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Short Sale Deficiency Judgments in Washington State

By
Real Estate Agent with Mountain View Properties

The Push back has started.  The lenders Bank of America in particular are known for Leaving the possibility of going after a deficiency judgment in Washington State.  True Washington State is a non recourse state.  That means the foreclosing lender can not go after you for the default.  That does not hold true on a short sale and it makes no sense for lenders to request a deficiency unless it's a 2nd lien holder.  But they do.   This causes many short sales to fail.  What we are seeing is lenders will simply state the short sale is for a lien release only and sometimes not even mention the possibility of the default which could come back to haunt the seller.  I suspect that many RE agents don't know the difference or ignore it hoping it goes away.  I typically will give my opinion then send them to a real estate attorney for advice on a short sale approve letter.  California is about to change the game with SB 1178, http://budurl.com/casb1178  Once this passes, and it will, you will see other states and hopefully Washington State follow suit.  With almost 25% of homeowners under water on their mortgages you will see a rise in strategic short sales as sellers will not have to worry about a deficiency judgement.  Short Sales will be around for years to come.  Mike Karsten is a Real Estate Short Sale Expert.