What's your plan? Should you sell your home as a Short Sale?

There's no kidding anybody that times continue to be tough for many Americans, particularly those here in South Florida in towns of Coral Springs south to Plantation and beyond, in fact.  In fact, just today we heard of the continued rise in the rate of weekly unemployment rates hitting a high of 500,000 claims. Perhaps, you know someone or are that someone who has been struggling to make ends meet. Have you tried this or considered this yet:

• Maxed out your credit cards to pay your mortgage, essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul
• Contacted your Lender in hopes of having your loan permanently modified yet don't qualify
• Set up on a temporary Loan modification plan with your Lender that simply extended the inevitable of not qualifying for a permanent loan modification only depleting any possible savings further.
• Thinking about just walking out the front door and never coming back?

These aren't plans as they're not getting you anywhere. Prior to getting where you're at now it probably was a lot easier to make plans yet you never thought you'd be hit with losing your job, having reduced household income, medical expenses, divorce and any other major life changing event.  Sometimes we just think this can't happen to us and then it does. So what's your plan? Should you sell your home as  a Short Sale? Yes, if you:

• Want to avoid foreclosure
• Want to lessen the possible impact to your credit depending on your circumstances
• Want to try and avoid any deficiency balance being pursued; always the goal of a Short Sale
• Looking for some peace of mind

Here's the recommended plan if you want to sell your home as a Short Sale:

1. Contact you Lender and let them know that you want to sell your home as a Short Sale 
2. Get your home in the best possible condition that you can afford to do so you can get a fast sale
3. Hire a qualified Short Sale Realtor/Real Estate Agent
4. Get your home listed for sale as a Short Sale
5. Cooperate completely with your Short Sale Realtor providing required documentation in a timely manner
6. Allow for showings as you want to get your home sold, particularly if you've already have a foreclosure sale date set
7. Save some money to allow for moving expenses
8. Keep up on paying your homeowners association fees if at all possible, as past due HOA fees can be a sticking point that is better if you don't have to deal with if at all possible in a Short Sale. If you can't keep up make sure you have a Realtor whose good in negotiations.
9. Try to maintain your home as much as possible to avoid any possible headaches from the Buyer once you've been given the approval by your Lender to sell your home as a Short Sale. Even though most Buyers understand that they're purchasing your home "As Is" and will be disclosed of the home they're purchasing is a Short Sale where maintenance of the home may be difficult from you as the Seller
10. Obtain a Written Short Sale approval letter from your Lender(s)
11. Plan for closing which you'll typically be allowed 30 days to move out.
12. Close and start looking for that peace of mind