Short Sales are in a class all of their own & with the amount of distressed properties on the market these days increasing daily, there is a need for a local resource of information around this subject.  Homeowners struggling who may be trying to keep their home via  loan modification, sell their house via short sale, or find another solution to their mortgage problems need a place to call, email, etc., for information surrounding the subject.  I gladly offer my services free of charge to anyone that needs help in this arena.  Whether we meet in person, chat over the phone, email, etc., is up to you.  Feel free to contact me anytime for a question, consultation, etc.

So with that being said, here’s a question that I received today.


Question:  Will the IRS come after me for the difference in the amount that I owe and the amount that I short sale the house for?

Per the Debt Foregiveness Act of 2007, if the dwelling is your primary residence, you should not have any tax consequences surrounding a short sale.

Other exceptions may include:

Insolvency:  You debt exceeds your assets.
Bankruptcy:  These debts are not taxable
Non Recourse Loans:  States where a lender’s only remedy is to take back the property.

Disclosure:  Am I an accountant?  No.  Should you consult one per your situation before taking my answers as absolutes?  Yes, if you'd like or need information surrounding this subject.

Tara Camp is a full time real estate agent in Washington that negotiates short sales on behalf of homeowners/sellers all over Washington State.  She lives and works in Bellingham, however, with such a specialized niche, she is able to maintain and service clients state wide.  Short sale services are FREE of charge, as are all the costs of a typical short sale.  She is able to negotiate all fees and deficiencies that a seller might encounter, allowing you to start the future with a clean slate. Contact Tara today.

                         Tara Properties NW |  TaraPropertiesNW@gmail.com | 360-296-3244 |  Keller Williams

It’s a normal thing these days, but still so many people feel alone and just don’t know what to do when faced with foreclosure.  I’m here to give you guidance, insight, and to be a resource if you’re faced with foreclosure now or in the future. 

Foreclosure can be caused by many things;  loss of employment, increase interest rate, illness, decrease in pay, or can be more strategic if you’re making a business decision to cut the ties of your under water property.  No matter what the reason, there are many options in preventing foreclosure that are most often better than letting the property go into foreclosure.

If you’re looking to keep your property, rather than just let it go, the options are going to include a loan modification and/or forbearance.  In my opinion these programs are smoke and mirrors; lenders often offer these options with upfront cost involved, but few actually work out and the money is lost.  These programs are suppose to be offered to everyone, in an effort to “prove” to taxpayers that their tax dollars are being put to use in trying to help drowning homeowners.  Unfortunately, these programs are often a let-down.

For a homeowner that may have come to terms with letting the house go, whether  strategic or not, there are a few other options.  These foreclosure alternatives include doing a short sale or deed in lieu.  A Short Sale is the best option of the two for many reasons.  With a short sale, your qualified short sale agent (Tara Camp), will be able to negotiate with your lender(s) for a full release of the debt...in writing, if she can’t she’ll tell you to run the other way:)  Another benefit of a short sale is that your credit will be salvage somewhat depending on your situation, but typically it will only take a few years to recover your credit, opposed to 7-10 years.  There are also monetary incentives for short selling, which range from $1000-$25,000. 

If you find yourself faced with foreclosure or are considering giving your house back to the bank, please consider your options.  Many people hesitate to find help, but it can make the difference in a lot of money if you don’t consider your options and find out what the implications of a foreclosure are.  Call me today for a FREE confidential consultation.

*A short sale is a free service offered by your lender.  If they tell you that you don’t qualify, give me a call and we can do a 3-way call with them because it's most likely not accurate information given by a bank representative.

Thanks for reading.
~Tara


                         Tara Properties NW |  TaraPropertiesNW@gmail.com | 360-296-3244 |  Keller Williams

Short Sales are a mystery in and of themselves, so I’ll break them down in segments to try to make some sense of the damn things.  So, let me start by taking the mystery out of the short sale pricing...hmm, 1st let me complicate things and say there are probably a few different aspects of pricing that one could get confused about.  So to start, here’s a scenario; as a buyer you see a list price on a home.  You assume that if it’s listed at $100k and you offer $100k, then it’s a deal, right?  Wrong!  Short Sales are short sales, which means no price is final until the deal closes.  Why, one might ask?  Well, because the definition a short sale, means that the seller is selling short of what they owe, therefore, the lender must agree to the final price.  The conundrum lies in the fact that the lender typically will not approve a price without an offer.  Therefore, the listing agent must price the property without knowing what the lender will accept.  Yes, we as agent use comparable sales in order to price the subject property, but still there’s no guarantee that the seller’s lender will accept until negotiations begin...and well, end.

So, what does all that mean?  Agents that list Short Sales must price the property according you what they think a buyer may pay.  From there a buyer makes an offer & negotiations begin with the seller’s lender.  The seller’s lender then must accept or counter the offer.  Once negotiations are finalized, the process moves to closing.  Yay!  Short Sale are the best deals on the market in my opinion, but they are not for everyone.  They take patience, but good things come to those who wait.

TaraPropertiesNW@gmail.com | 360-296-3244 | Keller Williams Western Realty