What is a short sale? How does it work? How Do I short sell my home? Is short sale right for me?
All of these questions are part of the process in determining whether or not you are a candidate for a short sale and once you determine that you are you need to understand the short sale process in Florida and how to complete the short sale of your home with the least amount of damage to your credit and your finances. Please bear in mind that I am neither a tax professional so I cannot give specifics on how a short sale will effect your tax situation nor am I an attorney so I cannot give advice on the legal ramification of the short sale process on you and your family. I can however let you know that I have helped many of my real estate clients short sale their homes here in the greater Tampa Bay area with great results. Often times the bank has forgiven all or almost all of the debt that they owned to the bank as a part of the short sale agreements.
There have been many short sales in which the bank has allowed the sellers to escape from their obligations under the mortgage and have forgiven the outstanding amounts owed.
We have successfully counseled and helped homeowners in Clearwater, Largo, St Petersburg, Tampa, Seminole, Pinellas Park, St Pete Beach and Madeira Beach and as far as Brooksville.
We have successfully marketed and sold short sale properties for our client ranging in asking price from $60,000 up to $1,000,000. Bullard Realty in conjunction with our partners and referral partners have assisted in connecting our clients with the best resources in legal representation, tax attorneys and title agents and short sale negotiators to ensure that our real estate clients receive the proper representation for their short sale and the best in advice in varying fields related to short sales.
A short sale is very much like a typical sale for the homeowner in which we, the short sale realtor, market the property for sale, show the property to prospective buyers and investors and ten procure an offer on the property and present that short sale offer to you the seller.
Once the seller approves the offer we submit the complete contract to the sellers short sale lender along with the supporting documents needed for the lender to approve the short sale. In a Florida short sale there are many documents that are needed for the lender to review and approve the short sale of your home including much of the same paperwork that you needed to get a loan.
Once the short sale is approved by the lender we review the terms of that approval with the seller and if needed their legal counsel. Once that process is complete and the legal counsel for the sellers have negotiated the best short sale settlement for the seller we then proceed to closing the short sale.
At that time the sellers would make preparations to vacate the property and turn possession over to the buyers.
The process usually takes between 3 months to a year. The short sale process always works faster when the seller has a realistic price attached to the property and cooperates with showings and the paperwork needed to complete the short sale process.
Often times the lender will assist with the costs of the seller to relocate under the HAFA program. We recently were able to get our sellers $3000 in assistance to relocate under the program as a part of the short sale process of their home in Clearwater.
Our goal is to get your home sold as quickly as possible and relive you of the financial burden you are now facing with foreclosure looming over you and your family. I can assure you that we will perform to the best of our ability and treat you in a caring and compassionate manner. we understand how painful this process can be for many homeowners but it will not get any better by ignoring the problem. Whether you decide that a short sale is right for you or not make sure you deal with the issue as soon as possible and don't ignore it as it will only make the process more difficult and by all means do not, under any circumstances allow the property to be foreclosed by the bank. That is never the solution.
How To Short Sale
When it comes to the question of how to short sale a home
you will probably get all kinds of opinions on the short sale process and what
it means. There are only a very small portion of the real estate agents
practicing in the Tampa Bay area including Tampa, St Petersburg and Clearwater
and the other towns and cities that make up this metro area that really
understand the process. Most of the real estate agents that are claiming to be
short sale experts are simply learning as they go. Many of the real estate
agents currently performing short sales in Florida and the Tampa Bay area have
not done any type of special training or certification in the field. There are
very specific and rigorous educational processes to receive a designation in
the area of short sales in real estate. The main goal of this site is to
educate the homeowners of Florida and the Tampa Bay area as much as possible
about the pros and cons of short sales and identify candidates for the process
so we can assist them in their time of need.
A short sale is very simply put a situation in which a
homeowner has given a mortgage to a bank that is property by their home
or another piece of real estate. If the property declines in value and the
owner of that property has a demonstrated hardship or needs to sell then the
seller makes a request from the bank and the bank decides whether they will
allow the property to be sold for less than what is owed to the bank. Sometimes
the homeowner is relived from the debt obligation under the terms of the short
sale and sometimes they are not. This is entirely up to the bank and usually is
determined by the owners assets and the amount that is owed after the sale
among other factors. Under a short sale Florida law says that the lender can
pursue a judgment against the borrower and may attempt to collect that judgment
at a later time.
