I recently heard that our housing values are worth approximately what they were back in 1997!  Unless you plunked down a large chunk of cash, and didn’t refinance it back out, you’re probably like 33% of all U.S. homeowners – underwater, upside-down, flipped or whatever else you want to call it (you owe more than your home is worth). 

 Unless you have cash to bring to closing, your options are limited because you can’t refinance (not enough equity), and you can’t sell since the proceeds won’t pay off your existing mortgage. 

 If you are experiencing a “hardship”, and need to get out from under your house, read on.

Short Sale – Defined

Simply put, a short sale occurs when a lender(s) accepts less than the full amount owed on the mortgage.  The sale price or payoff is less (short) than the amount owed.  Although individual situations vary, the goal is for you to go to closing with no money, and leave with no money and no deficiency.  Banks are “warming up” to short sales and the number of short sales continues to be on the rise.

Hardship – No Hardship

To qualify for a short sale, the homeowner will have to demonstrate a hardship that has changed the homeowner’s ability to keep current on the mortgage payments.  Loss of equity is not considered a hardship. Common hardships include:

• Job loss
• Medical expenses
• Divorce or death of spouse
• Income reduction
• Job relocation
• Business failure

The Players

Homeowners in distress are strongly advised to engage the services of qualified real estate, tax and legal professionals.  In our experience, the success of a short sale very much depends on the persistence of the person or team working it.  Too many real estate agents take on short sales only to find themselves too busy ‘”listing and selling” to devote the time needed to see these through.  You’ll need a full time “quarterback” – someone who only does short sales.

Do Nothing or Walk Away?

At some point, many homeowners begin to question the logic of making payments on a house that is worth perhaps 30-50% less than what was paid for it.  If you are considering stopping payments and “doing nothing”, know that in Michigan, we have what’s known as recourse loans.  This means the borrower retains personal liability for any deficiency after a short sale or foreclosure, and the lender reserves the right to pursue the personal assets of the borrower via a deficiency judgment.  Primary goals of the short sale are to negotiate and mitigate any deficiency amounts, and prevent the impact a foreclosure can have on the borrowers credit.

What We Can Do For You

We offer a highly experienced short sale team to successfully transact your short sale at no cost to you.  Unlike others, our team even includes an attorney, as recommended in all real estate contracts (especially of this type), to represent you in the negotiating with your mortgage lenders to consent to a short sale of your property and to discuss with you the terms and conditions of the lender approval.  

Some of our recent transactions include:

·        Do a short sale.  Prevent foreclosure

·        List & Sell for free

·        No Realtor commissions

·        No Title Co fees

·        No attorney fees

·        No closing costs

·        Bank Pays it.

We understand you are already in financial hardship.  Our fees are negotiated with and paid by your lender – not you.  If the sale does not close, there is no fee due.  We get paid for performance.

If you feel a short sale may be right for your situation and you’ve read this far, I’m sure you have some questions. 

Please call (313) 343-8800 to discuss your situation and see how we’ll help you!