Eight Steps to Completing a Short Sale

If you are considering getting a short sale, you may be a bit concerned about the steps that are involved in the process. After all, if you are like most homeowners, you have never gone through this process before. As such, you have no clue what to expect. Although the exact steps in your shore sale process will very according to your individual situation, the basic steps are as follows. dallas homes for sale

Step #1: Contact the Lender

The first step in going forward with a short sale is to contact the lender. Unfortunately, you might have to do quite a bit of calling around before you find the right person to talk to, but the time you spend to actually get in touch with a supervisor will be well worth the effort.

Step #2: Submit a Letter of Authorization

In order to get the lender to disclose your information to the real estate agent that you are working with as well as other individuals who will be involved with the sell, you will need to submit a letter of authorization. This letter gives the lender permission to provide information to certain individuals who are involved with the process. The following information needs to be included in your letter: dallas homes for sale

* The address of the property * The loan reference number * Your name * The date * Your agent's name and contact information

Step #3: Create a Preliminary Net Sheet

A preliminary net sheet is an estimate of the closing statement that includes the sale price you expect as well as the costs associated with the sale. Information such as outstanding payments that are due, late fees, the unpaid balance amount and any relevant real estate commissions should also be included in the net sheet.

Step #4: Write a Hardship Letter

Your hardship letter explains how you got into the financial situation you are currently facing and makes a plea to the lender to accept an amount that is less than the full payment. The sadder your letter, the better chance you will have of getting the lender to agree to a short sale.

Step #5: Prove Your Income and Assets

Next, you need to disclose information regarding your current financial situation, including providing information about your assets. This includes disclosing information about all of the following:

* Cash * Money market accounts * Negotiable instruments * Real estate * Savings accounts * Stocks and bonds

Obviously, if you have a significant amount of assets, the lender isn't likely to agree to a lesser payment than what you owe. dallas homes for sale

Step #6: Obtain Copies of Bank Statements

You will also need to obtain copies of your bank statements and, if your statements show that you recently made any large cash withdrawals or wrote an unusual number of checks, you will need to explain each of those items to the lender.

Step #7: Complete a Comparative Market Analysis

If one of the reasons for your troubles is the fact that your property value has fallen, submitting a comparative market analysis will help prove this claim. Your real estate agent should be able to help you create this analysis, which should include the prices of similar homes that are active on the market as well as information regarding pending sales and those homes that have been sold in the past six months. dallas homes for sale

Step #8: Create a Purchase Agreement and a Listing Agreement

When you reach an agreement with a buyer, you will need to submit a copy of the purchase agreement as well as the listing agreement to the lender. If all went well, the lender should agree to the purchase, though the lender may deny payment for items such as providing a termite inspection or a home protection plan.