SHORT SALES IN TODAYS MARKET

SHORT SALES IN TODAYS MARKET

With more and more people in trouble with their mortgages, property values down and foreclosures through the roof, short sales are becoming a growing trend. Loss mitigation personnel at the banks are inundated with at up to TEN times the volume of requests they have been accustom to. The process (already long and tedious) has slowed to a crawl. More importantly than even this information is the fact that all of the BAD people have come out of the woodwork as well. Scammers taking advantage of peoples misfortunes are every where. As usual, we (Investors looking to make a living by providing a service to assist people out of a bad situation) are looked on as those who are preying on the misfortunes of others. Here are some tips to overcome these obstacles that face us as we meet short sale opportunities now and in the future.

• Provide documentation that you are who you say you are, and provide some references to potential short sale property owners that will allow them some feeling of security and comfort to be working with a reputable person or company.

• Be properly prepared with the documentation that you will need to begin and finish the short sale process. This documentation usually includes:

  A hardship letter

  Authorization to release information

  You will need to get two years of tax returns from the property owner

  You will need two pay stubs from them as well

  Also two bank statements

  If the property has been for sale you will need a copy of the listing agreement and all marketing materials

  If there is a second mortgage involved you will need a letter from the bank or lender agreeing to the short sale

Lenders will not accept an incomplete SHORT SALE PACKAGE. Be professional and submit a complete package. Get to know the process prior to beginning. Learn how the lender works with these files and let the loss mitigation officer know that you know what you are doing.

• Have good printed material explaining how this process will lessen the financial woes for the home owner. Make sure it explains clearly that a foreclosure will do a great deal more damage to the owners credit than will the process of a short sale.

• Make sure that the bank will stop the foreclosure process while these efforts are ongoing. There are some banks (HSBC for instance) that will not put the foreclosure on hold. This could make some people very upset with you if you forget this important matter.