Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day from Mexico Beach

The best Valentine gift I could have is today is SUNSHINE AND WARM TEMPS!   We are supposed to be sunny all week with temps in the mid to high 60's!!   Hallelujah!!
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We've been relatively busy this month.......

Five residential properties put under contract this month. 

We have a total of 14 properties under contract---7 are short sales, 2 are foreclosures, leaving  the other 7 as regular transactions!!!

Quite a few offers are still being negotiated on several other properties as well.

We've had 4 residential closings so far this month.    None of these were advertised as short sales, although that doesn't mean the seller didn't lose money!!!
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Just to give a quick recap of short sales------this is where the seller has a mortgage MORE than what the property is now valued at.   The seller applies for a short sale with their lender to take LESS than what is owed.    The lender in most cases is approving our short sales.  This process can take anywhere from 30 days to 4-5 months depending on the lender.    

Most of the banks will not consider a short sale unless the seller has missed some payments.  I am not encouraging you to stop making payments, but if you are experiencing difficulty making payments please contact your lender and start discussing your options!!

You will have to list the property with a Realtor and get it on the market at what it is worth RIGHT NOW, not what you owe on it.  

You will have to provide your Realtor with your account number, financial information (tax returns, savings, checking account statements, list of expenses, paycheck stubs...) and your Realtor can be the middleman between you and the bank to negotiate the deal.    It is a frustrating and time consuming process for the seller, so let us do that work for you!!   

You will also have to write a hardship letter stating why this mortgage payment has become difficult.

If the lender approves the short sale they can either release you from the mortgage completely marking the mortgage paid in full OR they can ask you to sign a promissory note for the balance or portion of the balance, OR they can ask you to bring some cash to the closing, OR they can just retain the right to file a judgement against you for the deficient amount.     Of course, the first option is the best!!!!

A short sale for a buyer is different than a regular transaction in a couple of ways...........The offer is first submitted and approved by the homeowner--this is usually done in the typical 48 hour time frame.   Then the offer is submitted to the bank for lender approval----the buyer must just be patient and wait........and wait........and wait.     During this time the offer is going through the lender approval process.   The lender can accept the offer, they can counter back at a different amount, they can reject the short sale. 

So, yes, after all that waiting, the deal may not work out.    Most of the time it is worth the wait.
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I have worked many short sales successfully.  If you are experiencing difficulty, don't wait....give me a call and let us work together to resolve the problem!!!
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Have a great week everybody.........................tell someone you love them!!!!!!

Mary
850-896-5222
http://www.maryblackburn.com/
sundance realty


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