Short Sale Information

You do need to get a realtor and I know of a very good one that has been doing this for quite a few years and is very reputable. They will handle everything and make it much less stressful on you

Please let me know if you want Cathi's contact info.

You've gotten a lot of good responses so far so I'll keep it short. We're going through a short sale process now and it takes forever so keep that in mind. Also, check with a few different realtors, prefererably ones that deal with short sales and make sure they don't want to charge you any fees on top of what they're getting from the mortgage co. (they pay their commission). We had to change realtors because once they supposedly had a buyer for the home they wanted to charge us $999. out of pocket and on top of their commission since short sales are "so much work and not guaranteed". Sorry, but that's the risk of being a realtor. Anyway, we found another realtor who does not charge extra. Good luck!

I would first seek a realtor who is knowledgable in short sales (there are quite a few out there nowadays). Depending on your mortgage company and how many mortgages you have, will often determine your success rate for completing a short sale. For example, I had a client that was interested in short saling her home. However, it took the mortgage company so long to review each offer that was submitted that the potential buyer would get frustrated and withdraw the offer. Another client had two mortgages and the second mortgage would not agree to accept the conditions at all - that client ultimately filed bankruptcy in order to surrender the home and not have any liability with the second mortgage.

I have had a number of clients successfully short sale their home so it is possible. Another option (if you only have one mortgage) is a deed in lieu of foreclosure. If you are interested in doing that, you would have to contact your mortgage lender directly and ask what the requirements are as each lender is different. What happens is that you end up simply surrendering your home directly to the lender, skipping the whole foreclosure process, and the lender waives any liability for the unpaid balance. Your credit report will reflect the deed in lieu of foreclosure (or short sale for that matter).

Good luck!

Ultimately your morgtage lender makes the decision about whether you qualify for the short sale. We lost one offer b/c our bank took so long. It took us 2 years to sell our house - for a loss of $100,000 less than we paid for the house AND we DID have to pay back some of that to the lender - they treat it as a loan - we were still responsible for $50,000 after we closed on the short sale- but we worked out a payment arrangement with the lender and negotiated the final amount we owed by paying it in full. It also hurt our credit.

Do LOTS of research and get a good realtor. Talk to your lender - there is a LOT of paperwork to submit as to why you are requesting a short sale. We had to show financial hardship - we had good jobs - but had moved cross country and were taking on caring for ill/aging parents. We had a house in a part of the country where homes were WAY overpriced and the housing bubble had burst.

My husband and I wen through a short sale on our house about 1 1/2 yrs ago after having tried to sell our house for quite some time. Our realtor helped us contact a short sale company and they basically walk you through the process. Your mortgage company has to approve it and that will depend on your circumstances, but the realtor and short sale company can advise you on that.

I haven't read all the responses but my husband is a realtor who specializes in short sales. He has many he works on in different parts of the country. I you have further questions, feel free to contact him and he may be able to answer them for you or offer some assistance. Kyle ###-###-####.

I would contact a realtor, ideally one that has a lot of experience with Short Sales. They are extremely tricky procedures and need a realtor who is on top of it.

Good Luck!

Hi, L..

We are going thru a short-sale now trying to avoid the evil foreclosure. It's been over a year since we signed on for this. There was early interest in the house, but only recently has there even been an offer. Prepare for this to go on for a LONG time. You are in luck as we're using Realty Executives, who has what we're told a very experienced person working on this with another company who's business is short-sales. Our original realtor there just retired, but the new woman seems very capable unfortunately her card is at home, but I think her name is Marilyn. They are out of Yorkville or Aurora, so check their ad or give them a call. There will be no fees as all the attorney costs come out of the sale, Karen Larson out of Yorkville works with them, too. If we knew it would take this long we might have done things differently, but times are just crazy now...Good luck to you.

Hi there :)

I am currently at the end of the short sale process and Stephanie (mommy below) is correct. Find a realtor that has short sale experience and they usually have a lawyer that they work with too. We found ours by calling our neighbors realtor. Its so important that they are knowledgeable of the area and the value of your home. They will be the person or team fighting for you with your lender and they need to present a good case!

Keep yourself informed and if you have a good team they will keep you informed too. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS!!!

A handful of times we came across weird correspondance from our lender and it ended up being important and I almost threw it in the garbage!!

Best of luck to you!

If you have any questions as you go through the process message me anytime :)