The role of short sales and foreclosures in Rocky Hill, Connecticut

The role of short sales and foreclosures in Rocky Hill, Connecticut

Although Rocky Hill, CT does not exhibit the same extreme levels of foreclosures as other towns in the country or state, distress home sales are certainly an issue here in Rocky Hill as well. It is now estimated that 25% of all homeowners are upside down in their homes. While this is an unpleasant fact of life for the owner, it becomes a tremendous problem when forced to sell the home.

Currently Rocky Hill has a total of 65 homes on the market (only single family residences were used for this research). Out of those homes 8% are listed as short sales and another 6% are listed as bank-owned properties, for a total of 14% of current inventory. Short sales are when the homeowner owes more than the home is currently worth and the lender must approve the sale and take the loss. Bank owned properties are homes that have gone all the way through the foreclosure process and are now being sold by the foreclosing lender.

In the past 12 months in Rocky Hill 92 homes have sold. During that same time 9 short sale homes were placed on market for sale, yet only 4 short sale homes sold. That would mean only 44% of short sales listed in Rocky Hill actually sell. Why? I have found there are usually only a few reasons short sales do not sell:

• The homeowner decides on an alternative solution, such as a loan modification, forebearance or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure
• The homeowner takes action too late, runs out of time and the home forecloses
• A real estate agent lacking short sale experience is hired to sell the home and the short sale is not properly handled, leading to foreclosure instead of a successfull short sale

The low instance of successfull short sales in Rocky Hill contributes to the higher rate of bank owned foreclosed property sales: in the last 12 months 6 bank owned properties were sold, compared to 4 short sales. Although the rate of listed short sales is higher than the rate of listed bank-owned homes, the actual close rate of short sales is MUCH lower than expected.

What does it all mean? While many homeowners realize the advantages of short selling their home and attempt to do just that, most ultimately fail and foreclose. As a local Connecticut short sale agent with over a 90% short sale approval rate, I can offer a few tips to CT homeowners to make sure their short sale is a success:

• Consider all your options - loan modification, deed in lieu, forebearance, etc, BEFORE attempting the short sale
• Take action early. The best time to get started on your short sale is as soon as you anticipate you will need to sell and before you have missed many payments
• Choose the right Realtor for your short sale. This is absolutely critical. Even if you have done everything else right, your real estate agent can make or break your short sale. This is not a time to choose Aunt Betty with a license, but do your research and find the most qualified CT short sale agent to help you. Your choice may very well mean the difference between a successfull short sale and ending up in foreclosure.

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