Economic Hardships: Selling homes to avoid foreclosure

The Mortgage Won't Adjust to Your New Reality

Your lender doesn't see your medical records. Or your layoff notice. Or the slow season that cut your hours in half. All it sees is a due date-and whether or not the payment was made.

When income drops significantly, the mortgage often becomes the first and loudest alarm. You might try to stretch every dollar, skip other bills, or borrow from family. But unless your income rises again fast, the gap keeps widening.

For many, the math simply stops working.

Delaying Too Long Shrinks Your Options

It's tempting to wait. To believe things will turn around. To hope for a better job, a miracle refinance, or a sudden financial windfall.

But time is not neutral in this process. The longer you delay action, the more payments you miss. The more your credit is affected. The more pressure builds. And the more difficult it becomes to sell your home on your own terms, with dignity and control.

Selling Isn't Giving Up. It's Choosing What to Protect

This part is hard to say-but important.

Selling your home before foreclosure is not a sign of failure. It's a strategic decision. For many, it's a way to:

• Protect remaining equity

• Avoid foreclosure on their credit

• Exit with control and time to plan their next steps

• Preserve emotional and mental stability for themselves and their family

You may love your home. You may have worked hard for it. But if keeping it is costing your health, peace, or financial foundation, it may be time to ask a difficult but empowering question: Is holding on still the best path forward?

Your Health and Stability Matter, Too

When money gets tight, stress rises fast. Relationships strain. Sleep gets lighter. Children feel the tension. And the house-the place that was once your sanctuary-starts to feel like a source of shame or fear.

These emotional costs are real. And they're often overlooked when we talk about foreclosure.

The decision to sell isn't just financial. It's about preserving your ability to move forward without burnout, guilt, or resentment. It's about giving yourself permission to find a new chapter that's built on solid ground.

What You Should Evaluate

Before deciding whether to sell, take time to assess the full picture of your real estate situation:

• How far behind are you on mortgage payments?

• Do you still have equity in your home?

• Has your income changed permanently or temporarily?

• Are repair costs adding to your burden?

• Is your health or family life being affected by the pressure?

• Could selling allow you to recover financially and start fresh?

These questions won't give you instant answers. But they'll help you shift out of survival mode and into decision-making mode-one step at a time.

What You'll Find on This Website

We don't offer one-on-one support. But we've created a resource library designed to help homeowners like you navigate big decisions under pressure. If you're facing hardship due to a significant income drop, and you're considering the possibility of selling your home, the materials we've gathered are built to give you:

• Perspective

• Practical guidance

• Clarity around next steps

• Tools to evaluate your options

You can explore these resources anytime-privately, on your own schedule, without judgment, fees, or pressure.

Because the home you worked for should never become the weight that holds you down. And selling, when done with intention, can be a way to protect your future-not surrender your past.

KING COUNTY REAL ESTATE HELP Helping homeowners make clear, confident decisions in the hardest of times.