My New Blog

I get asked all of the time whether or not a person should put their home up for Short Sale or let it go back to the bank via deed in lieu or foreclosure. The quick and simple answer to that question is that I truthfully do not know. Every situation is different just like every person is different. I will tell you that variables like who is the lender and do you have a second mortgage is critical to the positive outcome that we all want for the seller. The professionals that you talk to will give you their opinion based on the experiences they have had so seek several opinions before making a decision. Bankruptcy attorneys want you to declare bankruptcy, loan modification professionals want to do a loan modification, banks want you to attempt a short sale and real estate professionals want to sell the home for you and find you another to buy or lease. YOU have to do what is in the best interest of you and your family. It is the sellers responsibility to do the due diligence it takes to decide on a plan of action with the assistance of professionals.

That being said let us assume, for the sake of this blog, that you have decided that the short sale is the best option for you. There are several factors that come into play right away. You are attempting to do the sale because your agent has informed you that the bank will forgive the amount owed to you and this is true for the most part. The first lender does this. The second has increasingly not done this. They will still hold you responsible for the outstanding balance of the note, however, this is a non collateralized debt kind of like a credit card now. The second lender for the most part has contacted the seller and has offered a no interest promissory note at a greatly reduced number that the original note.

Some banks are easier to deal with than others also, Bank of America is by far the worst in my opinion followed by Wells Fargo, Chase and Sun Trust. Some say that they should just do the sale and get off of their books and move on and others say that they have a legal obligation to their shareholders to get the highest possible value and they will hold the property. I don't know why they are difficult to deal with nor do I really care what their motives are. They are too difficult to deal with and take so long to close after a contract is signed that you lose the buyer 90% of the time. I cannot take a listing with these banks because it is a waste of time for the seller and myself.