5 Reasons a Short Sale is Your Best Option

Often people hear about the concept of a short sale and think it means the homeowner is in default on their loan. But that’s not always the case. Default is not necessary with every short sale. And not every short sale is caused by foreclosure.

Short sales occur when a bank decides to take a lower payoff than the overall balance of the loan. The amount of the mortgage is not a crucial component. What’s significant is your home’s price and market value. If your house is worth more than the mortgage, you may do a short sale.

This can be done as long as the net profit is below your loan’s total balance.

Despite common beliefs, your house doesn’t have to be underwater or upside down to do a short sale. An “underwater mortgage” is a home loan that has a greater principle than the value of the house on a free market.

It’s the bank’s net proceeds that determine if the house can be a short sale. If the sale’s net income is less than the outstanding balance owed on the loan, that home will be a short sale. This can happen even if the property is worth more than just the mortgage.

Here are 5 reasons why a short sale can be your best option:

1. You Can Short Sale Without Defaulting

 While many short sales involve a residence in foreclosure, a pending foreclosure doesn’t always mean a short sale.

To prevent making mortgage payments, not every bank needs a short sale. Some people can actually qualify for a short sale without being in financial difficulty.

With banks, just the chance of a default on a loan can qualify the seller for a short sale. The seller doesn’t always need to be behind on the loan.

If a seller can initiate a short sale without reporting late payments on a loan, this can lead to a stronger FICO score for that seller, rather than the alternative ding to one’s credit.

2. You Can Stop Worrying about Foreclosure

 There are numerous reasons why a borrower may not be able to make mortgage payments.  Financial hardships and unforeseen life events are completely understandable.  “Expect the unexpected,” right?

When you fail to make your mortgage payments for anywhere between 3 to 6 months, the failure to pay is usually met with a notice of loan default.

If the borrower wants to try and stop the home from going into foreclosure, they can attempt to enter a settlement of the debt with the lending bank. This settlement is what’s done in the form of a short sale of the home.

3. You Can Save Your Credit Score

 From an individual credit score perspective, a short sale is extremely preferential, particularly when judged against the possibility of foreclosure.

Credit scoring companies take a dark perspective on foreclosures and will file a lower credit score than to someone who carefully examined their options and decided to go with a short sale as the alternative.

Not only does it protect a person’s credit score, but it also keeps them in the playing field and allows for an easier home buying process in the future.

4. You Can Preserve Your Future of Home Buying

In many cases, the largest financial moment in an individual’s life is buying a home and taking on a mortgage. Preventing the worst case of a foreclosure, a home seller can more easily justify a short sale, such as deciding to move elsewhere for example.

On the flip side, buying a home after a foreclosure, and the resulting destruction of a person’s credit will be nothing less than a nightmare and a half!

5. You Can Avoid the Sales Fees

With the traditional sale of a house, the seller carries the strain of payments and fees. This includes paying commission rates to employed real estate agents.

These real estate agent fees can generally cost the seller up to six percent of the final sale of the house. But with a short sale, these fees and commissions are paid to the agents by the bank.  Direct savings for the seller!

Short Sales: Summarized

Typically, an interested buyer will make an offer that meets the values of the property. But often a seller is not in the position to accept such an offer, because the bank is the deciding factor.

In these instances, the lender must approve such offers since they are lower than what is owed on the home loan itself. The seller would then complete an application for a short sale along with the supporting information to be submitted to the lender.

This supporting information may include a letter indicating the seller’s hardship and the reasons for the inability to pay back the difference of the potential offer from the buyer.

Often, proof of income, as well as tax returns, are needed to show evidence of the hardship. An appraisal of the home will be done, and if it ends up reflecting a home value that matches the offer from the potential buyer, the bank may choose to accept it.

Other Considerations for Your Short Sale

Remember, this is not a quick or easy process.  It usually takes several months to go from start to finish. To make up for its financial loss, the bank will often require that the home buyer pays for the closing costs of the home as well as repairs.

Once your short sale is complete, the debt is settled, and you are free from the debt and payment. To sum it all up, a short sale is much better for your credit score and your future than a foreclosure is. So, remember, your best bet may very well be a short sale.