The Sixteen Steps of Short Sales
#1 The initial conversation will establish if you qualify for a short sale. We will ask questions about your income, monthly expenses, where you are with your mortgage and H.O.A. payments, and the current condition of your home.
#2 We conduct a market analysis of your home using six different strategies to obtain the closest possible true value, and report that number back to you.
#3 Next, we fax or email you some forms to fill out and a list of documentation required to start the process. One of these items is a "hardship letter" that explains why you need to sell the home. We are happy to help you compose the letter. It is important to note that the package must be 100% complete in order for us to start the process.
#4 We set an appointment to pick up those documents and help you change or complete them where necessary. While we are there, we take pictures of anything that can be construed as a problem. This could be a leaky roof, a swimming pool in poor condition, wood rot, and an assortment of other types of deferred maintenance.
#5 We list your home for sale, as lenders will not consider short sales without the property being listed.
#6 We write an offer on your home with our investors. This must be done quickly, as without an offer, your lender will not consider a short sale.
#7 Once we have ALL the necessary paperwork, we take your package to our title office where the negotiations will take place, and we submit everything to your lender. This, in most cases, will be when the harassing phone calls from your lender will cease!
#8 At this point, most of your work has been completed! It is imperative that you maintain your home during this period to attract as many buyers as possible.
#9 In approximately four to eight weeks from the date of submission to the lender, a representative of the lender will complete a BPO. That is a Broker Price Opinion on your home. Lenders do this because they are much less expensive than a full appraisal. They may knock on your door to see if the home is still occupied. If your home has problems, it is best to show them all of the items that need repair, as this will create urgency with the lender.
#10 The lender will assign your case to the loss mitigation department of their firm. The BPO will usually arrive in ten days or less.
#11 Our negotiation specialists will begin working with the lender’s loss mitigation representative on the offer and your ability to qualify for a short sale.
#12 In approximately three to six weeks, we will have a feel for the outcome. Please remember that each representative at your lender may have 500 to 600 files they are handling at the same time.
#13 At this juncture, our negotiators are calling your lender’s representative daily to push your file through. This is why it is important to have a team that is experienced and dedicated to the process. If you aren’t the squeaky wheel, you just don’t get any grease!
#14 Having a good idea of the lenders position by now, we start to market your home more agressively in terms of price.
#15 Once we have an accepted offer, we move forward on your home. We will need to accomodate the buyer for an inspection and appraisal. Our ratio of successful short sale is four out of five. We will have another thirty days, approximately, before closing occurs. At this point, we are ready to help you find your new residence. We have hundreds of homes available that will accept you as tenants, as they understand what you have been through from a credit standpoint. No need to fear, we are here to help!
#16 The next step is the best, as we want you to sit back, relax, and move positively through your life. Your troubled times are over!
