Molly Sabatino receives SFR Certification (Baird & Warner Fox Valley St. Charles, IL)

Molly Sabatino of Baird & Warner's Fox Valley office recently received her Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource Certification (SFR). "With the current economic conditions and today's housing market, more an more home owners are looking at a short sale as an alterative to losing their home to a foreclosure," Sabatino said.

While Sabatino has been in business for several years she has seen an increase in the number of short sale transactions in the Fox Valley. "Sometimes when you list the house the sellers are not in a short sale situation. However, as time goes by and mortgage payments are missed and housing prices decline the seller is now faced with a short sale."

A short sale is when the mortgage holder agrees to take less than what is currently owed on the home because the seller is unable to come up with the difference. In order to qualify for a short sale the seller must have endured some form of hardship that makes it difficult or impossible for them to pay their current mortgage.

The SFR coursework gives the agent the tools needed to help both sellers and buyers navigate the complex nature of short sales and foreclosures. Agents with their SFR are able to qualify sellers for a short sale, help them prepare a short sale package, negotiate with the lender. They can also direct sellers to legal, and finance professionals who can help them avoid a short sale.

Sabatino stated that, "Sellers have many more options that just selling their home. There are programs designed to help them modify their current loan so they don't have to sell. This course showed me how to counsel my clients about their options."

Buyers will also benefit from using an agent with their SFR because the agent will protect the buyers' interests by knowing how the process works and help limit the risk of making an offer on a short sale property. "Knowing the ins and outs of the short sale process helps me while working with buyers. A short sale can take several months to close so I can educate my buyers about the time frame involved and move on if the buyer is not able to wait for bank approval."

Sabatino has been helping buyers and sellers in the Fox Valley for 5 years. You can contact her at 630-345-7486 or by e-mail at molly.sabatino@bairdwarner.com