Distressed homeowners often ask how they get permission from their lender to move forward on selling their home on a short sale. There is not one simple answer for this question, and the reason is that each lender has different criteria.
Most of the time the loan was sold and the secondary market, and the lender is the servicer for the investor who actually owns the loan. Each servicer has an actual investor behind each loan. The investor may be Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and if the homeowner has an owner occupied mortgage, they can apply with their lender for a pre approved short sale with debt forgiveness $3000 moving expenses. The best thing to do is to call the lender and ask. If you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage, the lender will send out an application to be filled out and returned. A word of caution, if the homeowner does not return the package with 14 days, the “Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative”, (HAFA) will automatically be turned down. It doesn’t mean the homeowner can’t do a short sale, just that they won’t get a HAFA short sale, and they won’t get $3000 moving expenses at closing.
IF the loan is not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, there are other methods used to qualify for a short sale. The best advice I can give is to call the lender. Then, call an experienced real estate agent. If the homeowner is already in Foreclosure, it is not too late. If the homeowner is current on payments but having financial difficulty making ends meet, they may also qualify.
It has been my experience after helping hundreds of homeowners with owner occupied homes and investment properties that lenders have become more understanding and allow short sales in most cases. Very few clients have not qualified for a short sale. With incomes dropping and property values declining, millions of owners are feeling the pinch and need to rid themselves of excess debt. A short sale in real estate is the biggest debt relief program I have seen besides all out bankruptcy, and it doesn’t have the long-term side effects of bankruptcy.
If you are reading this and live anywhere in the Ocala area, call me and then call your lender, or sign an authorization letter for me and I will call the lender for you. I have helped hundreds of owners get major relief from short selling their property, and most likely I can help you too.
If you live anywhere else, call me and I will help you find an agent experienced in short sales in your area. My phone # is 352-427-5704. If you’d rather shoot me an email, my email address is nancydeichman@remax.net Don’t worry about the details. I will take care of them.