Short Sale
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Basics of a Short Sale
Short sales happen when a lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed against the home because there is not enough equity to sell and pay all costs of sale. Not all lenders will negotiate a short sale, and that is why a real estate agent or a lawyer can be a tremendous help by contacting the lender’s loss mitigation department to find out.
Example: If the unpaid balance of a loan is, say, $100,000 and a property sells for $90,000, under a short sale the lender might accept $90,000 as payment in full.
In the past lenders wouldn’t even consider a short sale if your payments are current, but that is changing. However, realize that lenders will be more agreeable to negotiation if your payments are in arrears. Plus, if you have cash assets, the lender might try to tap those accounts. Doing a short sale is not for the faint of heart.
FAQ:
Will a short sale affect my credit?
A short sale does adversely affect a person’s credit report, though the negative impact is typically less than a foreclosure. Short sales are a type of settlement. Like all entries except for bankruptcy, short sales remain on a credit report for seven years. Depending upon other credit information it is typically possible to obtain another mortgage 1-3 years after a short sale. It is not yet known how many points it will reduce your FICO score or how long it will stay on your record.
While it is frequent if not common for a lender to forgive the balance of the loan in question, it is unlikely that a lien holder that is not a mortgagee will forgive any of their balance. Further, it is common for a lender to omit updating mortgage balances to reflect a zero balance after a short sale. However, willfully misrepresenting information on a credit report can constitute libel in some jurisdictions, and lenders may be sued in civil court for engaging in this behavior.
How do I start the process?
Lenders have a department (typically called “loss mitigation”) that processes potential short sale transactions. Typically, lenders do not accept short sale offers or requests for short sales until a Notice of Default has been issued or recorded with the locality where the property is located. However, given the unprecedented and overwhelming number of losses that mortgage lenders have suffered from the current foreclosure crisis, they are now more willing to accept short sales than ever before. This is great news for borrowers who are “under-water” or in other words those owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth and are having trouble selling to avoid foreclosure because of this. They are type of distressed borrower who needs a short sale the most. Lenders have a varying tolerance for short sales and mitigated losses.
How do I know how much the lender will accept for the sale of my home?
The majority of lenders have pre-determined criteria for such transactions. Other distressed lenders may allow any reasonable offer subject to loss mitigation’s approval. Multiple levels of approvals and conditions are very common with short sales. Junior liens – such as second.
If you would like one of our Short Sale Specialists to do a market analysis on your property and go over your options with you, please fill out the form below and one of our Specialists will get back to you within 24 hours.
