Do I Qualify As a Short Sale Seller?
Many Phoenix, Scottdale and surrounding community homeowners of McDowell Mountain Ranch, DC Ranch, Silverleaf, Grayhawk, Troon, Rio Verde, WindGate Ranch, Desert Highlands, Desert Ridge, Tatum Highlands, Tatum Ranch and the surrounding communities of phoenix do qualify to sell their homes via a short sale, but are not aware of the fact.
How to Qualify for a Short Sale?
If you meet the following criteria, then you are probably a prime candidate for a short sale:
- Upside down on your mortgage. Meaning you owe more than your property is worth in today’s market.
- Falling behind on your mortgage payments or in default. Your lender has started foreclosure proceedings.
- Cannot afford your monthly mortgage payments, and you do not qualify for a mortgage modification, refinance or short refinance.
- Property values have declined in your area substantially recently.
- Do not have enough other assets to sell to help pay your mortgage balance off with.
- Experiencing financial hardship from a job loss, disability, health issue, divorce, reduction in wages, relocation or other financial reason.
Steps to Take
Step 1. Call your lender and find out if you qualify for a short sale.
Step 2. Consult with a short sale company, real estate attorney and financial advisor to see if you have any other options. It is a good idea to work with a short sale company and a real estate attorney. The short sale company will negotiate with your lender, and the attorney can help you with any foreclosure matters and other legal matters.
Step 3. List your property with an experienced local short sale Realtor that has a track record of closing short sales.
Step 4. Submit your hardship letter to the lender and any other required documentation such as W-2’s, 1099’s, bank statements, tax returns and paycheck stubs.
Step 5. Have your short sale company submit the offer as soon as your Realtor finds a buyer, and wait for the lender’s approval.
Step 6. Close the transaction and walk away not owing the lender any money. Be sure you or your third party negotiator negotiate with the lender that they will accept the short sale proceeds as payment in full of your loan. Since Arizona does not allow deficiency judgments you don’t have to worry about your lender coming after you after the closing trying to collect the difference between the amount of the sale proceeds and the amount you owe them on your loan(purchase money mortgage only).
Increase Your Chances of a Successful Short Sale
Be sure to give your lender all the property financial information they request. Your short sale company can assist you with that. Not all short sales get approved so the trick is to make sure that you find a committed buyer who will not walk away before the short sale approval. Otherwise, you may have to start all over again with a new buyer. If your lender has already instituted foreclosure proceedings, you could lose your home trying to find another buyer because the lender may foreclose before you do. Be careful when working with buyers that they are qualified and understand the process. Too many times, you hear stories of buyers in short sales walking away because they don’t understand the process or they don’t want to wait for the lender approval because it is taking too long. Your short sale Realtor can explain the process to the buyer and/or their agent and keep them advised of the status of the transaction, thereby reducing the chances of them walking away and finding another property.
Your short sale Realtor will try and take a back up offer so that if your first buyer walks away, you can go to the next buyer in line to save time. You can take as many backup offers as you want. That is why it is so important you choose an experienced short sale company and short sale Realtor to help you with obtaining a successful short sale and closing the transaction.
Before you make any decisions, talk to your lender, mortgage broker or real estate agent and/or consult with your real estate attorney. We also offer to our clients a referral to an attorney that offers our clients a FREE 15 minute consultation.
For a FREE packet of information about how to avoid a Foreclosure, go to www.NoForeclosureAZ.com
Or
Are you ready to take advantage of this market? Do you want advanced notice to new bank owned properties before they hit the market? www.ArizonaBankDeals.com see new foreclosure homes before most other agents even know they exist!
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