Are you a seller in trouble? Are you behind in mortgage payments? Here are some of the answers you have been looking for.

A short sale is when the home's current value is less than the mortgage and the closing costs that a seller will incur when selling a house. The seller does not have the funds available to make up the difference. A short sale is different from a foreclosure where the bank takes the necessary steps to take the property from the owner through legal action.

Consider contacting your lender to arrange a loan modification. Your lender may have programs available to help you. You may be able to lower your interest rate for a period of time or the length of your loan. Another option may be to refinance the loan.

If you are not able to do a loan modification or this is not enough to help and you need to sell your home, look for help with an experience Realtor. When you interview agents make sure to ask if they have experience with short sales. Have they taken any classes to learn about the process to help you get through it? There are currently a few designations available to Realtors to learn about what the process is and how to best help a client. You will also need the help of an attorney that has handled short sales before.

You will need to show some sign of distress to the bank. Distress could be loss of a job, divorce, or in some way your income is not great enough to make the payments on the loan.  Gather your information before an offer comes in. You will need to have a distress letter written to the bank explaining your situation, your past two years of your federal taxes that have been filed, along with proof of your assests and income. These will be delivered to the bank once your have an accepted contract with a buyer.

Buyers will need to be prepared to wait for the bank approval. This typically can take anywhere from 2 months to 9 months depending on the lender. Your realtor and attorney will help you along the way. The bank will review the papers and order an appraisal to verify the price of the home compared to the purchase agreement.

The lender has approved the contract and typically will responsd with a time frame to close within. This is usually within 30 days. While going through this process you usually can stay in the home. Make sure your attorney reviews the banks response so you know how the short sale will effect you. They do effect your credit, although less than a foreclosure will. You may also have to pay taxes on the mortgage forgiveness.  Having experience people help is key.

If you have more questions, we can help. We have experience with short sales, foreclosures, and are also CDPE (Certified Distresses Property Expert) certified.

Visit us at Team Splitt and give us a call to learn more.