Short Sale Help Might Be On The Way

help Any Realtor that has sold a short sale will warn you that the process is arduous for the buyer, the seller, the agents, and everyone else connected to the process. Right now the system ~~works~~ requires that the seller, who owes more than the value of the home, first find a qualified buyer before they can begin negotiating with the bank or banks. In other words, nobody knows what the banks will actually accept, and it can take months for a file to pass through the system with uncertainty at the end of that long wait. Lots of agents are steering their buyers away from short sales because there are enough other good deals out there that the uncertainty becomes unnecessary.

Fannie Mae announced yesterday that they are testing a pilot program in Phoenix and Orlando that will pre-approve short sales for 400 sellers.

I am hopeful that they will have quick success and will roll out a nationwide program. A short sale is often the best way for a seller to save themselves from foreclosure and do whatever they can to protect their credit history along the way.

Even with this protection in hand, a short sale seller will need to good advice and counsel. If you are a Metro Detroit home seller, you need to make sure the agent you are working with has experience handling short sales. The knowledge required is very different from a regular retail transaction, and the agent and seller have to both be very committed to making sure the sale is successful. Without that commitment and knowledge, it really will not work. Our team has been working with Oakland County home sellers on short sales for the last few years. If you need help, we are happy to talk to you.

h/t Santa Clarita Real Estate Blog

photo by Dimitri Neyt

Other short sale information:

From the Mailbag: A Short Sale Question

Short Sales: The New Frontier for Bank Fraud

11 Things About Buying a Short Sale in Michigan

The Foreclosure Process in Michigan