I have been in short sales for three years now. Back in the early days, I’d spend a lot of time explaining to Realtors and home owners exactly what a short sale is! Today, most people know the basics of them and I usually talk about the benefits and details they don’t want to forget.

I do real estate and investment work nationwide. I meet with clients and look for methods of dealing with less income, mortgage payments going up, and their home value dropping.

Here are some solutions: Most people start talking with their bank to get a mortgage modification. This can be good, but often the reduction in monthly payment is not enough to make a difference. The banks often deny the modification because of too little income.

A second way that we may suggest is legal foreclosure defense. A lawyer looks over your mortgage documents and makes the lender come up with all the proper paperwork. This can delay the foreclosure for a long time!

After going through these steps, often it will still come to a foreclosure or short sale as a long term solution. The preferred method is usually the short sale. Credit is damaged much less and often nothing more is owed to the lender!

There are a lot of people who are in what I can the “standard” position. This is someone who has lost their job and/or have lower income and their home has lost a LOT of value and the mortgage payment has gone up. Often, people want to try to get a mortgage modification in order to continue paying lower payments and stay in their home. I totally agree with this as a first tactic to use. BUT, the end result is usually too little a decrease in payments and they end up right where they started.

If these don’t work as expected, a short sale can be used. Negotiations can occur with the lender and a short sale is approval to sell it at current market value. The owner can often find another housing arraignment at a much lower price. The amount owed to the bank after the sale can be dismissed along with the tax liabilities! This can be the best solution for owner! Foreclosure and bankruptcy can leave the home owner with debt and liabilities that they were not expecting! There are many lawyers that can help you with your questions.

Want to find out more about short sales, then visit Daniel Wolkoff’s site on how to choose the best way to avoid foreclosure for your needs.

categories: short sales,foreclosures,mortgage modification,real estate