While previewing property in Big Bear today and looked at some really good listings as well as some that I thought were overpriced.  Some of these well priced listings were homes being sold as short sales.  Whenever I see a home being sold as a short sale, I start to wonder if this is a property that can be sold as a short sale.  You see, many agents in Big Bear take these listings without ever checking to see if the home qualifies for the short sale.  When they speak to the home owner, they tell them what the house is worth. When they find out that the person owes more than the current market value; they automatically suggest a short sale.  There are others who decide that because they now owe more on the home than it's worth, they will simply short sale it and get rid of it.  It's not quite that simple!

What does it take to qualify a home for a short sale?

The first thing piece of the short sale puzzle is that the property owner must be in a financial hardship if he keeps the property.  The property owner will be asked to document in writing what the hardship is.  The next piece of the puzzle is the banks willingness to work with the home owner on a short sale.  A call needs to be made to your lenders loss mitigation dept. to see what options are available for you.  Lenders have different trigger points that they must explore before selling the property short or foreclosing on it.  Once the decision is made that you are going to sell the home as a short sale, you will need to gather some financial documentation that is going to be required.    For example, the bank will normally ask for two years of tax statements, you're last two months bank statements, two months of paystubs, your financial statement and our hardship letter.

Picking your Realtor to sell your Short Sale.

Once you have the bank's blessing to sell the property short and you have all of your documentation in place, the next step is to find a qualified Realtor who is experienced in Short Sales.  You want to find a Realtor who is experienced in listing and selling short sale homes.  The last thing you want is a Realtor with no experience in short sales.  When you interview your Realtor, don't be afraid to ask them how many Short Sales they have closed.  The Realtor should be asking you questions about your hardship, contacts with the bank, and they should be asking about how many loans you have against the property.  If they are not asking questions like this, then be careful about hiring him as your Realtor.  Once you have chosen your Realtor, let him do his job.   He is going to list the property for what it's worth and not what you owe.  The value that your Realtor is going to put on the property is a value that he can substantiate with comparable sales.  There may be a large difference between what you owe and what the Realtor is suggesting that you sell for.  Again, listen to him and follow his advice. 

I'm a Realtor who specializes in Short Sales and Bank Owned properties in the Big Bear Valley in Southern California.  If you are interested in buying a Short Sale, or need to sell a cabin the  Big Bear Valley, please let me know.  I am happy to answer any of your questions and help you in any way that I can