So What is this Thing Called a Short Sale???

So you ask yourself - what is this Short Sale thing?  A short sale in real estate terms is a sale where the lender has accepted less than what is owned on the current mortgage.  With the current state of the economy many people have lost their jobs, reduced work hours or perhaps other life changes such as (divorce, medical crisis, death, etc.). 

When you lose your total income or your income is reduced you may not be able to pay your mortgage.  Once you miss several payments your home is in default and the lender may start the foreclosure process.  This is the judicial or administrative process depending on your state where the lender starts the process of obtaining the home.

Before you let your home to foreclosure you have the option of doing a loan modification or a short sale to prevent the foreclosure.  If you don't qualify for a loan modification your other choice is a short sale.

What can you expect during the short sale process.  You will have to gather your financial paperwork, a hardship letter, income tax, bank statements and other lender specific paperwork.  A monthly budget showing your income and expenses must also be included.  You also must have a hardship letter which details the reason why you are behind on your payments.

Once you have this paperwork completed we list your home and wait for a buyer to put in an offer to purchase your home.

Once we have an offer that is acceptable to you, your realtor will submit the offer, listing agreement, financial paperwork, hardship letter, and a HUD-1 to the lender's short sale department or loss mitigation department.

Once the lender's internal process starts a BPO is ordered, a negotiator is assigned and negotiations will start betweent the bank.  The bank will either accept the offer as is or counter the offer.  Once the offer is accepted all parties are notified and we start the closing process.

The buyer goes through their lender to obtain their mortgage = gets approved - gets a "clear to close" and attorney's schedule the closing at the title company or escrow agent depending on the state.

You are able to remove the debt and sell your home with the lender picking up the majority of the selling costs - realtor commission, transfer fees, property taxes, attorney fees, etc.

More than likely you will not have a tax consequence if it's your primary home due to the passing of the 2007 Mortgage Forgiveness Act - read this and check with your tax consultant:

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html

You don't have to lose sleep worrying about the past due mortgage payments or having your home sold at sheriff's sale and being evicted from your home.

You will get a hit on your credit score but will be able to rebuild your credit faster as you are able to start paying your other bills and getting back on your feet.  Currently FHA will give you a loan after 3 years after a short sale.

So don't lose any more sleep....contact me to get the process started.