Short sales and you

Short sales have been increasingly in the news, along with reports of foreclosures. So what exactly is this type of home sale, and what would a short sale mean for a homeowner experiencing financial hardship? Basically, the owner sells the house for less than the balance owed on the house, with the approval of the bank.

This approach is an attractive alternative to allowing a home to go into foreclosure. Foreclosures are sure to damage a homeowner’s credit. Short sales still hurt a homeowner’s credit, but experts don’t cite as much as a full foreclosure. Banks know, statistically, that they lose between 30 and 50 percent on the sale price, once they take possession of the home through foreclosure. For some banks, this may mean strategically delaying a foreclosure in favor of allowing the owner to market the home through a real estate broker. For the homeowner, a short sale is a way to get the best price for the home (and the bank), while working to mitigate the impact on your credit.

A homeowner contemplating an approach to selling a home should connect with a qualified real estate agent experienced in helping homeowners through this process, including having resources in place for consultation with tax law specialists. and real estate, so that the homeowner is well informed and sure that his decision is a good one. There are many different aspects to the short sale process, which an experienced real estate agent can explain to you. There are differences in each short sale, starting with the type of home financing and the reason for the difficulty. Hardships can run the gamut: loss of a job or spouse, divorce, and, in the cases of our military, orders for a permanent change of station. The only way to go wrong is to do nothing.

Of course, if you’re interested in buying a short sale, it’s just as important to have an experienced real estate agent on your side, who knows all about the buyer’s side of the process. They can determine if the prospective property is a good fit or a complete waste of time. Basically, the best advice for an interested buyer is to have a lot of patience, knowing that your real estate agent is staying up to date on what’s going on in the transaction and working in your best interest.