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IS A SHORT SALE FOR YOU? A guide for sellers who owe more than their house is worth or are behind in their payments.

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Godzyk Real Estate Services NH License 033394
If you owe more than your house is worth or if you are behind in your payments... A short sale may be for you. I am often asked for the most important tips i could give a home owner who needs to sell their home through a short sale in the Manchester NH area. My answer though applies to most sellers in any state looking to purchase a short sale. The first thing is that some people and surprisingly some agents still do not know what a short sale is. 

THE BASIC PROCESS OF THE SHORT SALE

1. THE FIRST STEP
:  In order to complete a short sale, a seller must be able to show a "hardship". Some examples are: not being able to afford your monthly payment, losing a job, illness, divorce, death or job transfer to another state.

2. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to choose a local Realtor who is experienced in listing, negotiating and selling short sales. Beware of out of state companies or people who promise you things that sound too good to be true. If you live in NH, call us first for experience that makes a difference.

3. STARTING THE PROCESS. You will need to gather your last 2 years tax returns, last 2 pay stubs, 3 month bank statements and a list of income and expenses. The listing agent or negotiator will complete a title search to see how many liens or if your home is in foreclosure. 

a. The listing agent or negotiator will make preliminary contact with sellers bank to obtain any specific forms or instructions they want or need to complete the short sale

b. The listing agent completes a broker price opinion. The home should be priced at or just below market value. Pricing a home too low, will result in the short sale being counter offered or refused.

c. The listing agent markets the property in search of potential buyers and offers

4. RECEIVING AND ACCEPTING AN OFFER. The one thing to remember is the sale is between the buyer and the home owner, not the buyer and the bank. The seller should choose the 1 best offer to accept and submit for approval. The buyer should be ready to close wthin 30 days of the acceptance of the short sale by the sellers bank. If the house needs any repairs, they should be noted in the initial offer, not left to work out later.
 
5. SUBMITTING THE SHORT SALE FOR APPROVAL. Once an offer has been submitted and all the sellers financials are gathered. The listing agent or the listing agents professional negotiator will submit the short sale package to the bank. The short sale offer and package MUST be complete or will be rejected.

6. THE SHORT SALE APPROVAL PROCESS. Once the bank gets the file, the bank will assign a negiotiator for themselves. This could take 1-2 weeks. They then will review the package, if complete will order an appraisal or bpo within the first 2 weeks. It could then take 2 more weeks to finish the appraisal. Once it comes in, the negotiator will review what the home is worth versus what they will receive from the short sale against what they would receive if they foreclosed. This could take 2-4 more weeks.

7. THE BANKS RESPONSE TO YOUR SHORT SALE.  In whole and on average, it takes 2-3 months if you have only 1 mortgage. The response from the bank can be either to accept your offer as is, or they can counter the offer trying to reduce the costs of the short sale by asking the buyer for a higher price, better terms or money from the seller. Worst case is they deny it outright if the seller does not have a hardship of if the offer is just way too low.

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The most important thing to note is a short sale should NEVER be considered approved unless received in writing. All offers, counter offers and such should always be in writing for your protection. No matter what a short sale will only go as well as the listing agent is experienced in short sales and who is doing the negotiating for the seller? If they are not experienced, the short sale process will be much more difficult. It is common for tough short sales to go 3-6 months. One of the most important things is for the seller to stay in their home, leaving the home early, lessons your negotiating power with the bank.




It does not take magic to turn your "For Sale" sign into a "Sold" sign. it takes a full time Local Agent who specializes in Listing homes like yours.

If you need to sell a home in New Hampshire I can be that agent for you. I strive to provide the best personal and professional service through each step of the selling process.

We stand by you through every step in selling your home.

If you need to sell your home and you owe more than your house is worth, i may be able to help. I specialize in working with home owners to get your home sold. There are many options such as a short sale whcih may be able to help you.

Please try and avoid out of state or out of town agents and companies that make "out of this world promises". We are local agents with experience who never charge any up front fees. WE GET RESULTS!!!

 

 

 

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ONE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE'S LEADING AGENTS FOR SHORT SALES AND BANK OWNED HOMES...

If you are Looking for a Real Estate Agent you have come to the right place. Scott Godzyk is a Full Time and Local agent ready to serve all of your Real Estate needs through each step of the buying or selling process. We are proud to be locally owned and operated.

If you owe more than your house is worth, If you are behind in your payments, I may be able to help. Call me to find out how you may be able to sell your home at no additional cost to you.

Scott Godzyk is the Owner/Broker of The Godzyk Real Estate Services located in Manchester NH. With 25 years of Real Estate experience Scott specializes in Listing and Selling Bank Owned Homes, Short Ssles, Residential Properties, Condominiums, New Construction and Investment Properties. Scott services the counties of Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Belknap. To contact Scott Godzyk please call 603-661-2121 or email sctprop@aol.com. his website is www.ScottSellsNH.com.

Comments (4)

Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Very good information for financially troubled home sellers.

IMG_3521 Life is good!

Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs

Oct 17, 2011 12:17 PM
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

Thank you for the comment Roy, hopfully it can help those in need of it. have a great night

Oct 17, 2011 12:41 PM
Al Raymondi
Ocean View Realty Group in Ormond By The Sea Florida - Ormond Beach, FL
Ormond By The Sea Florida - Home and Condo Sales

terrific post Scott, the experience factor is certainly a key ingredient as is local Realtor in any short sale transaction.

Oct 17, 2011 12:45 PM
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

Thank you for the comment Al. Very well said. All home owners nee dto know the key to a better short sale is with a local agent that is well expereinced in the process.  There are so many people with no expereince claiming to be. It leads to nightmares. You can not buy experience, they can not teach it in a class and adding a title to your name does not make one experienced. It takes hard work as there are no short cuts.

Oct 17, 2011 01:01 PM