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Options to Leave Your Home

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Learn about options to help you get back on track and avoid foreclosure.
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Avoid foreclosure
Homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage payments are facing tough choices—do you stay in a home you may no longer be able to afford or should you try to leave? While it may be difficult to think about leaving your home and making this decision, it may be the best option if other solutions to keep you in your home are no longer viable.

Don’t just walk away from your home. There are better options. The most important thing is to avoid foreclosure—and options may be available to assist you if you are ready to leave your home. Some options may even offer cash incentives to help you move and transition into different housing. Now’s the time to take action before it’s too late.

Here’s an overview of possible options when you can no longer stay in your home but want to avoid foreclosure:

Short Sale
Deed-in-Lieu

A short sale is the sale of a home for less than the balance remaining on your mortgage. If your mortgage company agrees to a short sale, you can sell your home and pay off all (or a portion of) your mortgage balance with the proceeds.

Eliminate or reduce your remaining mortgage debt
Assistance for relocation may be available
Start repairing your credit sooner than if you went through a foreclosure
May be able to get another Fannie Mae mortgage to purchase a home sooner (in as little as 2 years) than if you went through foreclosure (at least 7 years)

With a Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure (DIL), you transfer the ownership of your property to the owner of your mortgage in exchange for a release from your loan and payments.

Eliminate or reduce your mortgage debt
May be eligible for relocation assistance
Start repairing your credit sooner than if you went through a foreclosure
May be able to get a Fannie Mae mortgage to purchase a home sooner (in as little as 2 years) than if you went through foreclosure (at least 7 years)