Some individuals may choose to buy or sell their property under a short sale. What are short sales? It is a type of sale that involves someone selling his or her house, with the approval and awareness of the mortgage lender for less than what the current property owner owes to the lender. You can only sell the property when the lender accepts the terms. The goal is to achieve a win-win situation where the seller is no longer saddled with the debt. In addition, the buyer gets the property at a bargain price. If you are considering a short sale, here are some important things to keep in mind, before fixing the deal:
Know When to Get a Trusted Real Estate Agent Onboard
Plan to go it alone? Well, the process may be more troublesome than expected. You may face a lot of emotional and mental pressure through the entire process. That’s why you should work with a trustworthy real estate agent to sort out your problem. He or she must be experienced in every aspect of real estate, including selling short sale property. You should know that the short sale process involves a lot of paperwork and legal procedures. They may cause frustration if you do not know what you are doing. Time is of the essence. You need to act quickly before you end up facing foreclosure.
Check for Eligibility
Avoiding foreclosure and saving your property via short sales may seem alluring. However, you need to cross-check your eligibility for proceeding with services pertaining to short sales. You should acquire written proof from your mortgage lender or bank. To be eligible for short sale services, you are required to owe more money to the lender or bank than the property’s total worth. If you already eligible for loan modification, then the possibility of a short sale approval is out of reach. That’s why a written proof is needed to state that you are experiencing financial hardships (e.g. taking care of excessive medical bills, recently laid off, etc.), thus no longer able to afford the monthly payments.
Short Sale Processes May be Time-Consuming
When it comes to short sales, you need lots of patience. Yes, its name is quite misleading. A short sale typically takes between five and nine months to close; sometimes even longer. While negotiating with a potential buyer, you should aim to get the price that has been approved by the bank or lender for the property. You should get all the help you need from an experienced short sale negotiator to help find a suitable buyer to purchase the short sale property.
Foreclosure and Short Sales are Two Different Things
Foreclosure and short sales are entirely different scenarios. Short sales do not impact your credit score as much as foreclosures. You may have the chance to apply for a home loan for at least two years while in a short sale. In a foreclosure, a homeowner’s role is slightly less than those in short sales. In addition, there is not much tension about evicting previous owners. As you can see, things do get pretty messy.
At NJlux, we know our way around short sales. We are experienced enough to know what makes or breaks a short sale. Contact us today to learn more about our real estate expertise.
