Answer
Can I sell a Virginia house that still has a mortgage?
Momentum Properties can look at a Virginia house that still has a mortgage, including one that is current. Most sales pay the loan at closing. The amount comes from the servicer’s payoff, and the settlement statement is where that payment is written down. Being behind is a different kind of pressure, but the loan is still a payoff either way.
General information, not legal advice and not credit advice.
Who says how much is owed?
The loan servicer issues the payoff. A monthly statement is a clue, not the figure the settlement agent wires. Ask for a written payoff and give it to the settlement agent. The payoff comes from the lender or servicer.
If you are current, the sale can still pay the loan off. If you are behind, bring the letter and the date. A sale does not pause the lender. The behind-on-payments page is for that situation. When the loan is still there, that is the question to start with.
How does the payoff get paid?
Virginia Code § 55.1-1008 requires the settlement agent to handle deposited funds in a fiduciary capacity and to apply them only as the written instructions say. A settlement statement or closing disclosure signed by the seller and the purchaser or borrower is sufficient written instruction, and it has to identify the settlement agent by name and business address. The section is at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter10/section55.1-1008/.
Read that as a rule about following the statement, not as a statute that names your lender. If the signed statement lists the payoff, that is the instruction. If the payoff is missing, do not sign on the hope that someone will add it later. Ask for a revised draft.
What if the loan is larger than the offer?
Then a cash offer may not cover the debt. We will tell you that after we see the payoff and the house. We do not promise the lender will accept less. That agreement, if it ever happens, is between you and the lender, in writing from them.
A listing does not remove the payoff either. A higher list price still has to clear the loan, the settlement costs, and the time you carry the house. Compare the written cash offer with what you would net on a listing before you pick.
What should you bring to the first call?
The address, the servicer’s name, and whether you are current. If a notice has a sale date, say so on the first call and read the foreclosure guide. Photos of the house help. They do not replace the payoff letter.
You can ask Momentum Properties for a cash look or a listing conversation. Either way, the mortgage is a line on the statement, not a reason we refuse to look. A current loan and a late loan use the same kind of payoff letter. The difference is the pressure of a date, not whether the debt exists. Call (540) 547-SELL and say whether the loan is current.
If a notice already names a sale date, say that on the first call and read the foreclosure guide. A form does not pause the lender. If the loan is simply current, the useful papers are the address and the servicer’s written payoff when you have it. Photos help the visit. They do not replace the payoff. The number you keep is the price minus that payoff and the other lines on the draft statement.
Questions
- Do I have to pay the mortgage off before you look?
- No. Momentum Properties can look while the loan is still open. The payoff is handled on the settlement statement if you sell.
- Does the statute itself name my lender’s payoff?
- No. Section 55.1-1008 tells the settlement agent to follow the written instructions. The payoff amount comes from your servicer and is written on the statement.
- What if I am behind on payments?
- Call with the date on the letter. A form does not stop a lender. Start with the behind-on-payments page if that is your situation.
Call (540) 547-SELL or send the address.