Whether you’re a buyer or a borrower / seller, a short sale and foreclosure each present different advantages and difficulties.
What Is A Foreclosure In Cincinnati & Dayton OH?
In simple terms… “A foreclosed home is one in which the owner is unable to make his mortgage loan payments and the bank repossessed the home” (source). If you stop making your house payments… your lender has the right to foreclose on your property so they can attempt to recoup their money that was lent to you.
A home is typically foreclosed on when a borrower fails to make mortgage payments. The lending institution assumes ownership and possession of the property, evicting the borrower. These properties are then sold at auction or more traditional means utilizing the service of real estate agents. A foreclosure can damage the credit rating of a borrower, and make it very difficult to obtain a mortgage for many years.
Depending on the state that you live in… a foreclosure can work in different ways. Check out the foreclosure process information over here at the HUD Government website.
What Is A Short Sale?
In a short sale, the home is still owned by the borrower.
The definition of a short sale is… “A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from selling the property will fall short of the balance of debts secured by liens against the property, and the property owner cannot afford to repay the liens’ full amounts and where the lien holders agree to release their lien on the real estate and accept less than the amount owed on the debt” (source: Wikipedia)
In some cases, a short sale is an option agreed upon by borrowers and lenders. In a short sale, the home is sold for less than the outstanding balance of the mortgage. The unpaid balance (known as the deficiency) may or may not still be owed by the borrower.
This option typically takes some time, as a few different lending institutions may own the mortgage. All parties who have a stake in the property must agree to the terms of the sale, and a potential deal could fall through if even one lender doesn’t agree.
Short Sale vs. Foreclosure – Your Options
While both options can have ramifications, a short sale often has less of an impact on the borrowers creditworthiness. A foreclosure could impact a borrower’s credit score by 300 or more points, where a short sale may only dent the credit score by 100 points.
Borrowers who are foreclosed on are often ineligible to purchase another home for 5-7 years with a traditional mortgage, where under certain circumstances, a short sale borrower can purchase immediately.
As many Americans struggle with an economy that has yet to completely recover from the 2008 crash, folks are having a hard time making monthly mortgage payments. Choosing between being foreclosed and initiating a short sale (or a 3rd option… selling your Cincinnati & Dayton house fast )is an easy choice for a borrower having troubles paying their mortgage on time.
Sometimes, lenders are willing to work with borrowers to complete a short sale, to avoid the fees and time consuming process of conducting a foreclosure.
Our suggestion is always this.
- Talk with your lender and discuss ways that they can work with you on your loan. We offer this service where we can help guide you in the right direction if you run into issues with your lender… just reach out to us on our Contact page and we’ll discuss your situation.
- Attempt a short sale or other program your lender may have that forgives part of your loan, creates a new / more affordable monthly payment so you can get back on your feet, etc.
- If the bank isn’t willing to work with you very much… your best option may be to sell your house. Work with a local real estate house buyer service like Ohio Cash Buyers LLC to sell your house fast for an all-cash offer. If you’re interested we can look at your situation and make you a fair offer on your house within 24 hours. Just fill out the form on our website over here >>
- Foreclosure. Last resort is to let the house fall into foreclosure. This is the worst possible scenario. It’ll harm your credit and you could still be left with money owed to the bank even after the foreclosure is finished.
By knowing your options, you may be able to dodge a significant impact to your credit score, allowing you to purchase a new home when your situation improves. A foreclosure on your credit report makes that possibility extremely difficult for 5-7 years, so if you have the opportunity, a short sale can be the better option.
Have a pending foreclosure? We’d like to make you a fair all-cash offer on your house.

An old adage in real estate sales is “your home is worth what someone is willing to buy it for.” This suggests that there are many different factors, some arbitrary that go into the valuing of a home.
You’ve decided to sell your house on your own, and you realize there will be some costs involved. So, wisely, you’re now asking: “What should I budget for if I sell my house on my own in Cincinnati & Dayton?”
When we have something we need to sell, where’s the first place we usually turn? Craigslist, of course. But in this case, you have a house for sale. So you’re most likely asking this question: “What chances do I have when selling my home on Craigslist in Cincinnati & Dayton?”
It happens for all kinds of reasons: divorce, job layoff or relocation, or mortgage payments just becoming too much to handle. Whatever the reason, you are now in the position of needing to sell your house fast for cash in Cincinnati & Dayton.
If you want to sell your house, should you list it with an agent, or should you sell directly to a real estate investor? The best answer is . . . it depends. Everyone’s situation is unique, and that’s what determines the best option. So let’s look at some of the pros and cons of listing vs. a direct sale to a real estate investor in Cincinnati & Dayton.
In general, going the traditional route to sell your house – that is, using a real estate agent, going through multiple showings, and waiting for a buyer to secure financing – will often get you a higher sale price. But it takes much longer, and you lose a good chunk of money to fees and commissions. In certain situations, then, the benefits of selling directly to an investor in Cincinnati & Dayton far outweigh the cons.
Different kinds of sales avenues, while similar in many ways, still require different kinds of marketing and variations in preparation for sale. So do you need to prepare your house to sell to a direct buyer in Cincinnati & Dayton?
Certainly, paying a professional to conduct an appraisal is the best way to go about calculating the true value of your house in Cincinnati & Dayton. But you may not be at that point yet, and so the expense wouldn’t be justified. Maybe you’re just now in the early stages of thinking about selling your house. In that case, there are still some things you can do on your own to arrive at a pretty good idea of the value of your house.