Q: Getting out of a bad mortgage with little to no damage to credit.
My husband and I bought a house in 2022, we bought it while in a different state so we never saw it in person. They needed to fix the foundation before the sale could go through and when they did it caused a lot of damage to the house, plumbing was detached and ruined, the chimney detached and caused leaks, walls cracked and buckled. So needless to say it now needs a lot of work. On top of that our mortgage just went up 25% percent and now we can no longer afford to pay the mortgage and definitely can’t afford to repair all the damages. My husband really wants to just walk away from the house because of all the stress it has caused but I don’t want my credit ruined. What are some options for getting out of this house?
A: Assuming your Lender is not the same person or entity as the Seller, your best strategy to avoid harming your credit is to sell the house "as-is" to an investor and pay off the mortgage. Given the problems you describe, you will likely lose much of your equity and may even have to pony up funds to pay off the mortgage, especially if you had a smaller down payment.
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