Are you upside down on your mortgage?
Do you need to sell your home?
No equity? No Problem.
Email Dan@GreetingsVirginia.com your name, phone number, and best time to contact you for a confidential conversation to see how we may help you.
When a homeowner owes more on a property than it is currently worth there may be an option of pursuing a short sale in Northern Virginia. If you have a valid financial hardship for which you can not pay your mortgage and if you are upside down on your mortgage, contact us. We have delivered results for our clients in your situation and have successfully negotiated short sales in Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
Know your options!
You might be able to avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy. Dan and Traci & Consultants may assist you with doing a short sale in Northern Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, DC. Keep reading to find out more or contact us questions.
Click below to view recent short sale APPROVALS from banks that
Dan and Traci have negotiated.
Real Short Sales Successfully Negotiated
What is a Short Sale?
A short sale is when a bank allows a property to be sold for less than the amount that is owed on the mortgage. This creates a deficiency which is the difference between what the property is sold for and what is owed on the property. Why would a bank accept a short sale? Typically, a bank would prefer to take a loss now rather than delay the loss for the future and maybe have to foreclose on the property and resell it themselves. Banks are in the business of making money off of loans. Banks are not in the business of owning real estate; in fact banks hate to own real estate. They despise it because it shows up on their books as a liability instead of as an asset. A bank does not want to foreclose on a property.
What does a Short Sale mean for a Seller?
For a seller, when more money on a home is owed than what it can be sold for, the seller may think that they are stuck in a situation that they can not get out of. It is possible in some cases to have the bank accept an offer that is less than what is owed to them. To increase the odds of a successful transaction the seller should use a team of professionals experienced in these deals to negotiate on their behalf. A bank will only consider a short sale when they have a written offer from a willing, able buyer to purchase the property, so the first step in this process is to find a buyer for the home. You do not have to be behind in your mortgage payments to request a short sale; you do have to prove that your home can not be sold for what you owe. There may be some negative effects for the seller, but far fewer negative effects than being foreclosed on or filing bankruptcy. Each bank has a different policy for dealing with short sales; the best case scenario is for the bank to forgive the deficiency. A big difference between a short sale and a foreclosure is that in almost every foreclosure the bank will pursue the homeowner for the deficiency. The most common solution to this problem is to file bankruptcy. The best way to determine how this will effect you is to seek competent legal advise.
How can Dan and Traci Help me?
Dan and Traci & Consultants are experienced in helping sellers complete short sales in the DC Metro area. We have a full team to market, sell, and negotiate your short sale with the banks on your behalf. If you would like to see if we can help you with your situation, contact us or call 703.562.1791 for a FREE private consultation with our short sale specialist.
Prudent Short Sales
A short sale is a dignified sale!
If you are upside down on your mortgage and need to sell your home, you have options! Many of our past clients have been high ranking military officers, government workers, bankers, and doctors. Often our clients have high security clearances. We have been successful with short sales with all of the major banks and with clients from all economic backgrounds.
Every interaction between us is held in the strictest of confidence. That being said, if you would like validation of our services, we have many past clients that would be more than willing to share their experience with you - just ask.
Why would a bank agree to a short sale?
When a bank is faced with the bad choice of a short sale versus the worst choice of a foreclosure, they likely will do the short sale. Not only is a foreclosure bad for you, it is a lousy for the bank. The lender is in the business of earning interest from the money that they loan you; they are not interested in owning your property. When the lending institution forecloses on a property, they incur additional costs such as attorney bills, property management, property preservation, eviction, rehab, maintenance, utilities, home owner association dues, condominium fees, and all of the resale costs that they will pay in either case of foreclosure or short sale, and more. In addition to the expense that the bank has to pay, when they foreclose on a property, the property shows up on their books as a liability (which negatively impacts their hare price and their business).
The bank DOES NOT want to foreclose on you.
What types of hardships will the lender consider?
Typically, we see the banks approve short sales when a hardship falls into one or more of the following categories:
Financial
Family
Medical
Some examples of these types of hardships include:
Job Loss
Death of a spouse
Divorce
New baby
Job loss
Illness/ and or disability
An accident that caused you to be out of work
Failure of a business
Severe loss from litigation
Job relocation
Family member illness or aging parent that you need to care for.
We do not know for sure what a bank will consider a hardship or not. What we will do for you is advise you on our extensive past experience and diligently, aggressively work on your behalf to get the best resolution for you and your family.
Should I just give the keys back to the bank?
Only if you want to pick the worst choice in a bad situation. With a foreclosure, your credit will be severely impacted, security clearances can be challenged, your ability to finance ANYTHING in the future will be challenged, and the debt owed will not go away.
How are short sales different than bank owned properties?
A short sale property is being sold by a seller that is upside down on their mortgage, has a valid financial hardship and needs to sell. In other words, it is still owned by the homeowner. The sale of a short sale is contingent on the home owner's lender approving the sale for a deficiency. A bank owned property - you guessed it - has already been foreclosed on and is owned by the bank.
What are the tax implications of a short sale?
As we are not an accountants, we will guide you to the IRS to answer this question. You can find out more information by checking out the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. You will find when you read the guidelines, that if it is your primary residence, you probably have no tax consequence. Be sure to speak with your tax advisor to get clarification for your specific situation.
Will a short sale effect my credit rating?
It will impact your credit score, but not nearly as devastating a foreclosure or bankruptcy. If you are upside down on your mortgage, have a valid financial hardship, and need to sell, you are not in an ideal situation. A short sale is probably your best choice in this scenario.
Should I pay my HOA or condo dues when doing a short sale?
We recommend to always pay your bills to the best of your ability. In regards to HOA or Condo fees, we absolutely suggest that you pay them. We suggest this because, the association could place a lien on your property and cause more problems. Also, if an association has many delinquent owners, it will make it very hard for ANY buyer to obtain financing for ANY home in your community.
Often, the fees and dues owed to an HOA or condominium association are manageable for an owner to pay. If you have a choice on what to pay first - pay these dues
Can I profit on a short sale?
Nope. Think about it. If you loaned someone a quarter a million dollars or more and they negotiated to repay you less and you accepted because you would be in a better position than if you took the collateral for the loan back, would you allow for that person to profit?
What documents must I get together to do a short sale?
You must provide:
Hardship letter
Agency letter (Real estate agent can't communicate with the bank on behalf of the seller)
Financial statement
2-years of tax returns
2-years of W2s
Last 2 payroll stubs
Last 2 months bank account statements
Recent comparable sales list / property estimate
When does a bank not approve or accept a short sale?
A bank often rejects a short sale because they do not receive the complete short sale package from the listing agent. When listing your home as a short sale there is paperwork required from the bank to do a short sale additional to a standard listing agreement. Your short sale listing agent should be knowledgeable of what paperwork that the bank requires to do a short sale and guide you through the process of gathering documents and filling out forms. If the short sale packet is incomplete, the loss mitigator probably will not even look at the file.
Often, it takes many attempts from the listing agent to submit the packet because the bank does not have efficient systems. The short sale listing agents job is to be sure that the paperwork is received. This sometimes takes MANY attempts and almost always requires perseverance, dedication, and persistence from the short sale listing agent and their team.
The short sale process can be a frustrating and long process. If you have attempted to do a loan modification on your own, you likely know the frustrations of trying to get this done. The way to improve your odds of success in a short sale is to work with an experienced short sale listing agent.
