you begin clearing the regular payments, plus an extra amount to settle up the past-due amount. • Resort to bankruptcy. If you live in a state where bankruptcy stalls the foreclosure on your property, you can take advantage of the situation to make good use of the six-month window given to you by the bankruptcy policy. For one, you get to live in your home with an avenue to pay the property tax outstanding balance under different terms. (Note: Bankruptcy can—and most certainly will—tarnish your image, can damage your credit, and can be declared once. Therefore, this avenue should be very carefully considered, and only as a last resort.)
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO KEEP YOUR HOME?
Having gone through the nightmare(s) outlined above, there’s a possibility that you just aren’t able to keep your home. When you hit this low bar, you can either short sale by aligning with an agent, or go with a Deed-in-Lieu of foreclosure (DIL). Short sale by aligning with an agent. Let’s take this scenario: What you owe your local government is more than the value of your property. Will it be worth it to declare bankruptcy? Will it in any way get rid of your financial troubles? The answer to these questions is simply, NO. This is when you enlist a real estate specialist to market the property, negotiate a short sale arrangement (agreement) with your tax collector, and advise and consult on the best possible way to balance your rather shaky financial situation. The short sale will play a key role in helping you evade 18
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