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 Port Washington 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
The median has slipped 2.51% year over year as of 2026-10. It is a small move, but a softening market punishes the houses that need work first - buyers with choices do not choose the project. A $1,228,370 median means Port Washington buyers are financing heavily and scrutinising accordingly. Appraisals are tighter, inspections are more thorough, and a property that will not satisfy a lender has a very small retail audience. The median house here goes under contract in about 34 days, which is quick for Long Island. It is also a figure that only applies to property in showable condition.
Port Washington is roughly 16,753 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11050, and the housing stock is mostly colonial, tudor, split-level. Around Main Street and Port Washington Boulevard, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Port Washington stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Nassau County for 15+ years. We know what the Port Washington Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
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
Each of the following comes with a retail listing of a house in mortgage arrears, and none of it comes with ours.
- Agent commission
- $61,419 at 5% of the Port Washington median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $24,567 on a $1,228,370 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Per truckload, before anyone views it none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities across the 79 to 94 days it takes to find a buyer and then wait on their lender 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 Port Washington
These are the two routes open to you with a house in mortgage arrears, priced against what Port Washington houses actually sell for.
Work it against Port Washington's own numbers. The median sale here is $1,228,370. A 5% commission on that is $61,419, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $24,567. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $85,986 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 Port Washington 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 | $1,228,370 (Port Washington median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$61,419 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$24,567 | 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 (Port Washington 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 | $1,142,384 | 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 Port Washington house and we will be straight with you about whether the timing works.
Common questions
How far behind on the mortgage is too far?
We have bought Nassau County houses from owners a couple of payments behind and from owners whose arrears had been running a long time. What changes is the payoff and how much room is left in it, not whether there is a conversation worth having.
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 Port Washington 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?
Ask a HUD-approved housing counselor or an attorney before you decide, because servicers treat partial payments differently and some hold them in suspense rather than applying them to the arrears. It is worth one call before you send money.
Does being in arrears stop me selling a Port Washington house?
Not at all. Owners in arrears sell houses every day. The mortgage, the arrears and the fees are all cleared out of the closing proceeds, which is exactly why the payoff figure decides everything.