Short Sales

Short Sales...I get more questions on a weekly basis about short sales than probably anything else right now.  A Short Sale is not a  'bank owned" foreclosure..it's actually not a foreclosure at all.  A Short Sale is when a home owner usually has gotten in some sort of financial trouble is unable to make all of their payment or is not making the payment at all.  Most sellers don't qualify for a short sale unless they are behind on their payment ( please don't get any ideas to just stop making your payment to do a short sale...they will take your house at some point).  Short Sale term basically just means that the bank is agreeing to take a less amount of payoff on the home than what is owed.. No specific amount either.   In order to qualify for a short sale, the seller will need to usually provide proof that he or she can no longer make the payment such as a loss of job or a decrease in their pay.  Once the appropriate documents have been sent in to the mortgage holder and they agree to this,  the seller will be assigned a representative from the bank to handle the possible short sale.  They will require that the home is listed with a real estate co in the area and may require an appraisal and a market comparison from other sales in the area.  Once a seller gets an offer on their home the seller still makes the decision if they want to take the offer subject to the banks approval of that amount.  If they accept the offer, it is then submitted to the bank and the bank will go thru the appropriate channels to determine if they can take this amount.  This can be a very lengthy process I have seen it take up to 6 months to decide and as little as 2 days... So buyers be aware of this situation and please discuss this with your agent to decide how long you want to wait the purchase your possible "dream home"  Short Sales can be a plus for buyers but Sellers need to discuss all aspects of this decision with their attorney, real estate agent and accountant.  This still reflects poorly on a credit report and should be taken very seriously.