How does an expert short sale agent keep all parties to the sale engaged and cooperating while navigating the long lender processing period? This requires a level of expertise that only comes with experience, and can be most challenging to the uninitiated or unprepared agent.
The two areas of a short sale negotiation where ability to hold the transaction together are most important -- and also most in danger -- are the document collection phase and the escrow phase. This post addresses short sale document collection and submission.
Every lender and loan servicer has specific guidelines that must be met before your short sale will be approved.
An important part of my job as your expert short sale agent is to help you understand the lay of the land ahead and guide you around potential obstacles that might be encountered along the way.
One of the most common minefields a short seller and short sale buyer may run up against is the lengthy and sometimes stressful paperwork processing period. Processing the paperwork typically takes anywhere from 6 weeks in a best case scenario to 6 months or more if things get bogged down.so be prepared and be patient.
Understanding your lender’s document collection and review requirements will help set correct expectations concerning the time it take to get from listing to closing.
Detailed paperwork, including financial information, must be submitted and processed, sometimes through several departments, before the lender will issue that coveted short sale approval letter. Again, every lender is different, and each short sale package can be different as well. But there are some common elements that nearly all lenders tend to include in their short sale package:
A completed Short Sale Application if the lender provides one.
Statement of hardship or Hardship Letter
Detailed monthly household budget
Most recent 2 months bank and other asset statements
Most recent 2 months income statements
Most recent 2 years income tax returns
Most recent 2 years W2’s ( or 1099’s if you are self-employed)
Executed listing agreement from your agent
A completed and signed IRS Form 4506, "Request for Copy of Tax Form”.
A completed and signed personal financial worksheet. This will include assets such as other real estate, stocks, bonds, 401Ks, etc
Copies of any other Liens on the Property (tax lien, HOA lien, mechanics lien,etc)
Your short sale expert’s job is to work with all parties -- seller, buyer’s agent and lender -- on a consistent basis to ensure that all necessary documents are completed, collected and submitted in a timely manner. This is the only way to ensure the file will move along as smoothly as possible. Without this consistent communication and follow-up, banks have often been known to misplace paperwork or even stop working on the file altogether.
Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms and paperwork will require resubmission, and that will slow your approval process. This is why working with an expert is crucial in ensuring your file is correctly submitted so that it will move along, get approved and get closed. The more prepared and responsive you and your agent are, the smoother and speedier your short sale will be.
Need to short sell your Atlanta home? Call or text us today ay 678-855-5238 for a confidential consultation.
Comments(3)