Commonly used in the real estate downturn of the early 1990s, is the "short sale," which works like this: A homeowner falls behind on his or her mortgage payments, usually due to a job loss, rising debt payments, divorce, or what have you. Facing a situation in which the home value has fallen and cannot be sold for the amount of the mortgage owed, the homeowner works out a deal with the lender to sell the home for whatever the market will bear. If the amount of the sale is for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, the lender gets the proceeds and discharges the remaining debt. The homeowner will have to leave the house as soon as it is sold.

Alternatively, with a foreclosure, homeowners who can no longer make payments are served with a notice of foreclosure, which essentially informs them to either bring the loan current or face the home being taken over and sold at a public auction, after which the homeowner will face eviction proceedings.

My office has put together a website detailing what our short sale specialists are able to do for people in this situation (including giving the seller a rebate on commission earned assuming the bank ends up paying a commission - sometimes they do not).

Not all lenders will accept short sales or discounted payoffs, but with the housing market in the state it's in, lenders have been forced to be more flexible where it makes sense.

Not all lenders will negotiate a short sale, our office can offer tremendous help in successfully contacting the lender and negotiating on your behalf, with your lender's loss mitigation department.

Please check out the site and let me know if you or someone you know would like more information on short selling.

http://www.washortsaleassistance.com/

Keely Jared (formerly Balfour), ABR

Broker/Owner

RE/MAX Metro Associates

Voted Seattle magazine's "Best in Client Satisfaction" 2005 & 2006

direct: 206-909-3600

fax: 206-368-6872

www.keelyjared.com