Here in Brevard County, FL, many homeowners have had to sell their homes owing more than their house is worth. Some can no longer afford the payments and believe foreclosure is their only option. Other homeowners need to sell due to a job transfer, marriage, divorce or illness and just owe too much and also assume they cannot sell their home.There are options for all of these scenarios. A Short Sale will allow you to sell your home at the current market value and asks your bank or mortgage company to accept this lower amount. A Short sale often costs the seller no out of pocket expenses.
Having a professional, local, full time agent who is well experienced in short sales will make all the difference in the world. I strive to be that agent by offering the best in personal and professional service while guiding you through each step of the short sale process. THE BASIC PROCESS OF THE SHORT SALE
1. THE FIRST STEP: In order to complete a short sale, a seller must be able to show a "hardship". Some examples are: not being able to afford your monthly payment, losing a job, illness, divorce, death or a job transfer to another state.
2. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is to choose a local Realtor who is experienced in listing, negotiating and selling short sales. Beware of out of state companies or people who promise you things that sound too good to be true. If you live in Brevard County, call JoAnn Young first for experience involving short sales.
3. STARTING THE PROCESS. You will need to gather your last 2 years tax returns, last 2 pay stubs, 3 month bank statements, a list of income and expenses and write a hardship letter. The listing agent or negotiator will complete a title search to see what liens are attached to the property to be sold or if your home is in foreclosure.
a. The listing agent or negotiator will make preliminary contact with the mortgage company / bank to obtain any specific forms or instructions they will need to complete the short sale
b. A The listing agent should have some idea of what the property’s value is. . The home should be priced at or just below market value. Pricing a home too low, will result in the short sale being counter offered or refused.
c. The listing agent markets the property in search of potential buyers and offers
4. RECEIVING AND ACCEPTING AN OFFER. The one thing to remember is the sale is between the buyer and the home owner, not the buyer and the bank. The seller should choose the best offer to accept and submit to the mortgage company for approval. The buyer should be ready to close within 30 days of the acceptance of the short sale offer from the bank. If the house needs any repairs, they should be noted in the initial offer, not left to work out later.
5. SUBMITTING THE SHORT SALE FOR APPROVAL. Once an offer has been submitted and the seller’s financials are gathered, the listing agent or the listing agent’s professional negotiator will submit the short sale package to the bank. The short sale offer and package MUST be complete or will be rejected.
6. THE SHORT SALE APPROVAL PROCESS. Once the bank receives the file, the bank will assign a negotiator. This could take 1-2 weeks. They will review the package and if it is complete will order an appraisal or Broker’s Price opinion (BPO) within the first 2 weeks. It could then take 2 more weeks to finish the appraisal. Once it arrives, the negotiator will review the home’s value and what proceeds they will receive from the short sale versus what they would receive if they foreclosed. This could take 2-4 more weeks.
7. THE BANK’S RESPONSE TO YOUR SHORT SALE. On average, it takes 2-3 months if you have only 1 mortgage. The response from the bank can be either to accept your offer as is, or they can counter the offer trying to reduce the costs of the short sale by asking the buyer for a higher price, better terms or money from the seller. Worst case is they deny the offer i.e. if the seller does not have a hardship of if the offer is just way too low.
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The 2 most important things to note are:
1. A short sale should NEVER be considered approved unless received in writing. All offers, counter offers and such should always be in writing for your protection. No matter what, a short sale will only go as well as the listing agent is experienced in short sales. The short sale process will be much more difficult with an un-experienced agent. It is common for short sales to go 3-6 months. One more important tip is for the seller to stay in the home. Leaving the home early, lessens your negotiating power with the bank.
3.. Use an agent who is local and well experienced in listing, negotiating and selling short sales. JoAnn will guide you through each step of the short sale selling process. If you want an agent experienced and successful in short sales, call JoAnn Young 321-243-4917 Florida Realtor, Melbourne, FL email JoAnn
