What Is A Short Sale?
Many people in today’s shifting economical times have received hardships. The amount of foreclosures in St. Tammany are up 94% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to last year at the same time.
A short sale is when the mortgage company takes less, and allows a property to be sold. The pay off of the mortgage held on the property is less than what is actually owed, thus the term sold short of the full mortgage pay off.
Hardships are classified as illness in the family, death of a loved one, divorce, separation, loss of employment, cut back on hours, and lay-offs. These are all reasonable causes for a person to need to do a short sale.
Why Not Just File Bankruptcy?
Many people think bankruptcy is the answer, or an easy way out. The reason short sales are better than bankruptcy is that bankruptcy will still leave you with a foreclosure on your credit. Short sales save your credit, save you potential jobs in the future, enable and allow you to purchase another home within 12-24 months of the short sale, and save you from losing security clearance.
Your credit is affected by the activities that occurred prior to the short sale. For example, not making your mortgage payments will affect your credit in a negative way. By negotiating a short sale with the bank, it shows up on your credit as “balance paid and satisfied”. This means the bank is satisfied with what they agreed as pay off.
How Much Does A Short Sale Cost?
Many people believe it costs money to short sale their home. This is false; it costs absolutely nothing to do a short sale. The mortgage companies do not want to foreclose your property. They’re not in the real estate business, and they do not want to take your property back. If you don’t pay your mortgage payments, they want their asset secured by the mortgage that you promised to pay. The reason they take your property is to sell it and get the asset they put out on your property back.
Mortgage companies pay the real estate broker for services, not the home owner. They would rather hire a leading real estate professional with a CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) designation to sell the property. This allows the mortgage companies to negotiate with the broker instead of the home owner. This benefits the home owner, and also the banks, who just want their money back.
When Is It Too Late To Do A Short Sale?
If you received notice that your home is going to be sold through the foreclosure process, you can contact us no later than one week prior to the foreclosure date. Turner Real Estate Group can potentially delay the foreclosure any time prior to one week before the scheduled date. We can’t stop it permanently, but we can delay it for 30 day increments by negotiating with the bank on your behalf.
The ideal situation would be for you to call us the minute you receive notification that you have a date in which the property is going to be sold at the courthouse. This will allow a full 70 days to obtain contracts and sell your property through the short sale process. You don’t have to do anything except simply call us, and we will handle it all.
You do not have to file bankruptcy. You do not have to allow your property to go into foreclosure. You deserve to take a proactive approach to contact us so we can show you the steps and simplify your life.
What Happens After I List My Property?
Once a property is listed as a short sale, it is usually contracted within 35 days. It typically takes three to four months to close the property after a contract is received. It is also ok if you have more than one mortgage on your property; we are willing to negotiate all mortgages for your benefit.
Turner Real Estate Group has had tremendous success in getting the deficient amount waived, and getting the mortgage company to forgive the deficient amount. The Consumer Credit Act says if the property is your personal residence, they will not and cannot send you a 1099 stating that they have written the property off and that you will have to pay taxes on it. We work with the bank to make sure the deficiencies are waived, and that you don’t have to pay taxes. Once the property is closed it is done, and your stress is over. Call us today and allow us to sell your home through the short sale process. We would be happy to help you in any way possible.