How we help Amityville owners in mortgage arrears
We have had the behind-on-mortgage-payments conversation with a great many Long Island owners, and it never starts with the house. It starts with the payoff figure, because the gap between what is owed, arrears included, and what an Amityville house is worth decides which options are genuinely open.
Get that number in writing from the servicer. Then call us and we will walk through what it means, including the routes that do not involve selling to us at all.
What to do about missed mortgage payments on an Amityville house
You can catch up, through a modification, forbearance or refinance, and where that is achievable it is usually the best outcome for the household. You can sell, which clears the missed mortgage payments and the mortgage together and protects any equity behind them. Or you can do nothing and let the process run, which is almost always the worst of the three.
We only do the middle one. We will still tell you plainly when the first one looks like the better fit for your mortgage situation, and we will make the introduction to somebody who handles it.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A five-bedroom on Sunshine Lane. A house on Washington Avenue. Both in Amityville, bought and paid for by us.
Amityville is roughly 9,500 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11701, and the housing stock is mostly colonial, victorian, cape cod. Around Broadway and the Triangle, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Amityville stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Suffolk County for 15+ years. We know what the Amityville Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
Why you need the payoff in writing before anything else
Not what you originally borrowed, and not the balance printed on last year's statement. The mortgage payoff includes the missed payments, the late fees, the default interest and the lender's costs through the closing date, which is why it is usually higher than owners expect.
Get it from the servicer in writing, early. It determines whether selling leaves you with anything, and it is the single fact that shapes every other decision once you are behind on mortgage payments.
What missed mortgage payments cost you every month they run
The unfair part of falling behind on mortgage payments is that the cost is charged to the person least able to pay it. Late fees first, then default interest, then legal costs, all added to the payoff.
That is the whole argument for dealing with missed mortgage payments earlier rather than after the next letter arrives. Not because something terrible happens tomorrow, but because every month behind on the mortgage quietly moves money from your side of the closing statement to theirs.
What you do not pay when you sell a house in mortgage arrears
Listing a house in mortgage arrears the usual way brings each of these costs with it. Selling to us brings none of them.
- Agent commission
- $30,563 at 5% of the Amityville median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $12,225 on a $611,250 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever the house needs, paid up front none
- Cleanout and removal
- Charged by the truckload, and done before the first showing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities through the 80 to 95 days a listing takes to sell and close none
Selling an Amityville house quietly while behind on mortgage payments
No sign, no listing, no showings, no neighbors asking questions. One visit, a written number, and a closing date you pick.
The part of mortgage arrears people dread is rarely the paperwork. It is somebody they know finding out. A sale to us involves one person coming to the house once, and nothing about it goes on the internet or on the lawn.
What the two paths cost in Amityville
These are the two routes open to you with a house in mortgage arrears, priced against what Amityville houses actually sell for.
Work it against Amityville's own numbers. The median sale here is $611,250. A 5% commission on that is $30,563, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $12,225. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $42,788 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Amityville the median house takes about 35 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 80 to 95 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $611,250 (Amityville median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$30,563 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$12,225 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 35 days (Amityville median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 80 to 95 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $568,463 | The number we put in writing |
Assumptions: 5% commission and about 2% seller closing costs on the listing side, and both move from deal to deal. Repairs and the cost of holding the house are not deducted, since they vary by property. A well-kept house with a good agent can come out ahead of a cash sale, and if that describes yours we will say it.
What happens if the arrears keep running
The single most useful thing you can do about mortgage arrears today is find out exactly where you stand. What the payoff is, whether anything has been filed, and what the house is actually worth.
Those three facts take about a week to assemble and they turn a vague dread into a decision you can make. We will do the third one for free and tell you honestly what the other two mean, whether or not the answer involves selling to us.
Common questions
How far behind on the mortgage is too far?
We have bought Suffolk County houses from owners a couple of payments behind and from owners whose arrears had been running a long time. What changes is the payoff and how much room is left in it, not whether there is a conversation worth having.
Can you pay off my arrears and let me stay in the house?
That is not what we do. Anyone offering to clear your arrears in exchange for the deed while you stay on as a tenant is offering something you should put in front of an attorney before you sign it. We buy houses outright, and that is the whole of it.
Will selling cover the arrears?
If the house is worth more than the payoff, yes, and the balance is yours. If it is not, you are looking at a short sale, which needs the lender's agreement to take less than it is owed. We can work one of those with you.
Should I keep making partial payments?
Ask a HUD-approved housing counselor or an attorney before you decide, because servicers treat partial payments differently and some hold them in suspense rather than applying them to the arrears. It is worth one call before you send money.
Does being in arrears stop me selling an Amityville house?
Not at all. Owners in arrears sell houses every day. The mortgage, the arrears and the fees are all cleared out of the closing proceeds, which is exactly why the payoff figure decides everything.