Save a house from foreclosure or try to sell?

Long story short: I'm mired in student loan debt and I'm 5 months behind on my mortgage. I'm trying to get my ducks in a row and I'm meeting with a credit counselor and all that jazz. My basic question is this: my house is definitely a fixer-upper and wouldn't be worth much. I live in southwest Ohio and everyone I know has had TONS of problems trying to sell their houses. No one is buying good houses that don't need work let alone places like mine. Should I just file bankruptcy and try to get out of the house (I know what this would do to my credit, trust me) or should I still try to sell? My family has outgrown the house and we're just miserable here, but I'm just not sure what to do.

And please remember the cardinal rule: If you can't say anything nice, please refrain from saying anything at all.

Any help, especially stories of experience, would be helpful.

I'm from Ohio, so I definitely know that selling is tough right now. A house is just a house, and if you're in over your head you should probably sell it and start over. As far as I know, you cannot file bankruptcy on student loans.

If you decide to sell, you can advertise the property on my site FREE, and there are a lot of other sites you can advertise as well. I know a lot of real estate agents too that might be able to help you sell it, and could help you negotiate selling it short sale. If you are that far behind on your mortgage, you're running out of time to sell honestly you need to make your decision quickly.

Here is where you can post the house, good luck to you, e-mail me with any questions:

http://www.brokershawna.com/Open-Realty

I wouldn't ordinarily give this answer but in your case, since there is a high track record of houses not selling well in your area then I would have to say file bankruptcy. Although this should actually be the last result I think you know whats best for you and sometimes you have to fall down hard enough so that it hurts and get back up and start your life all over again so that you can get on the right track next time, good luck.

See if the credit counselor has any bright ideas.

Could you tolerate having some renters perhaps? You might be able to either rent to someone else (and you live elsewhere) or even though you're clearly cramped, might find that renting A room would help keep you from foreclosure. Sometimes there are folks whose jobs eat up so much time they might be amenable to this kind of deal and wouldn't be that much trouble. Long-shot, but you're in a pickle, so I'm trying to think of anything. Possibly a pastor would know someone who would fit that description.

At times there are real estate investors who might be interested in buying, and possibly letting you rent, even doing some repairs while you're there. (If you ever watch TLC or HGTV I've seen Jim Davis programs on both. He's a real estate investor in I believe it's North Carolina who owns Trademark Properties. I've seen segments where he has done just what I said. I have no idea if any other group of investors with his kind of resources have decided to do some of this or not in your area.

When something this major happens to so many, there could be programs or such that someone has in the works or up and running that will address this issue.

Obviously if you have stuff you can sell, if you can get extra work, etc. these things might fix things for awhile at least. The market WILL come back--the question is will it do so soon enough for YOU.

Good luck.

Save the house at all costs. You do not want a foreclosure on your credit report. A student loan default is much less complicated to work out.

I have an investment property in SW Ohio that recently appraised only a few thousand above what I paid for it 10 years ago. I understand your situation. If you can possibly find a way to keep the house and try to ride out this market, that's probably the best option. Good luck, and hope you get some solid advice from the credit counselor.