Many people have asked me, “What are short sales” and “how can that help me sell my home”?  

Simply put, a short sale is selling your home for less than you owe including sales expenses and not having to bring any money to closing. 

Sounds simple, right?   Not so fast.   Your mortgage company has to approve the process which could take months.  In fact, I had one sale that was signed in April 2010 and finally closed in Dec. 2010!    The good thing is that the seller was able to sell his home, the buyers were able to purchase it for less than the seller originally purchased it 2 years earlier and the Realtors got paid for putting the transaction together.  A long and tedious process, yes – but also beneficial to all parties.

If you are in a hurry to buy and move into a home, a short sale may not be for you.  If you are a seller, however, and do not have the cash to cover the difference owed, this may work for you.

Keep in mind that the seller’s mortgage company will require documentation from BOTH the seller AND the buyer to ensure that the seller truly cannot afford the home and has no funds to pay the difference and that the buyer is not related to the seller.

Generally, in order for a short sale to be considered, a seller would have to have reason to request the short sale from the mortgage company and usually that seller would be behind on the payments, have no available cash and not earn enough to continue making the payments.  When all this is considered and approved, the bank may very well agree to reduce the amount of the principal owed on the loan enough to cover all expenses, taxes due, closing costs, etc. and allow the homeowner to walk away with owing $ zero yet receiving $ zero on the sale.

I have performed numerous short sales and can help you sell your home via short sale or buy a short sale home. I have put many buyers and sellers together on this type of transaction.  Call me today at 713.818.0829 to let me work for you.