Trends - Short Sales

With the sudden and vast changes in the loan industry and housing market, many homeowners have found themselves in ackward financial positions. It is important to remember that thereare options available to you. The most common solutions to a financial condition which results from your real estate are short sales, loan modifications/workouts and refinances. Although your lender is under no obligation to work with you to resolve your situation, it usually benefits both yourself and your lender. Therefore, there is often an incentive for your lender to work out a solution with you. Each situation is unique and our office offers free initial consultations to determine which course of action will be in your best interest. A brief overview of short sales and loan modifications follows:

Short Sale

The easiest analogy to understand a short sale is to think of your car. If you are upside-down on your car, you owe more than the car can be sold for. The same principle applies to real estate. If you cannot sell your house at a value that will allow you to pay off the loan and associated closing costs then you are upside-down. As a result, you would need to bring money to the closing. However, if you are in a severe financial situation and do not have access to funds necessary to effectuate your closing, a short sale may be an alternative to foreclosure. In a short sale, our office negotiates with your lender(s) to accept less than they are owed which will allow you to sell your property.

Loan Modifications/Workout

Many have been affected by adjustable rate mortgages and increasing property taxes. If you wish to remain at your current house but have fallen behind in payments and can no longer afford the payment, a loan modification may suit your best interests. A modification may involve a change in your interest rate or a restructuring of your payments.

Our Firm's Results

The firm has substantial experience with foreclosures and has worked with many banks in the past which allows us to successfully negotiate solutions on our client's behalf. Recent results include the following:

Negotiated payoff of 10% of the outstanding debt on a second mortgage;

Negotiated the reduction of nine (9) mechanic's liens recorded against a single property;

Negotiated short sale on investment property on behalf of client with multiple properties;

Negotiated payoff of 74% of the outstanding debt on first mortgage.