A short sale is not one of those experiences you’ve probably come across before. For most, a short sale is going to be a new experience. For this very reason, knowledge will help, and knowing that a group of professionals cares, will help as well.

KNOWLEDGE IS YOUR FRIEND

Learn more about the pros and cons associated with a short sale strategy. This will accomplish a few things. It will prepare you for what’s to come, and it will also make you feel more comfortable while going through the process. You want to eliminate as many surprises as possible.

Take the time to learn more about the following:

• credit impact
• tax implications
• ability to purchase another home at some point in the future

We would invite you to have a conversation with us regarding the overall short sale process. There are details that you need to know.

For example:

• how long the entire process may take
• what the common pitfalls may be
• what documents you need to provide our team with up front

Although this site is a great source of information, it wouldn’t hurt to have a one-on-one conversation with us to discuss your specific situation. Every situation will be unique, so a quick telephone conversation won’t hurt.

Let’s figure out what your next move should be. (559) 399-0004.

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• Short sale tips: Get proactive
• The 3 main options for Fresno distressed homeowners
• Short sale success tips: Whom to hire first

“How will a short sale impact my credit score?”

This is a very common question. Even if we aren’t asked this question by the distressed homeowner we’re working with, we bet the homeowner is at least thinking about the question.

If you’re wondering yourself, just know that you’re not alone and it’s perfectly normal to think about. After all, aren’t you completing a short sale in order to avoid a foreclosure on your record and credit history?

There is good and bad news associated with answering this question.

THE GOOD NEWS

If you are currently behind and missing payments on your home loan now, then you can bet that your lender has already reported your late and missing payments. You’re probably already getting dinged every month that you miss a payment. So, what’s the good news here?

Short sale success will actually help in this regard on three different levels. We outline them here:

1. All collection activity associated with your mortgage AND negative reporting to the credit bureaus will stop. This is because you completed the short sale, and you no longer have a troubled mortgage in your name. Your credit score will stop taking a monthly hit.
2. You will avoid a foreclosure with a successful short sale. The foreclosure would have resulted in a devastating affect on your credit if you had not have been proactive in calling us.
3. After the short sale is complete, you will have a $0.00 mortgage balance. Removing this huge amount of debt from your credit can actually have a positive impact on your credit score.

THE BAD NEWS

A lot of “short sale experts” will claim that a short sale will result in a certain point total being subtracting from your credit score. We strongly disagree with reporting to you a specific number hitting your credit score. There are just too many variables involved to be able to say exactly what point number will be subtracted from your personal credit score. Besides, are these “short sale experts” also credit bureau experts as well?

Let’s think about it.

If you complete a short sale with only one month of missing payments, wouldn’t it be easy to conclude that you will get hit less than the guy that has missed 12 monthly mortgage payments?

Also, if your monthly mortgage payments are, for example, $1,200 per month and someone else has a $3,200 monthly mortgage payment, wouldn’t the negative hit to your credit score be less for missing payments?

There are just too many personal variables involved to give you an accurate point value that will be subtracted from your credit score after a successful short sale. Be cautious of anyone that gives you a specific number.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Some people we’ve spoke to have the idea that a short sale has the same impact on your credit as a foreclosure or a bankruptcy. This is simply not true.

Once your short sale is complete, your mortgage lender has the option of submitting the finished transaction to the credit bureaus as ‘PAID IN FULL’ or ‘SETTLED FOR LESS THAN FULL BALANCE.” Either of these results in less damage to your credit worthiness than the foreclosure or bankruptcy route.

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THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking our survey. Did you remember to check the results after you voted, to see how you stacked up?

Also, if you wouldn’t mind, please share this survey with your social network by clicking on one of the buttons below. The more people who take the survey, the better!

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Short sales are increasingly common across the country today because there are so many people in your same situation.

When we speak with other Fresno homeowners who are thinking about completing a short sale, the very thought of selling their home is very upsetting. And rightfully so. This is not what you signed up for.

As upsetting as a short sale can be, it’s far less upsetting than getting kicked out of your home by your mortgage lender and being labeled with a foreclosure on your record. Wouldn’t you agree?

DON’T BE PASSIVE

When you’re “upside down” on your mortgage and owing your lender more than your home is current worth (or worth for some very extended time in the future), it is very easy to hide-your-head-in-the-sand and just hope that you one day wake up from this very bad dream.

Trust us. We are amazed every week at how many Fresno homeowners we speak with that have the information in front of them that they need and they still choose to ignore it and passively DO NOTHING.

GET PROACTIVE!

Despite the grim realities of the situation, you need to get proactive!

Selling your home, before foreclosure, with short sale success, just may get you and your family out of a bad situation that will get worse with a foreclosure on your record.

But this solution doesn’t come without you (and maybe a spouse or a partner) reaching down deep and taking a proactive approach to this. You know it’s going to take patience, a time commitment, and some effort on your part. We know that too.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If we can be as bold as to give you advice right now, taking a proactive approach to your short sale success may help you get out of that American dream turned nightmare that we touched on above.

ENOUGH FOR NOW

Alright. Enough for now. That was a pretty heavy post.

But hopefully a little of our passion for this, came out and bit you a little.

Get proactive and let’s get this done.

Let’s figure out what’s next – (559) 399-0004

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• Short sale success tips: knowledge is your friend
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• The 3 main options for Fresno distressed homeowners

First, just last week I, and other C.A.R. officers, met with officials at Bank of America to ask for their commitment in streamlining and improving their short sale process.

The bank has agreed to meet with our Distressed Properties task force in the very near future to discuss ways to ensure a smoother short sales process.

We’ll also be meeting with the other major lenders over the next several weeks and will share any outcome with you.

We’re also reading that C.A.R. plans to meet with other major lenders over the next several weeks to address members’ short sales concerns. This is all positive goodness going on at the most upper-levels.

The talks will probably result in better short sale success and a faster short sale approval process.

We’ll continue to update you here as we learn more.

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But, if you’re thinking that a short sale is right for you, then there are definite steps you can take to help increase your chances of short sale success.

FRESNO SHORT SALE TIPS FOR SUCCESS

This ongoing series of short sale tips is designed to teach and inform you on how to increase your chances of beating foreclosure and pulling off a successful short sale. After all, avoiding a foreclosure on your record is the main goal right?

Besides, once you finish your short sale, you will be surprised at how big of a relief it is to be out from under that huge dark financial cloud.

HIRE A FRESNO REALTOR®

One of the first things on your to-do list after you decide to take on a short sale, is to hire a professional and qualified REALTOR® to guide you through the short sale process.

A Fresno REALTOR® is going to be your partner through the process. It’s important that they’re local and it’s important that they know the local market conditions. Hiring an out-of-town outfit to manage your short sale just doesn’t make sense.

In fact, your REALTOR® is going to assume many roles through-out the short sale process, and this list touches on some of the main ones:

1. List your home for sale,
2. market the property in order to find an interested buyer,
3. assume the burden of dealing and negotiating with your lender, and hopefully,
   
4. closing the short sale in the shortest amount of time.

It’s important to note here that not all real estate agents are REALTORS®. The REALTOR® designation is a sign that the agent has voluntarily pledged to a strict code of professional ethics from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, to protect and promote their clients’ best interests.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Avoiding foreclosure is worth every ounce of effort you have left to put towards this goal.

You’ve come this far, so pat yourself on the back, dig down deep and schedule an appointment to talk with us about your specific situation. We’re not going to charge you anything to spend time with you and make sure that a short sale is even possible or the right move for your family.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Leave us a comment below, or click on one of the colorful buttons right below this post and share the knowledge with your favorite social network.

More articles on this topic:

• Short sale success tips: knowledge is your friend
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• Survey: Bank short sale definition
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Despite a robust holiday spending season from U.S. consumers, the December 2010 consumer confidence numbers are out and the numbers are down.

DOES THIS BOTHER US?

We’ll be honest, it does bother us. Here’s why:

Consumer confidence is powerful stuff and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think times are tough, then you will most likely pull back on your personal spending. If you pull back on your person spending, the economy slows. When the economy slows, it reinforces your original thoughts that times are tough.

A question we keep coming back to that we just can’t answer is, How many of those polled have stopped making their mortgage payments, and they know that sometime in the near future that a NOTICE OF DEFAULT will be delivered to their front door?”

We think many of those polled know more about their personal mortgage situation than anyone else. This could be a hint at what’s to come for Fresno short sale numbers in 2011.

If you knew that you hadn’t been making your mortgage payments for a few months, or that you were about to stop making your mortgage payment, you would tend to answer consumer confidence questions with a more negative outlook.

HOW ARE YOU FEELING?

How is your own personal consumer confidence levels right about now? Did you add to the debt side of your personal balance sheet with increased credit card spending this holiday season?

Is a lower consumer confidence number, to end 2010, a preview to the Fresno short sale numbers for 2011?

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And, as you should know, the consequences of foreclosure make it something to avoid.

3 MAIN OPTIONS FOR DISTRESSED FRESNO HOMEOWNERS

A number of things can happen once you become behind on your mortgage payments.

Here are the main three options for homeowners in this situation:

1. Modification - The owner asks, sometimes begs, for their lender to remake or modify their mortgage somehow.
2. Short Sale – Apply for and complete a short sale with a professional team prior to the trustee sale.
3. Foreclosure – Be foreclosed and lose their home, credit score, and ability to buy another home anytime soon.

PRETTY SIMPLE HUH?

Once a homeowner misses mortgage payments for a few months in a row, and the lender files a NOTICE OF DEFAULT, the list of possible outcomes becomes pretty simple.

Most likely, one of the above three will be the final outcome. They all come with their own pros and cons, and we’ll be covering the above three in future articles (at length), but can we all agree that the third choice is the least desired?

To schedule a telephone appointment to review your next move – (559) 997-NEXT

* Footnote: We had discussed a 4th option home owners have, which is repayment and getting caught up on behind payments. And, it is true that a homeowner can use this technique to solve the notice of default, however we decided it didn’t deserve to be on the list of “main” options simply because it so rarely happens. If a homeowner is already three to six months behind on their mortgage payments, it isn’t the norm for them to come into a large sum of money and get current with their lender.

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• Short sale success tips: knowledge is your friend
• Short sale tips: Get proactive
• Consumer confidence numbers lower for December 2010