In today's volatile real estate market many home owners are finding themselves in the precarious position where their monthly mortgage payment has doubled or even tripled due to adjustable rate mortgages that have adjusted up while the real estate market has adjusted down.
The common answer to their problem (in their mind anyway) is to put their home on the market at the amount of money they owe the bank, which is much higher than this market can sustain.
In this challenging market where any hope of selling homes is mainly driven by price, their homes sit on the market over priced while they continue to fall behind on their mortgage and eventually go into foreclosure and decide to "walk away" because it's easier.
This does not have to be the case. "Short Sales" have become common place in this upside down real estate world of late. A short sale is when a seller sells their home to a buyer for less than what they owe the lender. The lender accepts the payment at the deficient amount. It's a viable way of hurting your credit way less than you would hurt it should you foreclose. Foreclosure is a 10 year death sentence on your credit while a short sale is more like 2 year negative. It's the difference between your credit score going down 150 points for 2 years or 400 points for 10 years. The worst place you could go to research short sales is probably the internet because who reports on all the negative about short sales but the news. Isn't this the same media who has kept headlines in the "red" regarding real estate.
Selling through the short sale process is best done by a knowledgeable real estate professional. The lenders have become our friends. They get easier to deal with everyday...lenders are not in the business of taking back homes so any money is better than none. While not all lenders are ready to accept the short sale, it is becoming more and more acceptable everyday. The key is to choose the real estate professional who understands the process.
I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE). If you are one of those people in this stressful situation, don't hide out. In the current real estate climate if you are in foreclosure or close to it, it's not because you are a bad person. It's most likely because you received a bad mortgage. In some cases investors might even buy your home and keep you in as a tenant.
For more information on listing your home as a short sale, please call Sharyn Krim, Keller Williams Realty 561-801-3343 or feel free to email me at Sharyn@skrim.com and I'll answer your real estate questions. I leave the legal questions and tax questions to those professionals or http://www.irs.gov/
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