Shawn
719-264-7777
The Key To a Successful Short Sale
Be Prepared!
If you think you might need to sell your home using a short sale, don’t wait to get started. Short sales can take a long time depending on the lender that holds your loan. Many times homeowners will spend too many months in denial before finally contacting me to talk about a short sale. If your home has an FHA loan, the bank will want 90+ days prior to the foreclosure sale date to submit the completed short sale package. This means that if you have waited too long to get started, the short sale won’t have time to be completed before foreclosure.
Get organized
The first thing to do after speaking with a qualified Short Sale Realtor is to get your paperwork in order. Think of this as having to un-qualify for a mortgage. You will need lots of documentation to prove that you need to sell the home and have a big portion of the loan forgiven. Some of the things you are going to need are: financial statements, pay stubs, real estate listing agreement, copy of the MLS listing etc. I recommend that you contact the lender directly to find our exactly what they need for your case, then make a special file for everything so that when the time comes we can submit the entire package together.
Be wary!
In Colorado Springs there are many “Short Sale Vultures” lurking around looking for distressed homeowners. They often have investors waiting to buy your home with the intent of selling it immediately to another buyer at a much high price. Be very careful here! If this is not fully disclosed to your bank, you could be held liable as part of this potentially fraudulent scheme. I see these situations every day and see this as a major problem. Call a reputable Realtor, not one of these people that have flimsy signs at road intersections.
Get your home ready!
The Colorado Springs real estate market is highly competitive. Even if your home is priced way below the market value, it still needs to be staged and ready for showings. Make it easy and appealing for buyers to view your home. They can buy other homes. Your home needs to stand out as special. Remember, the short sale process is a big hassel for the buyer and especially their agent. Most agents do not have the patience to wait for a short sale to be approved. If it falls apart, they have to take the buyer out again to find a new home. This means twice the work for them. The buyer needs to be very in love with your home to make it worthwhile to wait for the short sale approval.
Choose your Realtor Wisely
When selecting an agent, make sure the agent has successfully completed short sales before! Don’t just work with your neighbor’s brother’s friend because they need the business or you met them at the BBQ last week. Make sure the agent is aggressive, professional and knowledgeable. Gone are the days when an agent could just put a home in the MLS. Selling a home in today’s market requires much more than that. I am experienced in short sales. I know how to communicate with banks–I do it every day!
Following these simple guidelines will give you an edge in selling your home in today’s Colorado Springs real estate market. Contact me or leave a comment below if you need help selling your home using the short sale option.