Apr
21


How to Stop a Foreclosure

Thursday, April 21, 2011

HOW TO STOP FORECLOSURE

Facing Foreclosure...Consider a Short Sale If you are one of the many homeowners who have fallen behind on your mortgage payments and you don't see any way to avoid foreclosure, a short sale may offer you the least painful way to resolve the situation. Obviously, the ideal scenario would be that you magically catch up on your mortgage payments and keep your home. But for an increasing number of Americans, that is not a realistic possibility, so it's to your advantage to take an active role. This is what a short sale is all about -- resolving the problem, as opposed to simply hiding from your lender and hoping the issue will go away or, worse, walking away from the property.  

WHAT IS A SHORT SALE?

A short sale is when the proceeds from the sale do not cover the balance owed.  The bank(s) recognizes the borrower's economic hardship and agrees to accept a discounted payoff on the loan.  The homeowner then sells the property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, turning over the proceeds to the lender.  In most cases, the lender will recognize this as full satisfaction of the debt.  Upon listing your home for sale, I will begin working with the bank's loss mitigation department to negotiate a successful short sale. 

WHY IS IT CRITICAL TO CHOOSE AN EXPERIENCED  SHORT SALE SPECIALIST?

In a word: Success. The MLS is littered with failed short sales.  To avoid that experience, an agent much have the specialized training, tenacity, and above all, skill.  Lenders are not required to accept short sale payoffs.  It takes a skilled, persuasive professional to show them why a short sale makes sense - and then navigate the complex process to completion.

WHY WOULD A HOMEOWNER CHOOSE A SHORT SALE?

A short sale will typically postpone the foreclosure process and give you several additional months (with no payments) in the home.  The homeowner also benefits by avoiding the stigma of a foreclosure on his credit history.  Satisfying the debt via a short sale allows the borrower to get reestablished financially and avoid future hardship.  While a short sale does adversely affect a person's credit history, the impact is far less than that of a foreclosure.  In most cases, the seller incurs no out-of-pocket expenses.  According to recent Fannie Mae guidelines, homeowners can be eligible to buy again with certain loans just two years after a short sale is complete.  By contrast, after foreclosure they must wait 5-7 years.





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Estella said
"That is a beautiful shot with very good lighting ." about Women Consider Owning a Home to be a Vital Component of the American Dream
on Sunday, May 12, 2013 @ 9:57 AM

Chris White - Team Leader said
"Unfortunately you are not alone. It's more than an outcry. The powers that be really need to come down harder on Bofa than they already are. Working on these short sale for over 2 years now I've uncovered down right fraud happening on the lenders parts. If they cared more about moving this country forward than protecting their own wallets then they would cut the red tape and approve these short sales in a timely manner. Our team made the wise decision to get BofA loans which were FHA or Freddie Mac backed, approved prior to listing on the market. Then we can list the home as "Price Approved" and close in 30 days. In this instance BofA does a full appraisal, rather than an incompetent "Broker Price Opinion" (nothing against agents but they have no idea how to make adjustments on comparable homes) and then the bank issues an "Approval To Participate" letter which dictates what price we can go on the market and take anything north of 88%. I really do hope your situation improves. " about Congressional Bill to Speed Up Short Sales
on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 9:15 AM

Lisa Zeiner said
"We made an offer 4 months ago to BofA, and have heard nothing. It was a cash offer which is better than the zero money they are collecting now. And since the people don't care they are trashing the place, by the time BofA gets around to it our offer will be gone as the place is a mess!! Septic issues now, garbage being dumnped. All of this could have been avoided if BofA really wanted to correct their cash flow problem and sell these properties in a timely manner. They cry about cash but then do nothing intelligent to fix the problem" about Congressional Bill to Speed Up Short Sales
on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 9:06 AM

Jones Ramirez said
"Thank you for the work you have done into this post, it helps clear up a few questions I had." about How do appraiser’s determine a homes value?
on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 @ 10:07 PM

HollyRobsonf said
"Hey - I am certainly happy to find this. great job!" about Bank of America to Offer Principal Reduction to Underwater Borrowers
on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 @ 6:45 PM