What Is A Short Sale?

Home sellers should consider a Short Sale when the value of their home is LESS than the amount of their outstanding loans. For example, if your home is worth $250,000 but you have a loan of $260,000 then a short sale is a consideration. Obviously, if you do not have to sell your home, you could wait out the market and hope for a turnaround in real estate values.

However, if you do have to sell your home you basically have three options. First, you can bring cash to the table. In the example above you would sell your home for $250,000 and pay another $10,000 to the lender out of your pocket to pay off the loan on your property. Second, you could let the home go into foreclosure. The lender will go through the foreclosure process, force you out of your home and then auction it off to the highest bidder at a foreclosure or Trustee’s auction. The third option is to pursue a short sale. You contact the lender, explain the circumstances and convince them to take less than full value of their loan.

In the case above you may tell them you have a buyer for $250,000 and it’s very unlikely there will be a buyer at a higher price. If they will accept $250,000 for their $260,000 loan then you can proceed with a short sale. Sometimes the lender will consider a short sale before you have a buyer and you can market your property and, if you find a buyer, take their offer to the lender for consideration. The lender may or may not accept the offer.

The Short Sale Package

All of the documentation needed to start a short sale is commonly called a "Short Sale Package" and is usually submitted by the investor interested in the property, the agent representing the seller, or the seller of the property. The package usually includes the following items:

Sample Short Sale Package (items may vary depending upon the lender):
· Cover Letter
· Authorization to Release Information
· Sellers Hardship Letter
· Seller’s Financial information
· 2 years w2’s
· 2 months pay stubs
· 2 months bank statements
· Supporting Hardship Info – HOA liens, medical/disability statements etc.
· Repair Estimate for the property
· Comparable sales for the property
· Contract
· Net Sheet
· First mortgage holder may ask for a payoff amount from the 2nd
· Second mortgage holder may ask for a payoff amount from the 1st
· Lender may ask for an Initial Title Report

FHA and VA may have their own forms and special requirements as well

Short Sale Negotiation

Short Sale,Foreclosure and pre-foreclosure properties are often a great deal for homebuyers and a particularly profitable opportunity for investors. Now more than ever, nicer and nicer properties are being auctioned off as foreclosure rates skyrocket across all economic levels. Any homebuyer considering perusing the foreclosure offerings will want to keep on their toes and look at several sources to find the best deal.

What is a short sale negotiation?

A short sale negotiation is done when you make a real estate short sale offer to the mortgage holder and they counter offer you. If the mortgage lender doesn't reject your short sale offer immediately, then the chances are they are interested and it is now a matter of making the numbers right. A short sale negotiation is the process when you make a mortgage short sale offer, the bank counters, and you counter the bank back and so forth.

How is a short sale negotiation different from other types of negotiations?

A short sale negotiation is not different from other types of negotiations. If you are a good negotiator, you probably will be good at short sale negotiation and convincing the bank to take your mortgage short sale offer.

What do I need to know in a short sale negotiation?

Besides being convincing in your argument, you need to know what make the bank tick for a successful short sale negotiation. The mortgage holder wants to get the foreclosed property off their books and take as little loss as possible. So, it is important that you find out as much as possible about what their thresholds are.

For example, in your short sale negotiation, you can ask the bank if your mortgage short sale offer is close to what they have in mind or way off. If  you are thinking $50,000 and the bank is thinking $500,000 then the chances are you will never make your short sale work no matter how good at short sale negotiation you are. So, try to verify with the bank as much as possible. Knowing what you are trying to achieve (price-wise) is key to a successful short sale negotiation.

Work with the bank

For a successful short sale negotiation with the bank, you need to work with the bank as much as possible. Communications is key to a successful short sale negotiation. You want to find out what the bank needs to make your short sale deal work. You don't want to keep negotiating on a short sale if you don't know roughly what the bank is trying to get at. Often, when you are talking to a bank officer about a real estate short sale, you can ask them if your short sale offer is close to what they can accept at all. If it is, then you know you can make a short sale case and keep negotiating.