Short Sale Resource

A 'Short Sale' is when a home seller sells his home for a lesser amount than what is owed on his mortgage, and the mortgage lender agrees to accept the lesser amount in lieu of a full payoff.

By way of example, a Short Sale may be appropriate for an Indianapolis home seller whose mortgage balance is $250,000 but whose home wouldn't sell for more than $220,000.  Rather than pay the $30,000 difference to the lender at the time of sale, the seller enters...

Losing the American Dream

Buying a home is the 'American Dream' and a huge investment which is normally not taken lightly. I doubt many people who sign their loan documents and open the door to their new home, think 'well, if I can't make it, I'll just let the bank foreclose'. As a matter of fact, I haven't met one homeowner who thought they would be facing foreclosure when they moved into their new home.

Life happens, though and many today are finding themselves at the mercy of 'the next paycheck' or the lack of a paycheck. What I generally find when talking with people who are facing foreclosure are those who have waited too long; struggling to make ends meet, thinking next month will be the month they will get caught up. It's the true definition of a rat race.

Losing one's home is not just about finances, credit ratings or foreclosure. In the face of the overwhelming stress of day to day living lies a real fear  -  the inborn need for...

It is part of my normal routine to contact lenders on behalf of my clients who are in the process of trying to obtain a short sale on their home.

Today, one of the lenders I called had an intro message warning their clients about third parties who approach them offering assistance on loan modifications. I was happy to hear they are educating their clients about their ability to act in their own behalf and deal directly with the bank.

It is my personal recommendation to all my clients to stay in contact with their banks once they fall behind on their mortgage payments - even beforehand, if they know they will have problems making the payments. Banks are willing to work with their clients. It does take some perserverance and tenacity, as well as documentation, but any homeowner has the ability to work out their own loan modification.

Unfortunately, in today's economic and real estate markets,...

The Call

Today, a real estate investor called me to ask about a home for sale, which he thought I was the agent for. I don’t have the home listed, he was using my Indianapolis Homes search site to find homes and assumed I was the listing agent. I wasn’t, but helped him find the address he was looking for. He begins to tell me he has been an investor for about 6 months working on wholesaling properties and does some private lending. He has a few homes he can’t get leased, so he is thinking about doing short sales on them. 

Lease Options

Here’s the deal – he doesn’t know what he is doing! He has a lease option on several homes, which he is trying to find a lessee for. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to. How does this happen? He finds someone who is behind on their payments, then contracts with them for a lease/option agreement. He then finds someone else who will lease option the home from him. But the home and mortgage...

A short sale is the process by which a homeowner sells their home for less than what is owed to the current lender or lenders or when the cost to sell a home does not cover the current balance due the lender. A short sale is one option for homeowners who are facing foreclosure. It's not quite as easy as it sounds, but not as difficult as many believe.

Properties sold short are always subject to lender approval. Many banks require the home be listed on the local MLS by a Realtor. I have had some banks tell my clients they have to have the home on the market for three months before they will consider a short sale.

Although banks will always do their own BPO's and appraisals, when you are listed with a local realtor, we can judge the market based on price of recently sold, through price reductions and feedback more thoroughly. This is crucial data we can present to the bank on your behalf when we do receive...

A Homeowner’s Nightmare

With the economic crisis we are facing in the real estate sector of our economy, many homeowners are realizing their home may not be the investment they thought. The dream of home ownership has turned into a nightmare which haunts them daily. In Indianapolis, we have many homeowners whose payments reset or adjusted and combined with a higher tax payment made a significant impact on their ability to stay ahead of their payments.

Missed Payments

 It doesn't take much in these circumstances for a homeowner to get behind. The birth of a child, an extended illness, a job loss.....any of these can cause an intial missed payment. Unfortunately, if the homeowner hasn't been in the home for more than 5-6 years and did not put any money down, they find themselves unable to sell their home for enough money to satisfy the debt and pay the costs to close. By the time a homeowner has missed their third payment, they are considered to be in a pre-foreclosure...

 Short sales are NOT short!

In the midst of several short sale negotiations, experience tells me home buyers do not know what Short Sale means. While visiting a past client yesterday, she asked if a short sale meant the seller was trying to sell fast. In theory, that is usually the case. The seller is trying to sell fast to get out of a home they can no longer afford. In practice, it rarely happens fast. The process can be long and drawn out with twists and turns not found in a traditional home purchase. A short sale – in simple terms - means the bank or investor is being asked to accept less than is owed on the property. Banks and investors really don’t like losing money – who can blame them, most of us don’t! As a buyer, what does short sale mean for you?

Where are the deals?

Although there are deals to be had in short sales, you generally are not...

This was a statement from a negotiater for a bank I am working with in a current short sale. Her intent was to explain why she is behind with 70 files on her desk. Her actual statement was, “Have you heard the news, everyone wants a short sale?”

I beg to differ with her. The people I work with who need a short sale approval do NOT want a short sale. They wanted to live in their home or at least try to sell it before they missed payments. They didn’t expect to lose their job or have a financial turn of events in their life. It just happened!

As a matter of fact, two of my current clients never heard of a short sale until they called their bank to try to arrange some type of payment plan. The voice on the other end asked them if they wanted to do a short sale. After determining it might be an option, they contacted me and asked about the short sale process.

I’m sure there are homeowners...

Has your dream of home ownership turned into a nightmare? Does it seem you may never get caught up? What steps should you take to preserve your home and at what expense?

These are the hard questions facing those whose home is in jeopardy of being handed over to the Sheriff for sale.

As a Realtor, I receive questions weekly from those who are facing foreclosure. Most want to stay in their home and are searching for help and answers. Many times their questions are more legal than I can answer.

Although I am capable and willing to help where I can, I am limited to assisting in the sale of the home. When a perspective client is facing foreclosure, I am able to provide the means to facilitate a sale, either traditionally or by short sale. It is always my hope, I can help them retain their equity. When there is no equity, I work with the bank to assist in a short sale.

For someone who wants to keep their home, these are not options...

Tomorrow, her home will be up for bid at the Sheriff’s Sale.
She is young, married and has three little children. She called me yesterday to ask if there was anything I could do for her. Her lender had offered to sell the home to her “short”, except she couldn’t get the financing. That’s generally the case when you have not made your payments and she was eight months behind.

I explained there was nothing I could do unless the bank was still willing to allow a short sale, and advised her to seek legal counsel. I haven’t heard back, so assume they will not allow her to try to short sale. This is a story we have become accustomed to hearing, yet still, as a Realtor, I felt helpless. I listened...