What we bring when you are behind on the mortgage
Falling behind on mortgage payments brings a lot of noise with it: letters, phone calls, and several parties offering help of varying quality.
We are straightforward about what we are. We buy houses, we can close quickly and quietly, and a sale that pays off the mortgage and the missed payments together ends the problem on a date you choose. We also know who to send you to if keeping the Northport house is the better outcome, and we would rather make that introduction than take you somewhere you should not go.
Three real options when you are behind on mortgage payments
Curing missed mortgage payments means the servicer agreeing to a workout: a modification that folds the arrears into the mortgage balance, a forbearance that pauses mortgage payments, or a repayment plan stacked on top of the regular mortgage. Servicers have discretion about all of it and nobody can guarantee an outcome, so start early and let a HUD-approved counselor make the case for you.
Selling is the other real answer. It ends the missed mortgage payments completely and, where there is equity, leaves money in your pocket rather than in fees.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A house on Orchard Drive. A house on Gail Court. A house on Ashwood Court. All of them in Northport, all bought by us.
Northport is roughly 7,347 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11768, and the housing stock is mostly victorian, colonial, cape cod. Around Main Street and Northport Harbor, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Northport stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We know which of these streets take water, where the older systems fail first, and what the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District does to a resale price.
Why you need the payoff in writing before anything else
Two numbers settle everything here: the mortgage payoff including missed payments, and what the house is genuinely worth today.
We will put the second one in writing for you after one visit, at no cost. The first one only the servicer can give you. If the house is worth more than the mortgage payoff, selling clears the missed payments and you keep the difference. If it is not, you are looking at a short sale, and we can work one of those with you rather than sending you elsewhere.
What missed mortgage payments cost you every month they run
The slow pace of all this in New York is the trap. Nothing appears to happen for long stretches, so waiting feels safe, and the missed mortgage payments climb quietly the whole time.
People assume the dangerous moment is a court date. Financially, the damage accumulates for months before that. By the time missed mortgage payments reach the later stages, the mortgage payoff can be materially higher than the original balance, and the difference is money that would otherwise have been yours.
What you do not pay when you sell a house in mortgage arrears
These are the costs of putting a house in mortgage arrears on the market through an agent. None of them apply when you sell to us.
- Agent commission
- $47,500 at 5% of the Northport median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $19,000 on a $950,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Everything a buyer would flag, paid for before you list none
- Cleanout and removal
- Dumpsters or haulers by the load, ahead of any viewing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities while you spend 79 to 94 days finding a buyer and waiting for their loan none
A private sale while you are behind on the mortgage
Court filings become public record, which owners in arrears usually discover at the worst possible moment. A private sale does not.
We buy directly, so the only people who know are the ones you tell and the attorneys handling the closing. You choose the date, you tell whoever you want to tell, and nothing about the arrears gets advertised in your own neighborhood.
What the two paths cost in Northport
These are the two routes open to you with a house in mortgage arrears, priced against what Northport houses actually sell for.
Work it against Northport's own numbers. The median sale here is $950,000. A 5% commission on that is $47,500, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $19,000. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $66,500 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 Northport the median house takes about 34 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 79 to 94 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 | $950,000 (Northport median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$47,500 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$19,000 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 34 days (Northport 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 | 79 to 94 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 | $883,500 | The number we put in writing |
The agent column uses a 5% commission and about 2% of seller closing costs, which are typical rather than fixed. It leaves out repairs and holding costs because no two houses are alike there. Where a house is in good condition, listing with a capable agent can beat our number, and we will be upfront if that is the case.
What happens if the arrears keep running
Early arrears are a workout conversation. Later arrears are a legal one, and by then you want an attorney rather than a phone call.
We work with owners at every stage of this, including cases that have already been filed, and a filed case does not prevent a sale. It adds a clock and some coordination between the attorneys. Tell us where things stand with the arrears on a Northport house and we will be straight with you about whether the timing works.
Common questions
How far behind on the mortgage is too far?
There is no fixed point, and it depends on where the lender has got to rather than on the number of missed payments. Call earlier rather than later, and speak to an attorney at the same time.
Can you pay off my arrears and let me stay in the house?
No. We buy houses, we do not lend against them, and we are not going to offer you a rent-back arrangement dressed up as a rescue. Be careful with anyone who does.
Will selling cover the arrears?
That depends entirely on the payoff set against what a Northport house like yours is worth. Get the payoff in writing and we will give you the value in writing, and then you will know rather than guess.
Should I keep making partial payments?
We are not going to tell you what to do with your money, but we will tell you it is a question worth asking a counselor. How partial payments get applied against arrears varies by servicer, and the answer matters.
Does being in arrears stop me selling a Northport house?
No. Arrears are paid from the proceeds at closing like anything else secured against the property. The title company obtains a payoff figure, the mortgage and the arrears are settled out of it, and the balance goes to you.