About Short Sales

You know things are popular when they make the Simpson's. When cartoon land can be hit with a foreclosure it can happen to anyone, but what do you do?

There is so much talk and debate about foreclosures, short sales, cash for keys and simply staying put during the redemption period and not paying anything at all. Now before I continue I should say I am not an attorney nor am I providing any legal advice and you should always contact your tax professional and or attorney before making any choice on what is best for you - alright now that's out of the way let's proceed.

Real life is not as easy as a cartoon nor is it as funny, real lives are affected by this every day and the stories are not easy to hear as they could be anyone of us. So what do you do and how does it all work? First let's look a brief description of a short sale;

Short Sale: A short sale is when a property is worth less than the monies owed against it.

The Short Of A Short Sale Process: The property owner would list the property with an agent. That agent will market the property until a offer is received, one the offer is received and accepted / signed by the property owner it will be sent to the bank to begin the process and see what they will accept as far as price and terms.

Length Of Time: All banks are different but here are some averages so you can be better prepared.

• Once offer sent typically 10 business days to get file into the Que
• Assuming all needed documents were sent and complete an appraisal otherwise known as a BPO would be ordered in 5-10 business days after that
• After the BPO a reply about the offer acceptance, rejection or counter is 35-45 business days

Now keep in mind that is not the same for all banks, some are quicker and some are longer but it gives you a good idea on what to expect.

Another question we get is how much to list a short sale home for? You need to list the property just like you would any other property, why would you not. The bank will do their own BPO to establish fair market value so you need to be in that area or the deal will most likely be rejected (there are of course some exclusions to that rule) or countered at a reasonable price anyway.

If you're looking at a short sale check with your local laws but the short answer is once you're late you will receive notice of a sheriff sale. Once the sheriff sale takes place you will be in your redemption period, this is the period of time where you as the property owner can figure out a way to redeem or pay off the property, the redemption period is 6 months.

In the end short sales and foreclosures have a process and once you understand them it will allow a much better decision on what is best for you. Banks are taking short sale offers and they can be done when you have the right agent on your side.

If you're in a short sale situation give me a call or text at 612-282-7653 otherwise contact me here and I would be glad to help any way I can - there is help out there.