Protect your clients and yourself. Don't be afraid of short sales but do be prepared.

1. Qualify the sellers financial status. Not every home in jeopardy of foreclosure is a candidate for a short sale. In order to qualify the seller for a short sale you need to gather information about their financial condition:

-request copies of the sellers most recent loan payment coupons and statements

-Gather information on all debt obligations the seller faces.

-Contrast the sellers debt obligations with their real assets, for example if the seller has ownership of other real property, a high wage, sell-able assets the bank may be unwilling to grant a short sale until those assets are liquidated.

This information will help protect you from lender fraud.

2. Gather a property profile from a title company prior to getting the listing.

-I was doing some research on a property recently the clients wanted to list. Once I had the property profile, I realized that the owner of record was different. In addition a mobile home now resided on the property but it did not show up in the records. Needless to say a great deal of work is ahead of the current owners.

3. Refer your clients to proper legal counsel. Financial distress can snowball quickly and overwhelm your client. They need to fully understand their rights and obligations. They need clear understanding on what the benefits of short sale would be over a foreclosure. Whither or not they act on the referral you will have written proof that you made the referral.

Thin you might be a candidate for a short sale? Email me at roundrockhomes@gmail.com