes vacant… there is a much greater chance that the house will fall into disrepair, be vandalized, or be taken over by squatters. Often times the bank would rather have you the owner of the property even after you stop paying your payments and the foreclosure is started because it wards off vandals, squatters, or people looking to steal metal for scrap and has a better chance of the house remaining in good working order.
There’s been a lot of talk in the media about people living for free in a home after foreclosure – and even many stories about banks “abandoning” properties.
In those stories, people are avoiding house payments for months, even years.
Man, that sounds great! Let’s all live for free. (wink)
Wait… it can’t be that simple, right?
Right.
No bank would purposely neglect to collect payments. The only way that you get to live without making any payments is when some major mistakes were made somewhere along the way in the process.
But you might get lucky! It’s possible, and it’s happened before. However, it’s not exactly legal to avoid making payments that you owe, and it can get you in serious legal and financial trouble.
So why are so many foreclosed homes occupied? It’s important to remember that no one wants the house to be vacant. Vacant homes are targets for vandalism, damage, squatters, and crime.
Having the property occupied can help the bank maintain the value of their investment, so it’s actually in their best interests to allow it to remain. Sometimes because of the ways that the foreclosure laws are structured in FL, banks may ask you to leave while wanting you to stay.
There are some perfectly legal ways to remain in your home, even after foreclosure.
How To Stay In My Home After Foreclosure In Southwest
Not all of the options listed here are available (depending on your situation and your lenders), and we recommend you obtain some expert advice from a competent foreclosure attorney along the way to help you get through.
1) Wait it out. Honestly, this is actually a pretty bad option, but it seems to be increasingly common in many areas of the country. With that said, you definitely shouldn’t run away and abandon your house when the first notice of default shows up either. Remember that the legal proceedings and the process can take months and sometimes years to work their way through the court system. It’s not over until a final judgment is rendered, so don’t throw in the towel too early. On the other hand, we don’t advise that you wait until the sheriff shows up on your doorstep to evict you to start packing up your stuff.
2) Go to court. In some very rare cases, judges are willing to grant stays and are delaying evictions. This is really only a valid option if you (and your attorneys) can prove that the bank has neglected a legal requirement during the foreclosure process. During the past few years, a lot of fraudulent behavior at banks has been uncovered – so we may see an increasing trend of using the courts to stop foreclosure. However Fighting banks with lawyers is a very difficult, expensive, stressful, and time-consuming process to undertake even if you’ve got a perfect case (most people don’t stand a chance) due to the almost unlimited financial resources fo most banks.
3) Propose a move-out bonus. Often times buyers of occupied foreclosure properties spend thousands of dollars on lawyers and other costs in the eviction process, so why not save everyone the time and money by taking some of that money yourself? This process is what’s known as “cash for keys”. It may sound a little greedy, but adding some financial incentive to the whole process does help everything to run smoothly. Plus, you can help out the bank and the buyers by not abandoning the house and leaving the door open to squatters and vandals.
4) Rent it back. while this option may sound insane and somewhat counterintuitive, but some banks are actually more than willing to take on previous homeowners as tenants in their former property. Now keep in mind that this is at best only a short-term fix, as they’ll want your agreement to vacate the premises as soon as a qualified buyer is found for the property and an agreement on sale price is reached. In some cases, We Buy Homes in Southwest Florida can even purchase the property and rent it back to you and even make needed repairs to the property.
It’s fantastic that you have taken the time to read this page and explore what options you may have if you are facing foreclosure. Here at We Buy Homes in Southwest Florida we pride ourselves in being able to help homeowners like you to find creative solutions.
We can’t help everyone, but we might be able to help you.
We buy local Southwest FL houses like yours from people who need to sell fast.s