What Is A Short Sale, And Why Would A Bank Consider It?

Simply stated, a short sale occurs when the bank accepts an offer on your home that is less than what is owed on the mortgage. For example, lets say you owe $150,000 on your home in Phoenix, and the market value is $100,000. Our Phoenix short sale agent team lists the property for sale, and receives an offer of $100,000. Basically, we are “shorting” the bank $50,000. In doing so, your lender will “forgive” the debt and allow you to move on with your life.

Banks accept Phoenix short sales because they are better for their bottom line, when compared to foreclosure. A typical foreclosure will cost the bank anywhere from $15,000-$30,000 in legal fees, maintenance costs, utilities, etc. A short sale not only recoups more money for the lender/investor, but also keeps them from potentially having another home in their inventory. Remember, banks are not in the business of owning homes.

A short sale may not be your only option.  You may qualify for the HARP 2.0 Refinance Program, which was recently announced by President Obama.  We have set up a HARP 2.0 Eligibility Questionnaire to help you determine if you are eligible for this program.

After 4 years of completing short sales for our clients, we have assembled a collection of short sale approval letters to get an idea of what we are looking for when handling short sales.  As you will see, our main priority is to make sure that our sellers avoid any potential deficiency issues when completing a short sale.  Feel free to visit this page to get a better idea of what we are looking for on our client's short sale lender approval letters.

Over the years, I have also written several blog posts on the topic of short sales, with the hope of helping not only homeowners that are facing foreclosure, but also fellow real estate agents that are trying to help their clients through the short sale process.  Feel free to peruse our short sale blog post category to learn more.

You can also visit our client testimonials page to get a better idea of what our clients think of our services.  Feel free to call me at 602-909-5994  if you would like to talk to any of our clients directly.

Additionally, feel free to take a look at our Phoenix Short Sale FAQ'S Video Series.  They are all short and to the point, and cover some of the most frequently asked questions that we hear from our potential clients.  Included in this series are the answers to the following commonly asked questions:

• What are the benefits of a short sale versus a foreclosure?
• Is a short sale right for me?  Do I qualify for a short sale?
• What is the short sale process, and how long does it take?
• Why won't my lender modify my loan?
• Can my lender come after me for a deficiency?  Will there be tax consequences for my short sale?
• Why should I hire Summit Home Consultants for my short sale?

Lastly, if you provide us with your contact information and the name of your lender, we will send you any updates that may pertain to your specific situation. Some lenders may have guidelines or incentives that are unique to them, and these tend to change regularly. As we are notified of any such changes, we may touch base with you, so that you know where you stand. We will never send you unsolicited mail or in any way harass you or pass on your information to anyone.  Everything you share with us will be kept in the strictest of confidence.

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