Short Sales

Everything in your life is impacted when your property is upside down in value.  When you can’t afford to maintain the mortgage payments, you need to explore alternatives.  Things only appear hopeless if you take no initiative to seek potential solutions.

As short sale strategists, our commitment is to protect you and your assets and to ensure you do not begin an initiative that is irresponsible or has long-term consequences.  By being tactical and calculated, we will take stock of your situation and bring it to the best possible conclusion.

A short sale is a common alternative to foreclosure, wherein your lender(s) contractually agrees to accept an amount less than what is owed. It is a proven fact that financial institutions can typically recover a larger percentage of the outstanding debt in a private short sale than they would from an auction or a foreclosure sale.  The goal on every short sale is to convince the lender to waive the deficiency (the balance of what the bank is owed on the mortgage minus what they receive via the short sale proceeds).  However, whether the bank agrees to do so depends on several factors, including but not limited to your financial situation, age, working capacity, etc.  Regardless of whether you are experiencing a true financial hardship, or have finally come to the conclusion that your house will never financially recover, most banks are willing to consider accepting less than what they are owed to settle your debt, since it typically nets them more money than other alternatives (foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, etc.).

Mr. Surber will review all the options on the table for your situation.  He offers a complimentary thirty (30) minute consultation to discuss your options and to answer all of your questions.  If you are concerned that embarking on a short sale will cost you money you may not have to spare, in most cases, your lender will pay for any and all closing costs (excluding attorney’s fees, which are offered at an affordable rate).

The Short Sale Process

The short sale process can be overwhelming.  There are lots of issues to consider and having an attorney handle your short sale and legally represent your interests is crucial.  A major advantage to having an attorney represent you in a short sale is the leverage you now have with your bank.  Mr. Surber’s fees also cover the foreclosure defense and he makes certain that the bank’s attorney is aware of any submitted short sales.  More importantly, Mr. Surber is very experienced in foreclosure defense and will employ any and all legal defenses in your foreclosure action, which he believes directly relates to his high success rate in getting short sales approved.

Banks are overwhelmed with these short sale requests, so it is important to understand that the process takes several months.  Mr. Surber and his staff have successfully closed hundreds of short sales over the past several years.  He credits his success to staying abreast of the latest legal defenses and/or strategies, by using the latest technology and by keeping all interested parties informed throughout the process.  To that end, Mr. Surber and his staff:

• Will plot the timeline to list your property for sale, secure a prospective buyer, and submit your short sale package to the lender(s).
• Will make sure you understand all the associated paperwork.
• Only work with Realtors who specialize in short sales, so we can facilitate the process and be proactive throughout.
• Will prove to your lender how and why your short sale will best benefit them, by providing them with detailed figures and statistics while comparing their financial recovery through the short sale versus their financial recovery through other means, most notably a foreclosure (where the banks will almost always lose more money than they will in a short sale).
• Will negotiate with your lender and make all efforts necessary to ensure that they forgive any remaining balances on your loan.
• Will always make themselves available to answer your questions and/or concerns.
• It is also essential to note that there may be some tax implications related to the successful completion of a short sale.  We strongly recommend that you also consult with an accountant to discuss these possibilities.

With the proper experts in place, you have an excellent opportunity to salvage your credit and gain an opportunity to get yourself on firmer financial footing.