Can you sell a house that is not paid off and still has a mortgage? What happens to the proceeds of the home sale? There are many reasons that someone would want to sell their home, even if they haven’t paid it off yet. Maybe you’ve found another property in a better location and are worried that prices will continue to go up in your area. Maybe you had an accident or illness and can’t get back into the workforce, making it difficult to pay your mortgage. No matter what the reason, learn what happens to your mortgage when you sell your home.

Can You Sell A House With a Mortgage?

You can sell your house if you still owe on it. Selling a house with a mortgage is a common practice, as most homeowners do not pay off their mortgages prior to selling their homes. This can be a best practice for the homeowner, as not only are you selling the home for more than you owe, but you’ll also have some extra money at the end of the transaction.

What Happens To Your Mortgage When You Sell Your House?

When you sell your home, the mortgage company will be paid the amount of the mortgage. What’s leftover then be disbursed to you, minus any charges that may be assessed, such as Realtor commissions. If you sell your home for less than what you owe, you will need to work with the lender to come up with a solution.

After you accept an offer for your home but before closing, you are still responsible for paying your mortgage until it is officially sold. Many things can happen between an offer and closing. If the deal falls through, you’d be behind on your mortgage. You are still responsible for the mortgage payments while you own the home.

What is Negative Equity?

Negative equity occurs when the market value of a property is less than the outstanding mortgage. It’s often referred to as being in the red or owing more on your property than it is worth. There are a number of reasons why negative equity can exist.

Here are a few common reasons why negative equity can occur:

• Purchased a home during a housing bubble
• Recession
• Lack of equity when the home was purchased
• Second mortgages

Negative equity doesn’t mean that you can’t sell your home. Some homeowners opt to wait to sell until there is more equity in their homes so that they don’t owe anything when they sell their houses.

What Happens To Your Mortgage When You Sell Your House and Buy Another?

Many homeowners need the proceeds from selling their house to purchase another house. You can try to line up the closing dates for your initial home and your new one to be the same day. However, in the event that this doesn’t work out, it is possible that you may have to pay two mortgages at the same time for a short period of time or find somewhere temporary to live in between the transactions.

In some cases, you can continue to live in the home while you search for and close on your new house. This contingency is possible when the buyer will accept those terms. Either the deal is contingent upon you closing on another property or you can pay rent to the new owner for a short period to continue living in the house.

If you are selling your home and buying another home with the same lender, then it is possible that they may offer some assistance. Your lender may allow you to defer the payment of your second mortgage interest while you are in the process of buying another home. They might even have other options available if you ask.

Is It Worth It To Pay Off Your Mortgage Before Selling Your House?

There are many factors that should be considered before making a decision about whether to pay off your mortgage on a home before selling it, including the time and interest you will save. While this may seem like an appealing way to free up funds for other investments, deciding not to do so can have benefits as well. You should consider the following information to better understand if paying off your debt is the right choice for you.

When you sell your house without a mortgage, you get to keep more of the proceeds of the sale since you do not have to pay back the mortgage first. However, paying off your mortgage early could have tax implications. You might be eligible to receive tax savings for the interest that you pay on your mortgage. If you don’t have a mortgage, you wouldn’t be eligible for these deductions.

Ultimately, the decision is yours, but you should understand the consequences of your actions. You may choose to pay off your mortgage early if you want to save money through lower interest costs or if you have a particularly high-interest rate. If you plan on moving, it might be a smarter decision to keep your finances more fluid and less invested in the house.

Considerations for Selling Your House When You Already Have a Mortgage

1. What’s Your Home Worth?

Before you sell, you should find out how much your home is worth. If it’s not worth enough to offset your mortgage, then selling won’t be in your best interest. If it is worth more than what you owe on your mortgage and liens, then you can cover the full cost of what’s left on your mortgage easily from the sale of the house.

2. Estimate Your Proceeds

Once you have your home’s value, you need to figure out how much money you can expect to get from the sale. The better your home is in terms of condition and location, the more these two factors will help sell it quickly and for a higher price.

3. Set a Realistic Price for Your Home

Setting a realistic price is one of the most underrated and challenging aspects of selling your home, especially if you have a mortgage. You can set your price too high, and you may not get the house sold. However, you can also set it too low that it may not cover what you are owed on your mortgage.

If you have a second mortgage or a HELOC loan, you will need to generate enough from the sale of your home to cover those debts, too. When you set the price for your home, be sure to include these debts in your totals. Ideally, you will not end up owing money in the process. By setting a realistic price based on what the market will tolerate and your personal financial situation, you can avoid this.

4. Have a Plan

You should have a plan with your goal in mind before you begin the selling process. Are you selling your home because you need a larger one because you have a bigger family now? Do you need to move to a different city and sell your home because you are transferring to a job? When you are in a situation where you need to move, there could be intangible benefits to selling your home worth potentially taking a small loss.

Your house is a significant part of your life and personal finances. When you make the decision to sell it with a plan, it can help you to move forward and reach new goals. It is critical to have an idea of what you want to happen before you start the process to ensure the best outcome. Sometimes selling your home faster is more important to reach your goals than anything else.

How Long Does It Take To Sell a House?

The average time it takes to sell a house is 50 days. However, there are other ways to sell a house without a Realtor quickly so you can move on to the next chapter of your life.

To sell my house fast and bypass the long wait associated with the conventional real estate process, selling a home for cash can take place quickly without many of the steps associated with a buyer that needs to first secure a mortgage.

You can sell a house that is not paid off. When you sell a house that is not paid off, the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay off the mortgage. If you still owe money on your mortgage after selling your home, you will need to make arrangements with your lender regarding how much money is left on your loan.