The Short Sales in Palm Beach County is a series of articles for sellers and buyers to better understand what a short sale is and how to proceed with closing with a short sale. In order to understand where we are at in the series please read part 1 and part 2.

Short Sales In Palm Beach County- What You Need To Know, What Is A Short Sale?

Short Sales in Palm Beach County- What You Need To Know, Who Qualifies To Sell A Short Sale?  

So now that you know what a short sale is and you have passed the qualifying tests as set out in the above posts you are now ready to put your short sales package together for your agent and your lender.

Before you even list your property with your agent you should have your short sale package put together. This way your agent will be able to expedite the short sale process. Once an offer is made on your property your short sale package must accompany that offer. You will be delaying the process and possibly lose the buyer if you are waiting until you get an offer before you gather up all your documents for your short sale package. There are no exceptions to this process that I have heard about or experienced.

The very first thing that you need to do is call your lender, tell them you are putting your house up for sale and confirm who the lender is. Make sure that the lender you are calling is still the note holder or servicer. We just went through sending out a short sale package for one of our sellers only to find out that the note was sold to another lender. We had to start the process all over again. You may be able to save some time by confirming your lender.  

The next thing that you will need to do is write out an authorization letter for your agent to discuss your loan standing, details and short sale offers with your lender. This letter has to have the name of the person the loan is under and the loan number must be on the letter along with the name and company of your agent. Please date the letter. Most lenders have a period of time in for which the authorization letter is good for and after that time has expired you will need to write another authorization letter. 

Here is the list of all the documents you may be required to submit. If you put together a package and then you find out they don't need one of these documents then just take it out of the package. It is better to be prepared and find out you did more than required than to submit an incomplete package. Your agent should be checking the package to make sure there is nothing missing. The lenders receive so many files each day that they can not even look at the incompleted packages.

• Your authorization letter as stated above. 

• A handwritten hardship letter explaining your hardship.This hardship letter needs to explain why you are needing to sell your property as a short sale. Please read my post on qualifying for a short sale approval. 

• A completed financial statement that your Realtor® has received from your lender. We have found through our experience that each lender has their own financial statement that they provide. It is not difficult to fill out. It is in form format with fill in the blanks. There is an asset column and a debt column and they will have a place to write in all your income and all of your expenses. This is where it is important that you told the truth on your loan application. 

• The last 2 pay stubs for all the signers on the mortgage.

• The last 2 years of tax returns for all the signers on the mortgage.

• A copy of your listing agreement with your Realtor®; your agent will provide that.  

Put all these documents together and give them to your Realtor® so that he/she can get to work on your short sale package and make all the proper notations. Each document will have to have your loan number written on it. 

After you get an offer you and your agent will have to put together the rest of the package and that includes:

• A fully executed offer of sale and purchase agreement.

• The prequalification letter for the new buyer.

• A HUD1 settlement statement from the title company with all the fees listed correctly. The lender will need to approve the expenses prior to accepting the buyer's offer.

Your agent should put together a sales package along with the short sale package. He/she should have your current market value paperwork and evidence showing the offer is reasonable. We also put newspaper articles in the package showing our current market conditions. Documentation beats conversation. This is one of those times you can take all the bad news and work it in your favor. Nestor makes a very thorough and compelling argument and we have met with good responses to going the extra mile with the lenders. Nestor is putting together another short sale package as I am writing this post.

Stay tuned for part 4 of our Short Sales In Palm Beach County Series as we discuss what happens after the short sale package and offer is sent in to the lender. If you are interested in buying a short sale property understanding what happens after the lender receives your offer will be benefit you.  

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to be or to provide legal advice. We recommend that you speak to your attorney and your tax accountant regarding specifics and to find out if this is the best option for you in your situation.

The information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Wellington Homes Blog does not guarantee or is any way responsible for its accuracy, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either express or implied.  Entries on Wellington Homes Blog represent the opinions and ideas of the author(s).  Wellington Homes Blog does not express the views of International Properties and Investments, Inc or those of the broker. 

Contact Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset, CIPS, Realtors®, International Properties and Investments, Inc. Licensed Realtors® in Florida at 561-753-0135 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Lake Worth, Hypoluxo Island, Lantana, West Palm Beach and the rest of Palm Beach County Florida. We are accepting referrals.

Copyright © 2008 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved. *Short Sales In Palm Beach County Florida- What you need to Know If You Are Buying Or Selling Part 3 * Contact Katerina Gasset for Customized Business and Personal Coaching.

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P.S. If you are listing your home as a short sale in Palm Beach County Florida make sure you hire an agent who knows how to do short sales and has the experience to get the job done. We are doing successful short sale packages. Call us at 561-753-0135 to find out more.