I handle a lot of short sales, in fact the last 3 years has been one short sale after another. I have seen the process change, evolve and finally start to improve as the lenders get their act together. However, through out it all, the one common thread has been that sellers are really sad about losing their home-no matter how much of a financial burden it has become.
However, my most recent closing resulted in an ecstatic seller-WHY? Because he walked away with $20,000 in his pocket, paid right at the close of escrow by his mortgage holder. Wait a minute-I thought the most sellers could receive was $3000 under the government plan, HAFA. It seems that for some very fortunate homeowners, Chase has assigned their mortgage to a pool of eligible loans that qualify for up to $35,000 as a seller incentive!
Talk about a good reason to short sell your home-a chunk of cash like this goes a long way to getting back on your feet and taking some of the financial pressure away. Too bad it's only Chase that is offering this type of incentive-and too bad it's only on a select group of their loans. Chase will actually proactively contact eligible homeowners and notify them by mail about this program.
Funny thing is, many times homeowners don't believe that this is for real, toss it in the trash and there goes the chance for real, tangible assistance to move on with your life. In fact, my seller had this very same reaction-I however KNOW about this Chase program, so I called and asked that his loan be researched. Sure enough-he qualified for $20,000! The home was listed, sold and the incentive was paid at closing.
Whether you agree with this cash incentive or not, it sure can entice a homeowner to sell their home much faster when they know they will have a cash cushion to re-locate and re-establish their family somewhere new. Just think, if EVERY lender offered this type of program, our distressed market would be cleared up so fast that the housing meltdown would just be a bad memory. We all know that until the majority of bad loans are cleared out, our housing market can never recover-and that's not good for anyone.
Just think about how much money the banks must be spending on all the additional personnel needed to handle the loan mods and short sales. Surely paying $20-$30,000 to every distressed borrower to sell their home would still be cheaper and more cost effective all around.
Susan Gregory is a Realtor, trainer and Author of two publications for homeowners, including the best selling kit, The Complete Loan Modification Guide and Loan Mod Calculator. She is a Certified Negotiation Expert, a Certified HAFA Agent, and a Short Sale Foreclosure Resource Agent. Visit SusanGregoryRealtor.com.
Comments(2)