While doing some work this weekend I came across this great article from Inman News on Short Sales. Each week I
receive literally dozens of calls or email about short sales and how the caller or writer needs to sell short due to their home being worth less than they owe. Upon further questioning some may qualify due to financial information and should move forward with contacting their lender for a loss mitigation packet, while others are financially able to pay, but feel they shouldn't need to due to the decrease in house value as compared to the mortgage. My final word of advise to all of them is to seek out a well qualified and dedicated Realtor since that is the first requirement that I see frequently as a requirement from lending institutions.
Grampp Realty: Real Estate in the Quad-Cities - Bettendorf, IA
Quad-City REALTOR®, @ Grampp, Realty of The Q.C.
Chris,
The first question I always ask my potential short-sale clients is whether or not they have spoken with a lawyer. If they answer "no", I always advise them to speak to an attorney who is savvy in real estate and familiar with the foreclosure process.
Without a competent attorney who can help them navigate through the legal process and meet all necessary filing deadlines, the homeowner is in danger of losing their home anywhere from three to six months sooner than if they have good legal representation.
Unfortunately, many attorneys in our area (the Iowa and Illinois Quad-City Area), simply tell their homeowner-clients to "let the bank foreclose on their property".... all due to the fact that foreclosures in this area are almost always filed with a "waiver of deficiency balance"-- meaning the bank waives the right to pursue any loss incurred after REO sale in court.
Thanks for being an attorney who recognizes their long-term damage done to a person's credit by foreclosure, and encouraging them to pursue the short-sale route.
I have started an ACTIVE RAIN group dealing with foreclosure issues " Foreclosure Help and Prevention " which can be found at the following URL:
http://activerain.com/groups/foreclosure
Please feel free to join the group. And keep spreading the word about the importance of preventing the foreclosure epidemic from becoming even worse than it already is.
Apr 15, 2007 01:53 PM
Retired - Kirkland, WA
Phil Leng - Retired
Hi Christopher,
The short sale situation reminds me of the song,
"If I ever needed you,
I need you now,
Need you now.
If I ever needed you,
I need you now."
Attorneys must be part of the process.
Phil
Nov 16, 2010 09:32 PM
Rainer
13,034
13,034
Christopher Sevick
Real Estate Attorney
Comments(2)