#1. Your Home Should Be “Upside Down”
Your home value should be worth less than what is owed upon the home. Can you determine the value in your community? Consult a Realtor!
#2. Speak with your Mortgage Lender!
Every mortgage lender will have options for a homeowner to consider prior to a short sale of the home. Some examples include forbearance or a loan modification.
#3. Determine a Hardship
Whether it be a job loss, loss of income, divorce, etc., understanding a “hardship” to determine why your lender should forgive the debt owed upon your home is critical!
#4. Assemble a Short Sale Packet
Before listing your home for sale, speaking to your mortgage lender about the items of paperwork to confirm your position of hardship will be necessary. Typically, this includes previous tax returns, paystubs, bank statements, and a hardship letter.
#5. List Your Home for Sale
Consulting a Realtor with an SFR designation or a preferable experience in closing short sales becomes important at this point! Listing the home and aggressively dropping the price based upon showings is critical to getting an offer.
#6. Get an Accepted Offer on Your Home
Hooray! Offer is accepted and submitted to the motgage lender with your short sale packet. Now, the waiting game begins…
#7. Lender presents Terms of Acceptance
Lender will present a letter of acceptance with terms that will need to be acceptable to the seller and buyer. Home will likely close 30-60 days after acceptance.
Please note, these are general steps to a standard Short Sale. Each lender has different requirements and these steps present a general outline. Consult your lender as to their specific requirements.
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