15 ways to buy time if you can no longer afford your home

There are many reasons you may have to sell your home like moving to assisted living, selling in a probate/trust sale or even divorce. Those are unavoidable and can not be reversed. One that could be reversed is selling because you can no longer afford to keep your home.

I like to tell people to play "red light, green light" with each of their expenses. If the expense is absolutely necessary, then it's a "green light" and they should budget for it. If it is something that can be eliminated from the budget or an expense that they don't need to make now or is unnecessary, then it is a "red light". For those green-lighted items, you should call each account to see if they would lower my interest rate or defer payment. You'd be surprised how many are willing to work with you during this difficult time.

Here are 15 ideas that might help you hold onto your home:

1. Consolidate your high-interest debt and pay off credit cards with high interest by getting a fixed-rate mortgage secured by your home. Contact me for a list of my preferred lenders.

2. Consider a reverse mortgage.

Saving an extra $300-400 a month could be enough for many people to keep their homes in tough times. 

3. Consolidate your phone, internet, and television services or give up your landline completely.

4. Stop using credit cards and only pay cash unless you absolutely need to buy something for your food, shelter, and basic needs.

5. Use less gas by running errands all at once and avoiding unnecessary travel. With the Shelter-in-Place mandate, this one is an easy one. You should try and shop for the best deals on gas when possible as well.

6. Shop for the best deals for auto insurance, health insurance, home insurance, and fire coverage. My preferred vendor for all of these services is Tammie Pereira Insurance Services.

7. Shop for food in bulk at places like Smart & Final, Sam's Club or Costco, where you can get great deals without paying a premium for national brands.

8. Cut back on home services from weekly to twice a month, or do things yourself instead of hiring the service out such as a gardener, pool, house cleaning, car washes, and dog walking.

9. Change your yard to drought resistant and low maintenance plants, which might enable you to maintain it without a gardener.

10. Take in a roommate to share your house debt.

Every little bit helps. Saving an extra $300-400 a month could be enough for many people to keep their homes in tough times. I hate to see people sell when it's for a sad reason, but what makes me even sadder is when it could have been avoided with a good financial plan.

As a final thought, should you have no choice but to sell your home, try to follow the real estate cycle. Interest rates are at a 60-year low and inventory levels are still low here in Santa Clara County. I don't have a crystal ball so I can't tell you how long this will last so if you have to sell, sooner is better than later.