Is your mortgage keeping you from selling your house? Our changing real estate market has left many home owners in a very precarious position. With interest rates rising and property taxes skyrocketing, many feel trapped in homes with a mortgage that no longer is a viable option.
You are not alone. If you or someone you know is in this situation, know that there are options. One such option is called a short sale.
If the market value of your property is less than what you owe on your mortgage, you might qualify for a legal, lender-approved solution known as a short sale. In a short sale, a bank or lending instituition accepts a sale on property for less than what is owed on the mortgage balance. I specialize in negotiating such transactions and welcome the opportunity to work with you.
The real estate industry and our economy as a whole are constantly changing. It is my job and commitment to stay current on ways to ensure the rights and interests of my customers are protected.
If you have questions about any other real estate-related topic, please know I am here to help.
In your experience how long does a short sale take? My husband and I are currently in the process of buying a short sale but only 1 of the 2 mortgage lenders have come back to approve the short sale.
Susan,
Thanks for commenting. Short sales in my area are something new we are learning to deal with. A couple of brokers in the area have pulled people in from out of state to teach classes on the short sale. I was able to attend the class just as I got involved in a short sale transaction. It did answer a lot of questions I wished I’d had answered before writing the offer. I had a client from California who wrote an offer on a short sale in June. She flew back twice, once to find a house and the second time 60 days later thinking she would be ready to close. It didn’t happen. 60 days later, we were still waiting to get the offer either accepted or rejected. She chose to pull the offer and buy something else. The listing agent and I had both attended classes after we were already involved in this transaction. I think our chances of putting it together would have been better had we attended the class beforehand.
As to how long it takes, another agent in the class I took said she had one that took 6 months to get it accepted. I think that if you are in a place where you can wait, you will be okay but if you need to lock in interest rates or are just not in a place in your life that it is possible, short sales may not be the route to go. I am sorry I can’t give you a definite time frame. It all depends on the bank you are dealing with.
But if you are a seller who is looking at possible foreclosure, I think it is something to consider. Your agent can speak with the bank’s negotiator and help you possibly forego foreclosure.