February 22, 2012

Short Sales- For Sellers

There are many things that you need to know about short sales. A quick definition for a short sale is when an owner owes more on a house than it is worth and must sell due to a “Hardship.” In a short sale the lender that holds the mortgage allows the seller to sell the house short of what is owed and the lender takes the loss. This type of sale requires cooperation from a seller, short sale lender, buyer and the buyers lender.

The seller must be willing to cooperate with the short sale lender and provide them with all of the documents they request to approve the short sale. Keep in mind that keep good records of when you send something to them and keep a copy in case you need to resend it. Lenders are notorious for not receiving documents or having the misplaced. Selling a house short can be less damaging to a owners credit than a foreclosure and banks are starting to work better with these type of sales. In fact under some circumstances they are incentivizing owners to stay in the house to take care of it until the short sale is complete.

The listing agent on a short sale must be a knowledgeable and hard working agent. Short sales take a lot of work from the REALTOR and they must be willing to spend a lot of time on the phone with the lender to help get things approved and move forward with the sale. The agent must be conscious of the timelines as often times the bank doesn’t respond until after the deadlines, sometimes even after their own deadlines.

Do you have a house you would like to sell but owe more than what it is worth in today’s market? Give me a call/text at 317-413-5311 or email me at for more information. We can discuss your particular situation and see if a short sale might be the best option for you.

Posted by: Jeremy Page