Short-Selling Your Home

Should you find yourself in a position of no longer being able to make your monthly mortgage payment and your home is now worth considerably less than what you paid for it, selling your home as a short sale may be an option for you.

A short sale property is defined as a home or property that is sold by an owner who owes more on the property than what it is worth. The two ingredients for a short sale are:

• The home or property was purchased at the peak of the real estate market and the value has since declined, and
• The owners can no longer afford to make the monthly payments due to financial hardship

The term "short sale" means that the amount the owner sells the house for is less than the amount owed on the loan; the selling price being a reflection of recent sales of comparable properties in the area.

There are several reasons why lenders will accept short sales by owners facing financial hardship, including:

• To avoid the cost of a foreclosure, which is estimated at about $58,000 
• To avoid increasing their home inventory, called REO's (real estate owned) or bank-owned properties.
• New homes in the area are selling faster than existing ones.
• The area or neighborhood has depreciated in value.
• The property is in poor condition.

More and more lenders are willing to make accommodations to avoid taking the property back. Lenders are in the money business, not the real estate business; these days lenders are more open to approving a short sale - especially in a real estate market with declining home values - so you shouldn't’t underestimate the willingness of a lender to make concessions.

Short sales are subject to the lender's approval; as long as you have an experienced real estate agent negotiating with the lender on your behalf, there is no reason you cannot successfully conduct the short sale your home or property.

Reasons to consider short-selling your home include:

• A foreclosure stays on your credit report for at least 10 years and can have a detrimental affect on future home purchases, and
• No out-of-pocket expenses; all commissions are paid for by the lenders.

If you are considering a short sale of your home, make sure the listing agent has experience in dealing with short sales. The short sale transaction requires an agent who is experienced in all aspects of real estate including:

• How to price and position your home on the market to generate the most offers in the least amount of time
• How to effectively utilize traditional and high-tech marketing techniques to ensure your home is marketed to as many prospective buyers as possible
• Acquiring all necessary documents needed to submit to lenders for short sale approval
• Closing the short sale deal

I specialize in representing buyers and sellers of short sale properties and I know what it takes ensure a successful short sale transaction.

Contact me to see how I can help you purchase or sale short sale properties today.