Consulting With an Attorney Before Taking a Short Sale Listing

I know that it sounds strange, but with short sales I think it is a good idea that we start the process as a team before you commit to taking a short sale listing.  A few years ago I was working on a short sale and during the inspection negotiations we discovered that the Seller had actually already lost the home to foreclosure six months prior to the date of our contract.  The listing agent was understandably upset.  She had been showing a house that her Sellers had not owned for six months! What I am getting at is that there is some review and planning that I can do to increase our chances of success before you take the listing and before you have sold the property:

• Preliminary title search to see if a short sale is possible
• Review of the title issues to see if we need to alter the marketing strategy- Ex. If there is a small credit card lien we can negotiate a payoff that Buyer agrees to pay in conjunction with a lower sale price
• Strategy development for lender programs that require input from the lender at the time of the listing in order to avoid the lender reserving its right to pursue a deficiency
• Client preparation for both success and failure with a review of the credit, tax implications and other options including bankruptcy  
• Protect the team (you and me) from liability while we attempt to assist distressed Sellers through an in depth free consultation

We can also speed up the process with an initial consultation.  The consultation is free and it is a good time to review the process and prepare the file with the proper documentation ahead of time. That way when the property is sold we are ready to proceed.

So, when you are thinking about taking a listing give me a quick call or shoot me an email with the property address and I will send you a quick title update

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