Help Yourself to Some Short Sale Assistance… Before it’s Too Late!

"FORECLOSURES: Dallas-area postings approach record level" was the headline in the business section of Friday's Dallas Morning News. 

A headline like that always catches my attention.  With more than 5,200 residential properties on the list for auction sales next month, April, 2009 is second only to February, 2008 for the highest number of properties scheduled to foreclose in our area, and this number represents a 30% increase from just one year ago.

These are disconcerting statistics, and while, as a Dallas Short Sale Specialist, I try to keep the number of foreclosures in the DFW Metroplex as low as possible by listing and selling as many homes as possibly can, as Short Sales, I can only help the pre-foreclosure homeowners who reach out to me or respond to my marketing, inquiries and messages.  I have had a busy week:  2 closings, 2 executed contracts, 2 new listings coming online this Monday, 3 new listing appointments (2 by phone and 1 face-to-face... and yes, we won all 3) and in all the conversations with new prospective sellers this week, roughly half waited too long to call.

When is the right time to call?  When you first realize that you are going to have difficulty making your mortgage payment.  We can discuss your options moving forward and position you to speak with your mortgage company from a position of knowledge.  We can work to determine if you would be a candidate for a short sale or even if there is a loan modification program that may better suit your needs.  We can also discuss what you owe and what your home is worth.  Just this week I spoke with a prospective client and he was shocked to learn that he did not need to do a Short Sale because his house was worth much more than he realized.  He listed his home with me and will likely walk away with some money in his pocket when it closes.

Compare that with another prospect who called me today, desperate for help.  Her home is on the April foreclosure sale list and will be auctioned on the courthouse steps on April 7.  Her lender has already extended her sale date once and refuses any further extensions without an executed sales contract.  Can I help?  Maybe.  But in a market where there are comparable homes to hers, also short sales, which have been on the market for 6 months, is her situation likely to end happily in the next 17 days?  Unfortunately the odds are strongly against it.

So if you have missed a mortgage payment or are about to, or if you are already facing foreclosure in the future, don't wait to contact me... call or e-mail today!  Every day counts, and the more days we have, the more likely that the ending will be a happy one.