The 10 most frequently asked questions about short sales

#1 Can you define short sale?

A short sale is a form of sale which occurs when the lender agrees to accept less than the loan amount to avoid having to foreclose on the property.

#2 What happens to my credit rating if I do a short sale?

What typically happens is your loan will show on your credit report one of three ways: paid as agreed, paid/settled for less, or settled/pre-forecloure, which is so much better than a foreclosure. This generally saves approximately 100 points on your FICO score.

#3 Can I profit financially from a short sale?

The answer is almost always no. The bank is already taking less than what is currently owed & will not give you cash.

#4 Can I stay in my home during the short sale period.

Yes, we actually prefer you do. The home will need to be reasonably maintained by you until the closing occurs. Maintenance of the homeowners association fee is imperative.

#5 What if I am unable to make my mortgage payments during this time frame?

Considering that you have demonstrated through the financial statement that you have provided us that you are unable to do so, it would not be a surprise to anyone involved in the transaction.

#6 When will I stop getting harassing calls from the lender or lenders?

This usually happens when we get your COMPLETE package to the lender. At that point you simply say that you are in the short sale process, that your property is listed and that you have an offer that is being considered. 
 

#7 Do I have to have my home listed during this procedure?

Yes. We will price your home in accordance with your position concerning foreclosure. Should you be in the initial phase, we will price your home a little higher and gradually reduce the price as we progress, as that demonstrates a longer time on the market. Length of time on the market without an acceptable offer allows our firm to show your lender that the home is probably worth less in today’s market than the bank may think. If you have an established foreclosure date, time becomes of the essence and we will price your home aggressively at the onset of marketing, as we are looking for a quick acceptable offer for the bank to consider.
  

#8 When will we have an offer on my home?

Since this is critical to the short sale process, lenders will not even consider a file without an offer. Our investor group will provide an offer within seven days from the time we have received your COMPLETE short sale package. This offer is, in almost all cases, not the one the bank actually closes on. We will market, with your help, everyday of your listing period to try to achieve the highest and best offer possible to enhance your chances of the bank's acceptance on your short sale.
 

#9 When do we have to be out of our home?

The typical timeframe of a short sale is 3-6 months from time of submission of all documents. We will be monitoring your file almost daily, and as soon as we find out your short sale has been approved we will notify you. You will have approximately 30 days from that point to move.

#10 How are we going to find somewhere else to live once we have closed escrow on our home?

We are more than happy to provide you with many homes for you to view and choose from that have landlords sympathetic to your issues. We start this process about 30 days before the scheduled close of escrow on your current home.