Gainesville, FL

Short Sale Agents in Gainesville specializing on short sales are privileged to report about the rules by the FHA obligating lenders to extend their fortitude to homeowners who are unemployed for the span of 12 months. These rules took effect in July 2011 and are geared toward giving assistance to unemployed homeowners for them to make it through the economic depression.

The original fortitude timeline was limited to four months but the timeline for most homeowners had been extended to 12 months after the prolonged state of unemployment. More than 45% of the unemployed have been hunting work for more than 24 months.

Short Sale Agents in Gainesville believe that homeowners will be given more chances to find employment during this time of economic depression if the timeline for the fortitude will be extended.

In order to prevent foreclosure, a time of review at the end of the 12 months has been implemented to assist the homeowners.

Short Sale Agents in Gainesville Florida are encouraging those FHA borrowers who are having difficulties on their mortgages during extended unemployment status to call their lenders rightaway – now that a special fortitude option is being offered. An FHA borrower will be qualified in getting more assistance than would be available once a loan default process is enforced when they take the time to notify the lender about the unemployment status.

When buying or selling a home, condo or vacant land in Gainesville and Alachua County, it is customary for the SELLER to select the closing agent in your real estate transaction. Please note that this is standard for Alachua County, and other counties in Florida may be different.

Since it is the sellers burden(and expense) to provide the buyer with clear title via an Owners Title Policy - it is therefore the sellers choice. Normally, per our Florida Contract, the buyer will require the seller to provide title insurance to the buyer prior to closing.

Sellers may select a personal real estate attorney or a title company. The buyers' lender will coordinate the loan package and mortgage title policy with the sellers' closing agent. If the seller selects an attorney, that attorney represents the SELLER. If a buyer chooses their own real estate attorney, then their attorney must coordinate the transaction with the sellers attorney and/or title company.

Curious about homes for sale? Here's direct access to Search Homes for Sale in Gainesville FL & Alachua County.

Originally Posted at: Gainesville Real Estate Talk

Short Sales In Gainesville – Avoid Foreclosure, Know Your Options! To save your home from being foreclosed, Short Sale Agents in Gainesville provide you with options. Study these options to know if they apply to your case.

1. You may apply for the federal HARP program to know if you are eligible and to your lender’s preferred loan modification program. To know if there are any state programs available to you, go to this federal site. Also, you may apply to the Home Save program under the NACA.

2. You may try getting a second job. This will help greatly in saving your home although it is not often practiced since most people can’t even find a first job in this market. But for some who can, you should grab the opportunity.

3. You should cancel/pay off your credit card debt. Your credit card debt could be a big factor why you couldn’t afford your home. It’s time for you to consider getting heads on with your credit card debt. You may contact your creditors to make a settlement on your debt. You may also offer a lump sum payment, perhaps 50% lower than your balance. Although this will have tax and credit history consequences but it could be one of your best options in saving your home from being foreclosed.

4. You may start your small home business. Etsy, TaskRabbit and elance are some that allow people to advance their skills in home business.

5. You may consider renting a room. Try advertising in Craigslist or Trulia for long term rental periods. Go into Airbnb and check if you can get interest in renting out your room to individuals who only need shorter periods of lease time. This is a good option to raise funds quickly.

6. You may short-sell your home. On an average, it takes over a year for banks to foreclose on and repossess a home. You may have a chance to wait for a loan modification and do a short sale and be eligible for the income tax exemption which will expire on Dec. 31, 2012 if you list your home for sale with an expert realtor in Gainesville.

7. You should work with professionals such as expert realtors in Gainesville, expert Real Estate attorneys, expert CPA firms like Hanson & CO or expert certified public accountants if you are trying to apply for a short sale or loan modification. These professionals help you be informed about the options available for you.

The downturn in the housing market is now being perceived as the norm and many homeowners are getting pessimistic with their mortgages. But Short Sale Agents in Gainesville encourage you not to give up. Your options in avoiding foreclosure are not limited.

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Originally Posted at: Gainesville Real Estate Talk

Gainesville Short Sales – Why Don’t I Just Let the Bank Foreclose? If you are a homeowner in distress, foreclosure should be the last option you consider. If and have closed a successful short sale you will receive a 1099 in the mail. Everyone who has sold short their home receives a 1099 for the difference of what they owed on their mortgage and what it sold for. However, if you lived in your home for 2 out of 5 years you may qualify for The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. This will allow for that debt to not be held against you for when you file your taxes.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act is currently in place through 2012, meaning your Gainesville short sale must close prior to the end of 2012. Visit www.irs.gov or speak to your CPA to find out additional information. The act will allow for the debt to be forgiven and secondly, the bank will also forgive you for that loss and will not seek a deficiency. Florida is a deficiency state which means they can come after you for the loss you still owe them.

In 90% of our Gainesville short sales we have been able to negotiate the waiver of deficiency. This is not a guarantee and it is based on each seller’s own unique circumstances. If you qualify for HAFA, the program will release you of that deficiency as part of the program guidelines. It is easier to have a deficiency waiver if you financially insolvent or if you are unemployed. If you have money, many times the waiver of deficiency is subject to a cash settlement. You may be offered 2 different cash settlements. One will be for a lower amount, for example $5,000 cash to close, while the other may be $10,000 at 0% interest with payments of $55 over the course of 15 years.

These are much better reasons than to do a foreclosure in Gainesville. Take into consideration this scenario:

Let’s say you owe $250,000 on your Gainesville home, you bought it for $278,000 and it is now worth $150,000. A $100,000 difference in what you owe the short sale bank and what the home is worth. A buyer contracts on your home for $150,000 and the short sale bank agrees to the short sale, agrees to waive the deficiency but comes to you and asks for you to come to closing with $5000 or take a unsecured note for $10,000 at 0% interest payable over 15 years at $56 a month.

You say no and the home ends up in foreclosure, is resold after being carried by the bank for a year from the foreclosure date to resale. In the interim the Gainesville home deteriorates slightly from nobody living in it and causes the value to go down by 15% and the sales price is $127,500. The short sale bank incurred taxes of $2800, attorney’s fees of $12,000, Realtor commissions of $7,600, carrying costs of $3300 for utilities for the year and $3500 in miscellaneous expenses. The $100,000 difference in the short sale price to what was owed is now $151,700 that the bank may seek a judgment against you for that amount. This is a big difference between possible out of pocket costs and not to mention how your credit will be affected. Keep in mind if you foreclose and a judgment is sought, your wages may be garnished.

Credit should be another consideration. With a Gainesville, FL foreclosure it is listed on your credit report as such and you will have to wait 5 to 7 years to purchase another home. With a short sale, the bank will report paid in full as agreed or paid less than agreed and you will have the ability to purchase again with FHA in 2 years after the short sale.