If you own a home, are behind on your mortgage payments, and do not have enough equity on your home to sell it, short selling your home is a good option for you. It is FREE to all home sellers with the lender paying all the fees at closing, and it can avoid you a foreclosure.

The short sale process is still a mystery to many people, even after all these years. Lots of buyer's agents are confused; puzzled buyers are looking for direction, and not every short sale listing agent knows how to do a short sale. Leave it to the Pros!

If you are behind on your mortgage payment, and want to avoid foreclosure, or thinking of purchasing a "Short Sale" we hope the following can answer some of the questions you may have.

Most important thing to remember is this - A Short Sale is a Win-Win situation for all parties if approved and closed. Short selling a home is FREE to home owners/sellers, can be a great bargain for buyers, and will remove delinquent loans from a lender's books.

Please contact us or email us at lexingtonscrealestate@gmail.com if you have further questions or would like to get started with the short sale process.

The Basics of a Short Sale

Banks grant short sales for 2 reasons: the seller has a hardship, and the seller owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth. It is basically the step prior to foreclosure, or the home being bank owned or REO (real estate owned).

A few examples of a hardship are:

• Unemployment / reduced income
• Divorce
• Medical emergency
• Job transfer out of town
• Bankruptcy
• Death

The seller will need to prepare a financial package for submission to the short sale bank. Each bank has its own guidelines but -- the basic procedure is similar from bank to bank. The seller's short sale package will most likely consist of:

• Letter of authorization, which lets us, your agent speak to the bank.
• HUD-1 or preliminary net sheet (we take care of that with an attorney)
• Completed financial statement (your family budget)
• Seller's hardship letter
• 2 years of tax returns
• 2 years of W-2s
• Recent payroll stubs
• Last 2 months of bank statements
• Comparative market analysis or list of recent comparable sales (we take care of that as well)

Writing the Short Sale Offer and Submitting to the Bank

Before a buyer writes a short sale offer, a buyer should ask his or her agent for a list of comparable sales. Banks are not in the business of giving away a home at rock-bottom pricing. The bank will want to receive somewhat close to market value. The short sale price may have little bearing on market value and may, in fact, be priced below the comparable sales to encourage multiple offers.

After the seller accepts the offer, the listing agent will send the following items to the bank:

• Listing agreement
• Executed purchase offer
• Buyer's preapproval letter and copy of earnest money check
• Seller's short sale package

If the package is incomplete, the short sale process will be delayed. In this event, the bank might even shred the package.

The Short Sale Process at the Bank

Buyers may wait a long time to get a response from the bank. It is imperative for the listing agent to regularly call the bank and keep careful notes of the short sale process. Buyers may get so tired of waiting for short sale approval that they may feel the need to threaten to cancel if they don't get an answer within a specified time period.

Following is a typical short sale process at the bank:

• Bank acknowledges receipt of the file. This can take 10 days to a month.
• A negotiator is assigned. This can take 30 to 60 days.
• A BPO is ordered. The bank probably will refuse to share the results of the BPO. A BPO is a Broker Price Opinion, in other words an appraisal.
• A second negotiator may be assigned. This can take another 30 days.
• The file is sent for review or to the PSA. This can take 2 weeks to 30 days.
• The bank may then request that all parties sign an Arm's-Length Affidavit.
• The bank issues a short sale approval letter or re-negotiates with the buyer

Some short sales get approval in 6 to 8 weeks. Others take 90 to 120 days, on average. You never know until you get to the work out negotiator, and every lender has their own process.

Short Selling a home or buying a home has been made easier by the latest federal mandate ordering banks to speed up the process. This is good news and can only benefit all parties. Call us today to get started!

JP and Jen Piccinini - Lexington and Lake Murray SC Real Estate. Real Estate is our family business, and we look forward to not just earning your business, but your friendship and trust. Allow us to welcome you home!

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JP and Jen Piccinini, Lexington SC and Lake Murray SC Real Estate, Realtors, Home and MLS Search email us directly at Lexingtonscrealestate@gmail.com JP Mobile (803) 873 0533 Jen Moble (803) 873 0534 Business (803) 834 7444   Fax (803) 834 7446     jp@jphomesforsale.com Proud Members of EXIT Real Estate Solutions Licensed in the State of South Carolina		JP and Jen Piccinini Promote Your Page Too
You can find great local Lexington, SC real estate information on Localism.com Joseph (JP) Piccinini is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.