Short Sales Explanation view more info & other blogs: www.DistressedPortlandHomes.com

The Term Short Sale is relatively new in the eye of the public, and with most things that are unfamiliar there is some confusion. I would

like to explain with a little bit of clarity. There are several terms that are being throw about with reckless abandon largely unknown to the general public; Short Sale, Foreclosure, Pre-foreclosure, Bank Owned & REO. You can read about the others mentioned

This particular blog we'll focus on Short Sales.

First of all, what is a short sale? A short sale is a situation in which in order to sell your house the current market value is not high enough to cover the full payment of the mortgage or other liens on your property. For example you need to sell the house, you have it listed for $280,000 the only offers you receive are for $260,000. Minus the 6% for broker fees the 800-1200 for title insurance (you have to provide the buyer with fully equitable title, oh...that and you don't want to be sued later) that leaves you roughly $243,000 whoops! You need $260,000 just to pay your mortgage. It's time for a short sale.

Why would I get a shortsale? Imagine that you have to sell, can't afford the mortgage payments, you've been in an accident, you need to move out of state because you have a crazy ex girlfriend (is that just me?), in any case you have to sell your home. You can't afford to move, you can't afford the payments, you want to avoid foreclosure. There are many instances for the why, and usually they vary from case to case,

How would I get a Short sale? Well this is something that the bank you have chosen to purchase your house with will decide. Most typically you will need to first have your home on market, get the short sale packet from your bank. They will ask you for a thorough picture of what you are getting a short sale for, hard ship letter, bank statements, tax returns (not every short sale request is approved unfortunately) ect. You will then need to have an offer from the bank (this is not always the case but it makes the process SO much easier) when you have the offer from the bank you will submit it with your short sale packet and wait. It is vitally important that you follow up with whomever is handling the file. You should also keep in mind that it may take days if not weeks for them to actually assign a person to you and your file.

Time Lines:

Depending on the bank and their overall process you can expect start to finish anywhere from 90-180 days so the more of the leg work and paper work you can have ready and waiting the better.

Overall Process:

1. Get a short sale packet from your bank(s) that you have your mortgage(s) from

2. Have your home on market price it to get an offer in the door

3. Submit your packet and offer to the appropriate office of the bank

4. Follow up! Follow up! But above all make sure you follow up. (There are thousands of short sales out there, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease)

5. Close on your home and move on with your life, your credit will not be perfect but it's MUCH better then foreclosure.

Realistically you should have a real estate professional involved, the process is just that, a process.

Please feel free to E-mail me with any questions you might have.

Thanks for reading; and please visit my website: www.DistressedPortlandHomes.com

Jason H. Gomes

Prudential NW Properties

1925 NW Amberglen Parkway Suite #100

Beaverton OR 97006

cell: 503.608.8785

As times have changed and real estate agents no longer have an iron clad grip on all the information, people now have the ability to access property info at their leisure.

Why look through foreclosures, short sales, distressed properties when there is an easier answer?

So why do you need to use a realtor to get a great deal? The short answer is, much of the information is released but not all of it.For instance a great resource for people that are looking to buy, expired listings. Just getting a list of expired listings isn't necessarily without unrestricted access to MLS, it not widely posted on any major website that I'm aware of. These are people that want to sell, have tried to sell, and have been listed already with a real estate agent. Catching people in the transition between when their listings go expired, and they relist with another agent you can save anywhere from 3-5% off the listing price.

Explanation:For everyone that does not know what I am talking about. When homes are put into the RMLS you need to sign an agreement for the advertisement & sale of the property. These contracts by law need to have a date where they are automatically void. These listings once are voided must be kept on file for a certain period of time (several years). You can actually look at expired listings just like you can look for active listings.

Being creative you can save money, work with people who are eager to sell, and willing to negotiate. The end result getting you a great deal with a good experience for all parties involved.

Thanks for reading!

Jason H. Gomes
www.DistressedPortlandHomes.com

We are in a shifting market, there's no doubt of that. I'm mean from just Feb-March about 25% of real estate brokers up and left the business! In a month, can you believe it. No wonder the public is an in uproar, when the people that are SUPPOSE to understand the market panic, and leave the business.

Well here's what's happening, as it always happens, real estate is acting in cycles. Right now we are in a strong buyers market. This is going to mean strong competion between sellers, and more on market for buyers to choose from. People might say that this is a crash, it's a dip, that is proportional to the massive boost in real estate that we've been seeing for th better part of the last decade. The real estate market became bloated by the over appreciation of homes.

What people don't seem to understand is that this is exactly what needs to happen for our market to maintain, it cannot always be a buyers market, or a sellers market. Things have to transition and stay in balance.

If you're buying and selling in the same market, in the same price range, it's really a wash. If you're moving up, it works in your favor, if you lose 5% on the home your selling you have to take into account the money that you will save on your next home purchase.

Jason H. Gomes

www.GomesHomes.net