What is a Short Sale?

A short is when the property sells for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. The lender must approve the short sale because they will be accepting less then is owed on the loan.

The short sale can happen for a few reasons:

The homeowner is far behind on their payments and they can’t catch up.

The fair-market value for the property has gone down and the house is worth less than the mortgage balance.

There are multiple steps for short sales, and they are time-consuming.

The homeowner will need to discuss the short sale with their mortgage lender.

The lender will ask about the hardship the homeowner is dealing with. They will want to know why they can’t continue to make the payments or why they haven’t been making them.

The homeowner also needs to discuss the process and selling their home with a qualified real estate agent.

Homes being sold as a short sale are generally sold AS-IS, meaning the seller will not make any repairs to the property.

Once an offer comes in on the property, the lender must approve the sale. It can take anywhere from a week to a few months to be approved. Not all short sales are approved.

Contact Stephanie to get your Short Sale questions answered.