When might I choose a short sale?

If you are falling behind on mortgage payments, owe more than the house is worth and/or have a second or third mortgage, you want to avoid foreclosure and bankruptcy and get a fresh start, you may want a short sale.

What is a short sale?

A "Short Sale" occurs when a Lender agrees to take less than the amount owed to payoff a loan as an alternative to foreclosure. Lenders know that it takes on average $60,000 to take a property back. And once they take it back, it¹s on their books. Since they are regulated, they are required to set aside a significant amount of funds, which they can not lend until the home is off the books. We can often convince lenders that they will be better off financially if they sell the property now, to us, rather than taking it back by foreclosure and trying to sell it later. Our contract with them stipulates that they are taking this agreement as FULL payment for the balance of the loan.

How long will it take?

The Short Sale negotiation process can be a lengthy one. It may take several weeks or a few months to get an approval. Many Lenders have several layers of bureaucracy which we maneuver through in order to get a Short Sale approved.

How much do you charge?

We do not charge homeowners for short sales, our fees are covered by the lender.

Will I have enough time?

Time is of the essence in this situation, so you should always, at the very least, contact an advisor to find out what your options are and what can still be done. If you are just starting to fall behind, you have other options and may be able to work it out on your own with some advice. If you are a few days away from the sheriff¹s sale, there may not be enough time. Please call us as soon as you see the issue arise.

Can I stay in the house?

Since the law no longer allow us to keep homeowners in a property undergoing a short sale, we have put together a Home Matching System to help you get you settled into another home. You tell us your preferred location, size and type of property, and we will help you find one that matches your needs. Our first goal will always be to help you settle into a rent to own home. If that is not an option, we can still assist in helping you find a rental. We have several existing homes throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota, along with homes built by our Building & Development division which may work for you. During this process, we will refer you to credit restoration services to help you in preparing to obtain your own mortgage within 1-2 years. Please fill out our Home Finder form and we will begin the process immediately.

How do I know this will work?

There¹s no way of knowing if the lender will agree to a short sale. However, we are very good at what we do, and can often present a very strong case and convince the lender to agree to the sale.

Will I get any money from the sale?

Unfortunately, no. Since the Lender is taking a loss on your loan, they will not allow any funds to transfer to you. It is viewed as fraud.

What can I do to help in the process?

The Lender will require us to submit a short sale package which will include some information from you. Your Account Manager and Agent will tell you what is needed. You can also refer to the Short Sale Checklist in our Fresh Start Kit. The best way for you to help would be to give your AM the required documents as quickly as possible. The short sale cannot actually begin until these are submitted, and time is of the essence.

Request a Fresh Start Kit now & we'll forward it to you via email. This includes all the tools you need to start your short sale.

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