Minnesota Short Sale Expert

When a decision is made by a homeowner to proceed with a short sale one of the qhestions that is always asked is “when do I need to move out”?. The answer is quite simple actually. 

The short sale process is very much the same as a regular sale of any other property with the exception that it will take longer to get a decision and a closing date set. Once the lender(s) approve the short sale they typically will require that the transaction be closed within 30 days. This gives the homeowner the time to find alternative housing. Some times though the process may move quickly and the closing may get done within a couple weeks after lender approval. Most homeowners facing this situation will be renting somewhere after this process is completed so I tell them to start looking during the process and if they find a place that fits what they are looking for at that point they need to decide whether to move out early or not. 

The bank does not own the short sale property the homeowner does. You do not need to move out anytime before the actual closing date. Stay in the home and start searching for a new place during the time when the short sale is in prtocess.

This is a question that I am sure many people are thinking about because it comes frequently in conversation when I speak with people about their situation. I guess I can’t blame people for thinking about any and all potential options to try and stay in their home even after they do a short sale. I realize that it is very difficult to have to uproot a family and end up renting somewhere when you are so used to owning your home. However, keep in mind that the lender that has the note(s) on the property is taking a loss and they are not interested in selling a home to your brother knowing full well that there is a reason for this happening.

The lenders realize that your brother could do some pretty “shifty” things to get the property back in your name and allowing you to never leave.  Again, this is potentially a way for you to “benefit” while the lender is taking a loss. If you are in a situation where you need to proceed with a short sale it makes sense to handle it the right way without any hint of fraud or misconception. This will only lead to more troubles.

If you or anyone you know is in need of a short sale expert please do not hesitate to call me directly.

The current real estate market continues to be one of the best times in our history to purchase real estate because of the prices that continue to decline. We have never seen the kinds of numbers that we are right now with the sales of active properties. Nearly 58% of all homes that are listed for sale and that receive an offer are either a short sale or a foreclosure. You might ask why would people purchase these homes. They must need a tone of work to even live in.

It is true that some of the “distressed” properties (short sales and foreclosures) will require extensive updating and repair work to even be able to live in the properties. Some of them may even need a complete rehab. However, in many cases these homes happen to be someone’s family home where they kept it up nicely as they lived there. Unfortunately the family fell on hard times and could no longer afford to pay the mortgage resulting in them either attempting to short sale the home OR letting it slip into foreclosure.   

These homes that have not been neglected offer a buyer a very good opportunity to purchase a home at a very discounted price and it may only need a bit of a “spit shine” to bring the property back to a great condition. This is why there are 58% of all sales that are short sales or foreclosures. Many buyers are willing to possibly put in a little money to update a property rather than pay many thousands more for another property that is very similar.

If you a looking for deep discounts and great deals in our marketplace I would suggest at least considering viewing short sale and foreclosure properties. If you would like a list of these properties please contact me and I can send them automatically to your email.

Undoubtedly the number one question that I get when speaking to clients about possibly doing a short sale is whether or not they should continue to make their payments or not. This is an are that I am always careful and walk very lightly around because I am not an attorney and cannot give any sort of legal opinion or advice. That said, my answer every time is the same. I always say that anyone that is faced with this predicament should make sure that they can supply food, clothing and basic essentials for their family. They should also be sure to maintain their health insurance, car insurance and continue to make the auto loan payments. If there is money left to pay the mortgage then by all means do so. If it is a struggle to do this and the only way is to possibly pay some of these other essential items with a credit card then a decision needs to be made. 

Again, I will never advise someone NOT to make the mortgage payment but rather let them decide if it is in their best interest to do so based on the other bills that absolutely need to be paid. 

If you or someone you know is facing these challenges please do not hesitate to call me directly.

This topic is on the minds of many right now. With so many of us facing challenges keeping up on the mortgage payments the most common option is to look at possibly doing a loan modification. The federal government has come out with “plans” and the media is talking about them, but will they actually work for you..?? It would be great if there was a simple website that we could plug in some of our own personal and financial information and it would kick back an answer of yes or no.  But of course nothing is ever that easy.

The last figure that I saw is that over 85% of all loan modifications applied for never end up going through to be successful. This is very discouraging. Either the lenders are willing to do them or their not. Why take several months to make a decision that it is not approved..?? If the lender does modify the loan what is modified are the TERMS not the amount that you owe.

Most people think that their situation will warrant that the lender will accept the loan modification. After all they have been a great client to this lender. Maybe there has never even been a payment missed. The reality is that a loan modification has qualification guidelines that rival getting the loan in the first place. In many cases (not all) if one of the borrowers has lost a job and the income has gone down, they don’t qualify. This of course seems odd that they would not want to work with the borrower to keep them in this loan even if it means modifying it. The unfortunate reality is that if these homeowners are not able to modify they will be forced to take more drastic steps including selling it as a short sale or even letting it go back through foreclosure. These loan modification applications are taking several months to even get any answers which often times forces the homeowner to miss additional payments getting them into even a deeper hole.  

I would recommend looking at your options with doing a loan modification but NOT to get your hopes up that it will actually be approved n the end. If you see no other options please feel free to call me about your possibility of doing a short sale on your property.