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2009
22
Jul

The Short Sale In A Nutshell

by Don Burnham

Sometimes the owner of a property is no longer able to pay the mortgage or deed of trust. When this happens, foreclosure often follows -or worse: bankruptcy. But there is an alternative, the short sale.

Not all lenders will sign a short sale. This is because signing it means agreeing to be paid an amount less than what’s due. The lender will be accepting a discounted payment for what they’ve lent out, in effect, forgiving the remaining deficiencies of the trustor or borrower. Of course, not all lenders will take a short sale -since pursuing foreclosure and taking the property as collateral will certainly make more financial sense.

That’s right, the lender agrees to accept payment that’s considerably less than the total amount that’s due. Not every bank or lender will accept a short sale -of course it would make much more financial sense to pursue foreclosure and just take the collateral.

To pursue a short sale, consult your real estate attorney if your case is eligible -certain state laws only allow specific values for a loan to qualify for a deficiency judgment in a short sale. Also, consult an accountant, the IRS may consider the unpaid debts as income, affecting your tax records. Also, the borrower is not guaranteed that the lender will not pursue them for the remaining debts beyond the debt already forgiven -an especially good reason to consult your attorney.

It’s hard to guess how long securing a short sale will take, but it’s sure to be long, tedious, and tiring. Lenders usually say about 21 days or so for a case to be completely approved.

Not just for nonpayers, those who have never once paid a single installment can also avail -thanks in part to their negative equity. To short sell is to get out of a very rough and highly threatening financial situation, take it when you need it and take it if you can.

The full process of a short sale will include a contract, an Authorization to Release Information and the addendum. A warranty deed is a tool used in the process. Let’s examine the process now, starting with the contract.

The process is quite simple to understand, it starts with the contract, then the authorization to release, and lastly the addendum. The warranty deed is also part of this whole process. What are really important to grasp in the process is the first two documents:

Contract: This can look like anything and can span from just a page to an entire mini book -it all depends on what it contains and how it’s laid out. Just think of a generic contract, it can be really simple or really sophisticated. The addendum should be referred to, at any time the price is mentioned in the contract.

The basic document that contains nearly all vital info on conducting the transaction is contained in the addendum:

Origination of the contract

The Date

The names and other info pertinent to the parties involved

The address

It’s better if both the simple address and the legal address are listed to avoid confusion.

Any investor, who wants to make money in the foreclosure market, should always consider that a short sale could still bring him a bargain property.

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