Still, short sales can be difficult transactions. So, what is it exactly that causes Knoxville short sales to fail?

Too low of an offer.
Why it is a problem: A lender is only going to agree to a short sale if they will end up better off than if they foreclosed on the property.
How to avoid this problem: Make sure you pick a realtor who has experience with short sales and knows how to properly price your Knoxville home. Your home needs to be priced well enough that it sells quickly but high enough that the lender is pleased with the price. The price needs to be not too low, but not too high. Finding the perfect middle ground can be difficult, but an experienced realtor can help price your home at the right price.

The seller’s hardship is not well documented.
Why it is a problem: One of the biggest things a lender wants to see is a well documented case for why you qualify to do a short sale:
How to avoid this problem: Be flexible and prompt about getting your realtor all of the documentation your lender is requesting. Delays in paperwork can lengthen the short sale process. Also, have your realtor help you draft your hardship letter. There are many life circumstance that can cause hardship. It is important you lender sees that your case is well documented.

Buyer isn’t committed.
Why it is a problem: They are not in the transaction for the long haul and could walk away before the negotiation is complete, leaving your realtor to frantically look for a new buyer.
How to avoid this problem: While you can’t ever predict if a buyer will walk away during the process, it is important that your realtor ensures that the buyer understands that short sales can take a lot of time and patience and that the buyer is serious about sticking around until the transaction is complete. Also, making sure your realtor keeps the buyer and the buyer’s realtor informed about the process.

Are you having trouble making your monthly mortgage payment? Do you owe more on your Knoxville home than it is worth? As a CDPE, I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners explore their alternatives to foreclosure. Please let me know if there is anyway that I can assist you, you can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. Also, be sure to check out my Knoxville Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Page.

Bank of America

For a limited time, distressed homeowners, who have a loan owned by or serviced by Bank of America, may be eligible for short sale relocation assistance. The relocation assistance offered to homeowners range between $2,500 and $30,000.

In order to qualify for the relocation assistance, the homeowner must work with Bank of America to obtain a pre-approved sales price prior to submitting purchase offers. All short sales must be stated  the end of the year and close by September 26, 2013. The amount of relocation assistance offered to borrowers is based on each homeowner’s situation, which takes into account the value of the home, the amount owned and other considerations.

The short sale relocation assistance program offered by Bank of America is based on one that was give a trial run in Florida last year. Over the two years, Bank of America has completed over 200,000 and done 30,00 short sales in the first quarter of 2012.

To see if you qualify for relocation assistance, contact Bank of America relocation program at 877-459-2852 for more information.

Bank of America is not the only lender offering incentives to distressed Knoxville homeowners who opt to do short sales on their Knoxville homes, there are a few other lenders offering similar incentive programs. With more and more lenders seeing that short sales are a better alternative to foreclosure, short sales are becoming more prevalent.

Are you having trouble making the monthly mortgage payments on your Knoxville home? If so, please do not hesitate to contact me, by giving me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners explore their alternatives to foreclosure. Also, be sure to check out my Knoxville Foreclosure Resource Page.

Short sales often don’t work and there are few alternatives to avoid foreclosure.
Why this is false: If you are a Knoxville homeowner facing foreclosure, you do have options. Every situation is different and there are never any guarantees. However, if you are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments or owe more on your home than it is worth, you should know what options you may have, whether it is loan modification, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or a short sale.

My lender won’t agree to a short sale on my Knoxville home, so I’ll end up in foreclosure anyhow.
Why this is false: In January of this year, short sales surpassed the number of foreclosures on the real estate market, due to the fact that more lenders were agreeing to short sales. Lenders are now seeing them benefits of them because they avoid the costly foreclosure process and tend to make more money off of short sales. There are even lenders offering incentives to do short sales so that foreclosure can be avoided.

I don’t have the money to pay for a short sale.
Why this is false: In a short sale, your lender pays of for the realtors commission, closing costs and all other costs incurred. The reason they would be willing to do this is that by avoiding foreclosure, they are saving themselves money in the long run.

If you are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments or owe more on your home than it is worth, please do not hesitate to contact me. I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and helping them explore their options. You can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com.

1. What is your experience in negotiating Knoxville short sales?
   Why it is important: Doing a short sale on your Knoxville home is a big decision. You want to make sure that you choose someone who has experience and has a proven track record of getting them done. They can be a complicated process and require a realtor who specializes. Also, be sure to see if your realtor has any success stories or special designation, like being a Certified Distressed Property Expert [CDPE].
2. How do you and your team negotiate short sales?
   Why it is important: It can be a long and tedious process. You will want to ensure that your realtor has someone on his/her team that focuses on short sales. Dealing with lenders can require a great deal of time and patience, it is important that the realtor you choose can dedicated the time and effort to the sale of your home.
3. What will the short sale process be like?
   Why it is important: As a seller, you will want to be informed about the process and what other options you may have to avoid foreclosure. Pick a someone who is open and honest about what options you have to avoid foreclosure.

Are you considering doing a short sale on your Knoxville home? If so, please do not hesitate to contact me at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. As a someone who specializes in helping Knoxville homeowner avoid foreclosure, I would be more than happy to sit down with you and help you discuss your options to avoid foreclosure. Also, be sure to check out my Resource Page.

While short sales are a great alternative to foreclosure, your lender can still decide to file for one while the short sale on your Knoxville home is being negotiated. Unfortunately, just because you are doing a short sale, your lender still has the ability to file for one any time during the process.

In the state of Tennessee, the time between a foreclosure filing and the actual court sale is quite fast compared to other states. Tennessee has to give you sixty days notice before they can foreclose on your Knoxville home.

Still, in some cases, it is possible to stop the foreclosure. As an agent who has done many successful short sales in Knoxville, it can be possible to stop the foreclosure proceedings with the proper negotiations.  However, there are no guarantees.

Do you owe more on your Knoxville home than it is worth? Are you having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments? As a CDPE, I specializing in helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and helping them understand what alternatives they have. While every situation is different, it is important for you to know your options sooner rather than later.  Please do not hesitate to contact me, you can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com.  All of my services are done at no cost  to you. Also, be sure to check out my Resource Page.

While there are many different options to avoid foreclosure, doing a short sale on your Knoxville home can be just as good as a solution as any. There are many homeowners who are in your exact situation. Deciding what option is best for you is a truly personal decision. Here is a breakdown of the pros and the cons of each of your options to avoid foreclosure.

Renting Your Knoxville Home
Pros: You could possibly make income and continue to make payments on your mortgage payment.
Cons: Since you live out of town, it could be difficult to manage the property as a rental. What happens if something breaks? What happens if you tenant stops making payments? Not to mention, it is a temporary fix. When the tenant moves out, you either have to find a new tenant or you are back in the same situation.

Knoxville Short Sale
Pros: Most importantly, you avoid foreclosure. In a successful short sale, you are able to sell your home for less than its worth and your lender agree to less of a payoff and  not to pursue you for a deficiency judgement, or the remaining balance you owe.
Cons: It can take a long time, anywhere from 3 to 6 months or more. Also, there is no guarantee that you lender will agree to it

While every short sale situation is different, it could be a good option for you and your wife. It could allow you to get rid of your home and walk away with nothing owed to your lender. Determining what is the best option for you can be a difficult and complicated decision. As a CDPE, I specialize it helping distressed Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and explore what is the best option for them.  Please let me know if there is any way that I can assist you, feel free to send me an email or give me a call at 865-696-9002. Also, be sure to visit my Knoxville Short Sale and Foreclosure Solutions Page.

The emotional stress of the process. Depending on the lender, it can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to negotiate. Waiting for your short sale to successfully being negotiated can be a very stressful time. You are left wondering if your lender will approve your short sale and what will happen if they do not.

While you can’t control how long it takes to negotiate with your lender, there are a few things that you can control, that can hopefully make the  process less stressful.

• Pick a realtor who has experience with Knoxville short sales. The short sale transaction is not your average real estate transaction. You will want to pick someone who has experience and success negotiating them.
• Be flexible and make yourself available. While you can’t control every aspect of the process, being flexible about showings and getting your realtor all the necessary paperwork can help with the process.
• Be informed about the process. Pick a realtor who will keep you informed about what is going on and be sure you get all of your questions answered. It can be easier to deal with the stress if you know what is going on.

Are you considering doing a short sale on your Knoxville home? Please let me know if there is anyway that I can assist you. As a Certified Distressed Property Expert [CDPE], I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners explore their alternatives to foreclosure and I’ve successfully negotiated many short sales. Feel free to give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. Also, be sure to check out my Knoxville short sale and foreclosure resource page.

In a successful Knoxville short sale, the transaction is completed at no cost to the seller. The lender agrees to pay all costs associated with the transaction, including the commission and closing fees.

So why exactly would a lender be willing to pay these fees?

Because lenders know short sales are a great alternative for foreclosure. Knoxville short sales are better for seller, lenders, and the Knoxville real estate market. In recent months, lenders have been agreeing to do more Knoxville short sales as an alternative to foreclosure, due to the fact that short sales sell at higher prices. Not to mention, by avoiding foreclosures, lenders avoid all of the costs associated with the longforeclosure process. For a lender, a short sale is a better outcome than foreclosure, which is why they are willing to agree to pay these costs.

If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments and would like to discuss your options, please give me a call at 865-696-9002.  As a CDPE, I specialize is helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure. My team and I spend a great deal of time keeping up with the many changes going on in the market and we are glad to help you. Please do no hesitate to contact me at Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.com and we can set up a time to discuss your options. Also, be sure to check out my resource page.

The new requirements for short sales will take effect in June. In the case of Knoxville short sales, all loans that are are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the loan servicers would be required to make a decision about short sales within 60 days. Loan servicers would also be require to give weekly updates on decisions taking longer than 30 days.

These new regulations also place requirements on how long a buyer or lender has to respond to a counteroffer. Any borrower has 5 business days to respond to a counteroffer from the lender and any lender has 10 business days to respond to a counteroffer from the lender. These new requirements were put in place by the Federal Housing Finance  Agency [FHFA] in an effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and to make lenders have more accountability during the short sale process.

In addition to these changes to the Knoxville short sale process, the FHFA is expected to simplify the short sale process further by the end of the year. Expected changes include: simplifying the required documentation,  help address borrower eligibility, and property valuation.

The new regulations, however, do give more time to obtain a broker price opinion (BPO) or approval from a private mortgage insurance company.

If you’ve been thinking about doing a short sale on your Knoxville home, please do not hesitate to contact me by giving me a call at 865-696-9002 or sending an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. I specialize in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and would be more than happy to help explain your options.

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In January, short sales accounted for 23.9% of all home purchases, compared to 19.7% of sales of foreclosed homes. In January of 2011, short sales  accounted for 16.3% of home sales while foreclosures accounted for 24.9% of all home sales.

Statistics also collected from Lender Processing Services also shows that homes that are sold in a short sale tend to get higher asking prices than those of foreclosures. In January, foreclosed homes sold for 29% less than a comparable non-distressed homes, while short sales sold for 23% less than a comparable non-distressed homes.

So what exactly does this data suggest for Knoxville housing market?

The increase in Knoxville short sales, as well as in other parts of the nation, is good news for the housing market. With more lenders agreeing to short sales and avoiding the long foreclosure process, it may help housing prices stabilize. Also,  lenders are being held more accountable during the short sale process.  The Federal Housing Financing Agency, which oversees all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac homes, has ordered all loan services to respond to short sale offers within 30 days, and approve or deny the short sale within 60 days. While the Federal Housing Finance Agency, does not apply to conventional loans, it is still a step in the right direction. With lenders being held more accountable during the process and embracing short sales as an alternative to foreclosure, hopefully, the process will become easier, which is great news for the housing market and distressed homeowners.

If you owe more on your Knoxville home than it is worth and are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments, please let me know if there is anyway that I can assist you, you can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. As a CDPE, I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and can help you explore you options, whether it is a short sale or help with a loan modification on your Knoxville home.