Upside down on your Pensacola Mortgage, Here is the upside.

Looking for a Short Sale or Foreclosure in Pensacola, Florida (Click Here)

The latest thing to happen in the Real Estate Industry is Short Sales and everyone is quite the expert. Don't be a victim twice, do the research and find out if this is for you.

Every lender is different, but I have found that you have to get to the loss mitigation dept. and you have to stay on top of them to the point of calling sometimes as much as four times a day. Get your offer to the board as quickly as possible because they will ultimately make the decision no matter what you've been told. It has to go to the board and most boards meet every thirty days and go over short sales for the past thirty days, then make the decisions to accept, turn down or put on hold.

Here is how I package a deal, hope it helps.

I include a hardship letter from the sellers and it has to be hard, not just that the market is bad(boo hoo) if that is all you've got, forget it. It has to be a Job loss, medical crisis, something that means the seller cannot pay this loan back.

Then the board wants to know how close is the offer to the loan amount. I have found that banks will take as much as 35% less than owed. I have heard but not confirmed that it cost the banks as much as 28%  to foreclose including trying to collect the loan, court cost, attorney fees etc., then you can figure the cost of maintaining the property etc. and use that as your benchmark.

I include a HUD 1 from the title company ( this is a must), I have found that you have to be willing to negotiate the Realtors Fee with 2% being the norm but hey I have collected 6 in the last month.

The Board will want an appraisal less than 30 days old if they don't have one they will order one, this is where time is wasted by the banks because everybody and his brother at the bank thinks someone else has ordered it. I furnish them with two BPOs if possible, one from me and one from another agent at another company that I work closely with. The board is really impressed with this and can shave a lot of time off your deal.

I take photos of the comps as well as the subject and send with the package.

Pre-approval letter for buyers, make sure it doesn't show more than the offered price( common sense you would think).

Even with these you're looking at 30 days depending when the board meets, but if these are not done it will take 4 to 6 months.

It goes without saying but I will say it anyway. Remember there is a $10 an hour clerk that is answering the phone and most of the time handling the deal and they leave at five everyday whether you like it or not. So always and I mean always be nice to everyone you talk to, it really does get you to the next person or level.

Charles Stallions, CRS, CSP, CBR, CDPS, SREE, EREI - 800-309-3414, a leader in real estate investing, buying and selling. Lead Real Estate negotiator for several investment clubs as well as investors throughout the US. Call Charles for a list of references before buying or selling you what some consider being their largest investment.