5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure in Howard County MD - Step 3

Step 3 – Call Today – Don’t Delay!

Every day counts in terms of getting the short sale process started and beginning to negotiate with your mortgage company(ies).  Don’t wait!  Get a Realtor involved immediately!  (Need a Realtor?  See my last blogpost on Finding a Realtor.)

First, your Realtor will need to get your house listed, just like in a regular Howard County MD home sale.  And hopefully, fully marketed, photographed, staged, the works.  Maximum exposure immediately in order to attract a buyer and bring forth an offer to present to the bank.

At the same time, you’ll be authorizing your Realtor to communicate with your lender and negotiate with them on your behalf.  We need the time to work with the banks and ensure all necessary paperwork is submitted and received.  We need to know who all the parties are (first mortgage, second mortgage, home equity line of credit, etc).  It is imperative that your Realtor has assembled a complete and thorough short sale package, complying with each individual lender’s requirements.  Many lenders will now accept these packages up front, so that when an offer is received, everything else had already been documented and the process can move along more quickly from that point.

And then as soon as an offer is received, and becomes a viable ratified contract between you, the Seller, and the potential Buyer, it can be submitted to the lender(s).  Generally lenders will hold off on foreclosure if they can see these steps are being taken and they receive a contract they can work with.

So don’t tie our hands in the process of trying to help you avoid foreclosure.  We can help you, and we want to help you, but call today, so that we have the time from the bank to do our jobs.  If you are behind on your mortgage payments, or even if you’re not, but you know you will be, it’s not too early to get started.  And the sooner you get started, the higher the chance of success for a successful short sale.  Far too many homeowners do NOT reach out for help, and simply let their homes go into foreclosure.  Hiring an experienced Realtor is a viable option in your situation, protecting your credit record, protecting security clearances, protecting your future.  And then you can put this behind you and move forwards.

Did you miss the first Step to Avoiding Foreclosure?   Step 1 |  Step 2 |

Best regards, Gretchen