"Personal Services with Results"

Short Sales are necessary when a seller can not sell their home for what they owe. The property is simply not worth the mortgage on the property.

Sellers get themselves into this position for many reasons. The reasons could be second mortgages, debt consolidation loans eliminating credit card debt but they do not stop spending after the consolidation, the downturn in their market, loss of employment and health issues. The reasons vary but in the end they can not afford the mortgage on their current home

You can assist them by getting the knowledge of doing a short sale. If you know what the banks is looking for you can assist your seller in liquidating their property and make a nice profit. Bankers need assistance in gathering the data required to make the short sale decision. The bank many times is willing to accept less than is owed because they do not have to go through the expensive process of a foreclosure

Negotiating a short sale with the lender can be a difficult process, generally because most people are not familiar with the internal processes of the bank. The first thing to do is locate the lender's "Loss Mitigation Department." Each lender may name the department different but most of the time they will know which department you are looking for, so be patient when calling. It is much like getting one of your bills corrected; you can expect the process to involve a lot of waiting on hold and being bounced around an intricate maze of automated voice mail systems. Once you get in touch with the right person, then the negotiating begins

The lender will request information about the property, the seller's ability to pay, and the new buyer's ability to close on the property. Once the lender receives the data they requested they will typically hire a real estate broker or appraiser to evaluate the property (called a broker's price opinion or "BPO"). We also suggest that you can also submit your own appraisal or comparable sales information. In addition you submit comparables of the property for consideration, comment on the negative information of the subject property. Include pictures of issues the bank can view in your submission. Also include a contractor bid for the repair estimates which should be the highest bid you can obtain for the work.

The lender will also ask for financial information about the seller. The Seller must prove they are unable to pay the mortgage and broke. The Seller must show that he has no other income or assets to repay the loan. The Seller will be asked to submit a "hardship letter" describing their misfortune and financial trouble they are experiencing. It is important that you assist them in writing the letter. Realize most sellers will need assistance in filling out the paperwork and obtaining their support documentation.

Finally, the lender wants a written contract between you and the seller. The seller will not walk away with any cash from the deal. The buyer must be willing to pays all costs associated with the transaction, so that the "net cash" to the seller is identified correctly on the HUD-1 that should be supplied by your title company. If you do not have a working relationship with a title company who will do these for you, you can prepare your own HUD-1 but write in bold on top of it "PRELIMINARY".<

Do not get discouraged if your short sale is rejected because most of the time it will be rejected. The contracts you do get accepted will make up for all of the work you put in on rejected contracts so keep on working for Sellers needing to liquidate.

A final note. DO NOT ASSUME that inside the bank you are working with there are intelligent beings that want to work with you. The turnover is unbelievable and they are clerical folks making minimum wage just putting in their time most of the time. However, there are times you find a professional person who cares and wants to help. When you find someone like that be sure to note down their name on your next deal with that bank. Also, do not get discouraged because many times the decisions being made do not make sense. Just go get another one. Good luck. We are all counting on you to help as many Sellers you can to eliminate this stressful situation in their lives so they can move on to better times.

If you are looking for a partner to work with who knows the Short Sale Process feel free to team up with Ray Bartle Realty & Investments. 

We can also assist Sellers in doing Short Sales.  Ray Bartle Realty & Investments can bring buyers to the table to make the Short Sale a Success.

Call on Ray Bartle Realty & Investments for your short sale needs.