Short Sale
Are you or someone you know facing Foreclosure, or unable to afford current mortgage payments? There Is a Way Out.
Let a Meridian Capital Short Sale Expert help you to know your options and list your home before a foreclosure takes place. In today’s economy, we hear all the stories of financial distress and millions of American home owners are wondering what to do.
When loan modifications are being denied or falling short, a Short Sale if often the best solution. When lenders agree to do a short sale, it means the lender is accepting less than the total amount due and allowing you to sell your home at the current market value. You do not have to pay the real estate agents commission, or closing costs associated with the sale, these are paid for by the lender in the approval process.
Why not just let the foreclosure take place? Why short sell the home? Agents who have closed hundreds of these transactions provide this list of reasons:
* Protect your credit score – Credit scores will be lowered by about 300-plus points (per loan) by foreclosure -The impact of a short sale as about half that much.
* Avoid the Foreclosure Reporting– Homeowners will always have to disclose that they had a foreclosure on any mortgage application and (many job applications) that they submit in the future. This can have an adverse effect on their future mortgage rates. Foreclosure is asked about specifically in credit inquiries. There is no seven-year time limit on this item.
* Improve eligibility for a government insured loan – The homeowner will be ineligible for a government insured loan for 5-7 years (only two years in a short sale). A foreclosure is the one credit report item that is almost impossible to have repaired.
* Avoid a deficiency judgment – Lenders can seek a deficiency judgment against the homeowner and collect any amount they do not recover at sale.
* Protect employment prospects – Many employers run credit checks on prospective employees.
These are the top reasons, but there are many more. An Meridian Capital Real Estate Agent agent can give a full picture of the options. Some banks are offering a government backed short sale program offering moving expenses to sellers of a short sale through escrow.
Your Meridian Capital Real Estate agent will contact your lender for you and find out what programs you are qualified for and work fast to stop any foreclosure proceedings in order to give time to obtain an offer on your home to submit to the lender for review.
First Things First:
Contact a Meridian Capital Real Estate agent. You can search for an agent by clicking here. Your agent will run your current neighborhood statistics and comparable sales history.
At your listing appointment, we will ask you to sign a Letter of Third Party Authorization. Lenders typically do not want to disclose any of your personal information without written authorization to do so, the letter of authorization allows the lender permission to talk with your agent about your loan. Please also provide your agent with a copy of your current mortgage statements.
Other items you will need to provide your Agent to throughout the process:
Hardship Letter
This statement of facts describes how you got into this financial bind and makes a plea to the lender to accept less than full payment. Lenders are not inhumane and can understand if you lost your job, were hospitalized, etc. Write down your situation and ask that they consider your request to short sale your home.
Proof of Income and Assets
Copy of the last 2 pay check stubs. If self-employed they will require a profit and loss statement and sometimes the business checking account statement. Lenders will want to know if you have savings accounts, money market accounts, stocks or bonds, negotiable instruments, cash or other real estate or anything of tangible value. Lenders are not in the charity business and often require assurance that the debtor cannot pay back any of the debt that it is forgiving.
Copies of Bank Statements
If your bank statements reflect unaccountable deposits, large cash withdrawals or an unusual number of checks, it's probably a good idea to explain each of those line items to the lender. In addition, the lender might want you to account for each and every deposit so it can determine whether deposits will continue.
Comparative Market Analysis – Your Agent will provide this to the lender.
Sometimes markets decline and property values fall. If this is part of the reason that you cannot sell your home for enough to pay off the lender, this fact should be substantiated for the lender through a comparative market analysis (CMA). Your real estate agent can prepare a CMA for you, which will show prices of similar homes:
Once an offer is obtained, as the seller you will accept one and your agent will send this into the lender with your short sale packet obtaining the items above, and any additional forms required by your lender.
We will work hard to get an approval from your lender, and negotiate a positive outcome for you, our client. Short sale time-limes are getting faster with approval responses as the lenders are streamlining the process and accepting more and more short sales. We’ll keep you updated along the way to make for a smooth transaction!
