Step 1 – Do Your Research
Things not going well? House value upside-down? Can’t see a way out? Unfortunately, you’re not alone. But more unfortunately, many Howard County, Maryland homeowners go straight into foreclosure, rather than seeking and receiving help from their lender and a local, knowledgeable Realtor. Don’t let this happen to you!
Here are some of the UNNECESSARY possible complications of going to foreclosure, rather than hiring a Realtor to short sale your house:
- Credit Score: A foreclosure will lower your credit score 250-300 points, affecting your credit score for over three years. A short sale, best case, could only lower your score 50 points, but definitely less than the foreclosure, and for a shorter period of time.
- Security Clearance: A foreclosure would require your security clearance be revoked in most cases, quite possibly resulting in your termination. A short sale is NOT an issue for most security clearances.
- Deficiency Judgments: In foreclosure situations, the bank will NOT receive as much money paid back on their debt, and will therefore be MORE likely to pursue a deficiency judgment on the balance due. In a short sale situation, there will be a lower deficiency, and your Realtor will negotiate with your lender to reduce or eliminate it altogether, along with working to convince the lender to give up the right to pursue any deficiency in the future.
UNNECESSARY COMPLICATIONS Why? Because more and more, lenders ARE willing to work with you. Contacting a Realtor to work on your behalf with your lender, to get your property listed and marketed, to bring you an offer and to work with the bank to get it to closing, is a GOOD, SOLID, VIABLE OPTION!
I’m not saying the process is easy, but it has come leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. It’s definitely worth the effort, in order to protect your credit and your career options in the future.
The short sale option is widely used now, becoming more and more viable as the banks get on board. All it takes is a phone call or an email to a Realtor who understands the process and what the next steps are. Look online, and check out the CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) site, the SFR (Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource – NAR’s designation) sites.
Call someone. Call today.
Best regards, Gretchen
Comments(0)