Short Sale Process for Sellers
There are key things to note in the short sale process for sellers. But, first what is a short sale? A short sale is a kind of sale in real estate where the house is sold at a lesser value than what’s owed by the homeowner on his or her mortgage. Short sales happen because the homeowner is unable to keep up with their monthly dues because of reasons like financial incapacity.
This kind of sale doesn’t just happen. As the homeowner, you cannot just declare to the public that your home is open for a short sale using a sign on your front lawn. You have to go through the short sale process for sellers which involve several steps noted below:
Reminder #1: Know if a short sale is the best option for you.
The first step is for you to determine if a short sale is really for you. This means that you have considered other options already and a short sale, to you, is the best move to make to avoid foreclosure. If you haven’t decided on this yet, the following benefits of doing a short sale might help sway your mind:
- Avoid the hassle foreclosure brings
- Pay off or reduce your mortgage debt
- Incur lesser damage on your credit
- Still have the chance to repair your credit
- Avoid the embarrassment that comes with a foreclosed house
During the first step, you might want to do your own research to find general information on short sales and the short sale process for sellers. This way, you can proceed to the next steps smoothly.
Reminder #2: Do research and seek professional advice.
As part of the short sale process for sellers, you have to do research and seek professional advice. Short sales may sound easy, but they are more complicated than you think, especially when it’s your first time doing this. You should be consulting:
- An attorney
- A tax professional
- An expert real estate solutions company
The attorney will be able to help you out in determining your rights when making the sale. A tax professional is going to explain what taxes are going to be involved in doing the transaction. And, lastly, an expert real estate solutions company can help market your home and find clients that can make offers on your house or offer an alternative solution for your house.
You might be thinking that there’s no need to hire professionals to take care of the short sale since you don’t have enough in the bank already. Remember, that you want to have an outcome that’s in your best interest when the short sale process for sellers is closed. For this to happen, your best bet is to seek professional advice.
Reminder #3: Gather and collect documents for the request.
Presuming that you hired the help of an expert real estate solutions company, they’ll advise you to get all of your documents ready. This is to back up the request you’re going to send to your lender to do a short sale. These documents include (but are not limited to):
- Medical bills
- Bank statements
- Divorce papers
- Job termination notice
These documents will ultimately prove that you indeed have financial hardship and are unqualified to get a loan modification. This part of the short sale process for sellers can take longer if you don’t have anyone guiding you. This is because different situations call for different documents. If you get one document wrong, or if you missed to pass one document to the bank, your request could be declined. This could delay your short sale.
A Guided Short Sale Process for Sellers
The most important reminder among the three is to have professionals guiding you on how to go about the short sale process for sellers. As mentioned, if you make a mistake or miss to do a certain step, it can take you backward. It could delay your request or delay the close of your short sale. Gold Path Real Estate is a real estate solutions company based in the Twin Cities. The company has experience in helping homeowners out of distressed situations.
If you are considering doing a short sale in Minnesota, call 612-758-0071 to discuss your options today. For more real estate advice and tips check out out blog here.