Tuesday, November 2, 2010

WHAT IS A SHORT SALE?

A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold.  For example, if you were selling a home in Murray or West Jordan and you owed $200,000, but could only sell it for $150,000 you may have to do a short sale.    Before doing a short sale there are a few things you need to look into.  
#1 you need to find out if the bank will allow you to do a short sale since they have to give the final approval. 
#2 you need to look into how a short sale will affect your credit as well as other implications.   
 If you are selling this home in Murray where you owe $200,000 and you don't want to do a short sale you would have to bring in the difference at closing of what you owe on that $200,000 mortgage.
One positive in buying a short sale is that sometimes you can get a good deal on the home.  
Now although buying a short sale can be advantagous it can also have its downfalls.  In a normal transaction you would put in an offer and hear back within a day or two.  With a short sale, although the seller will respond to your offer sometimes it can take weeks or even months to hear back from the bank.  One other downfall is that in a short sale the property is sold in As-Is condition.  This means that if there is a problem with the home most likely the bank will not fix it.  For those buyers who are looking to be in a home within 30 days or so a short sale is most likely not the route for you.  If you do have a few months to wait then maybe a short sale is the way to go.