Real Estate News | Bailouts...What about Me? | Short Sales

Fannie Mae Bailout.....Freddie Mac Bailout.......The Big 3 Bailout....How about a Jack Bailout?

News You can Use

• Interest Rates are below 5%...
• New Water Front listing on Bayou Drive in Pensacola for $200,000.
• Have another one coming up for sale in the Innerarity Point area of Pensacola. House sustained no Ivan damage....has a pool, boat lift, jet ski dock, patio with outdoor kitchen.

Qualifying for a "short sale"

Are you behind on your mortgage or will you soon be due to financial set back and your house is worth less than what is owed.

Why would a bank agree to a "short sale"?

A lender can save up to 20% of the value of the house by doing a "short sale" instead of a foreclosure.

Advice

1) Seek legal and tax advice. You will want to avoid a deficiency judgment (where the bank sues you for the money they lost).

2) Contact a real estate agent that is not intimitated with doing a short sale.

Your real estate agent will do a market analysis to determine a price range on where a sale is expected. The home will be marketed. When an offer is received you and your agent will negotiate with the buyer through the buyer's agent a contract price. Your agent will then submit the contract to your lender along with a package that should include: a market analysis; market history; a Macro outlook on your area real estate market; a Micro outlook on your neighborhood real estate market; pricing history; marketing history; your financial statement; your financial docs;your authorization to release information (again); listing agreement; buyer's qualifications; etc.

Your agent will then negotiate with the lender to approve the sale. The lender may reject, counter-offer, or Accept the "CONTRACT" (notice the word "contract" because it is not an offer). Once the contract is accepted by the lender the lender will send a "short pay" approval letter to your agent. Once the lender has approved the short sale you typically have 30 days to close.

By the way a short sale can take up to six months. However I have had one that only took 30 days from the time the offer was received by me and the seller to the time we closed. The lender in that 30 day sale was BB&T. ONE OF the KEYS to having a successful short sale is for Your Agent to effectively communicate consistently with your lender with a positve attitude and to convey to the lender that he/she is attempting to minimize the lender's loss.

Jack Lara, Broker-Associate and Certified Distressed Property Expert with Keller Williams Realty of Pensacola in Florida.

visit: www.911StopForeclosures.com You can call me at (850) 471-5000 or email me at JackLara@kw.com